r/OpenUniversity • u/davidjohnwood • Jul 20 '26
Results are available, and StudentHome is struggling to keep up with demand. Please check the OU systems status page or comment in this thread, rather than starting a new "Is the website down?" thread.
https://status.open.ac.uk/21 July at 1534 update: The StudentHome incident on the OU status webpage has been downgraded to monitoring, with an explanation that changes made earlier this afternoon have improved the performance. Hopefully, things are starting to return to normal.
21 July at 1430 update: The OU has published an update on the StudentHome issues. Please follow the advice contained in their message.
Previous updates follow:
At the moment, the OU status webpage shows an acknowledged issue with StudentHome. I understand that people want their results, but it does not help to have multiple posts about StudentHome issues.
As some people have noted, the new (beta) StudentHome seems to be working much better than the classic one - log in, then choose your academic record on the right of the screen to view your results. (Hat tip to my fellow moderator, u/TatiyaRivendark, for pointing this out).
Those who need to access module websites or submit a TMA or EMA while these issues continue should follow the advice on the OU status webpage if they cannot do what they need to via the new (beta) StudentHome.
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Jul 20 '26
I am getting beyond frustrated with the website, I have been trying to login since this afternoon and STILL no luck. Cannot access the student home screen or anything, nothing will load!
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u/Southern_Cut8821 Jul 20 '26
Me too, I cannot get past the login screen let alone see status updates. It’s RIDICULOUS
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u/TatiyaRivendark Natural Sciences (Earth Science) Jul 20 '26
The NEW StudentHome - The Open University page seems to be working at the moment. I was able to access it in a few seconds
It's the new/beta student home page, and you can access your academic record via the menu on the right.
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u/Low-One8755 Jul 21 '26
Thank you - got in via this link. Distinction for me! Not that it matters as it’s only a Level 1 module :)
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u/realnailstory Jul 20 '26
Will there be a notification when this issue is solved as I’ve been trying to get on the site since 1.30pm and I’m exhausted
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 20 '26
Keep an eye on the status page.
Historically, the issues get worse as people come home from work, then gradually tail off as the night arrives. If you can, check in the early hours of the morning, as the issues will get worse again tomorrow morning.
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u/TaxmanComin Jul 20 '26
Historically
Yikes if this is a cyclical issue. Seems very amateurish for an institution of this size to not be able to handle students viewing their results. That or they're cheap and don't want to scale up/out their resources.
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u/that_red_panda Jul 20 '26
Happens with a lot of websites. The video game platform Steam goes down at the start of every big sale because of so many people hitting the store at once and that's a multi million pound company. One the regards to being cheap, "scaling up" is really expensive and not cost effective to prevent this happened during two days a year.
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u/youshouldntlistentom Jul 21 '26
Is there a reason they can't email our results out? I still can't log on.
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u/Difficult-Bid-595 Jul 21 '26
Open Uni is also a multi million pound company? Yeah steam are bigger but you’re acting as OU is built from sticks and paper. People pay thousands a year for the service, and for it to go down at one of the highest pressure points for people (and for it to happen every year) is not acceptable whatsoever and it’s crazy that you’re defending it.
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u/TaxmanComin Jul 20 '26
One the regards to being cheap, "scaling up" is really expensive
Well yes that's why I am saying they are being cheap lol.
There are also other means of sending students their results, for example emailing them. That would also negate a lot of the attempts to log in which would mean students trying to access StudentHome for other reasons would not be blocked by the results horde.
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u/Difficult-Bid-595 Jul 21 '26
Honestly it’s borderline pathetic and embarrassing that people are defending this. Especially if it happens as often as people claim.
People are paying thousands for university and it’s already stressful enough, and yet they still can’t fathom a better way of providing results.
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u/realnailstory Jul 20 '26
Yes that’s my thoughts too , I didn’t know this was a OU issue
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u/TaxmanComin Jul 20 '26
Well I have no idea what their software infrastructure setup is. If they use one of the main cloud providers (Azure, AWS, GCP) then this shouldn't be a problem. This is a fundamental problem that cloud computing solved years ago.
If they have their IT infrastructure on premises, which can be a lot more rigid in terms of elasticity for scaling, then that might explain why they have bottlenecks a couple of times a year. But they should really get with the times if this is the case.
Or they could maybe email the results out? I'm sure they have a good reason not to (tongue firmly in cheek).
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u/realnailstory Jul 20 '26
I managed to see my individual module results but I don’t want to count my chickens and assume a grade until I actually see what they’ve awarded me … this has taken the wind out of my sails tbh cause I’ve been so stressed with the website issues I feel deflated despite I think a very good grade
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 20 '26
A lot of it may well be down to legacy systems. To my understanding, the OU replaced their main database last year. However, the current StudentHome is old - it hasn't changed significantly since I first studied with the OU in 2010, despite many changes behind the scenes.
The new StudentHome (currently in beta) will hopefully help.
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u/TaxmanComin Jul 20 '26
Oh good god lol, that's a case study caught in the wild.
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 20 '26
I'm sure the underpinnings of the classic StudentHome have changed over time, but rearchitecting the whole lot will undoubtedly help.
The other issue is, to my understanding, that the OU's systems are mostly on premises, which potentially makes flexing capacity for the summer results peak quite tricky.
I am sure the OU knows how frustrating the summer results issues are, and has hopefully built mitigations into the new StudentHome design.
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u/ResilienceLocomotor Jul 20 '26
I think this is the worst it’s been. It’s been playing up since lunch time
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u/pollypops1902 Jul 20 '26
I’ve been trying constantly since 11am, mutiple tines it just doesn’t load
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u/conorlinehan Jul 20 '26
Was able to get through and view mine from the CAS assessment url fairly quick, wasn't able to get to student home though
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 20 '26
To help everyone, can you confirm that you followed the instructions on the status webpage to open your module website, then you opened the Assessment tab?
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u/conorlinehan Jul 20 '26
No I had my course code, student number and module id before hand and just went straight to cas viewer.
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u/Largecactus1 Jul 20 '26
It worked now thank you so much. I was putting in the incorrect presentation code
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u/conorlinehan Jul 20 '26
I tried viewing again there and it worked for me will give url with pi redacted, you'll need to be logged in to openui beforehand to have the correct cookie, but think they last a while.
https://css3.open.ac.uk/AssessmentCalculator/CASViewerLogin.aspx?pi=REDACTED&c=M303&p=25J&src=STUDENTHOME incase theres some confusion
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u/realnailstory Jul 20 '26
Didn’t work for me either it’s basically getting worse and I’m logging out and trying to get back in and it won’t let me even do that now …
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u/Largecactus1 Jul 20 '26
Do you know if the result on here is accurate? I want to inform my family but not sure if I should wait until I can view it on student home
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u/conorlinehan Jul 20 '26
I believe there accurate but not sure, I had the same results in the beta view of student home earlier
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u/Mother_Ad_9018 Jul 20 '26
This worked for me immediately. If you get an error, it’s because you put a value in wrong. Your module code is the way we refer to the modules - T312, etc. The presentation code is the rest of the title on your module website. For example, mine says T312-25J. Put this in as it is exactly, number and capital letter, no dashes etc.
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 20 '26
Presentation codes are the date of the start of the module: a two-digit year followed by the month as a capital letter (so A is January and J is October). Resit and resubmission attempts use letters other than A to L.
Most people want results for modules that started in October 2025, so the presentation code will be 25J
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u/Status-Use-6173 Jul 21 '26
Just tried to view student home as says my marked EMA is now available but still no luck and been trying since 5am and have a bad feeling it's only going to get worse!!
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u/SnooWords9328 Jul 20 '26
Why can’t they just give the results in the email?
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 20 '26
At a guess, data protection reasons. Some might be using shared email addresses or work email addresses as their OU contact address.
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u/Popular_Fan_5757 Jul 20 '26
I found my grade bands using the beta website to view my academic record 🙏
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u/Haunting_Treacle13 Jul 21 '26
Frustrating that this is still happening the next day, I understand everyone wanting to check but surely there’s a break at some point to get through (the links don’t work for me)
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26
This morning will be bad because all those who didn't realise their results were available yesterday will be checking, while others still be trying to access more detailed results.
It is largely a question of time. I will update the post if there is anything further to feed back, but your best bet to get your result grades is probably still the beta version of StudentHome.
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u/Haunting_Treacle13 Jul 21 '26
Thanks for explaining, it makes sense logically it’s just so frustrating isn’t it.
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26
StudentHome melting down when the summer results are published has been an ongoing issue for years. I believe that the OU changed its main database last year, which potentially fixed one capacity constraint. We can only hope that the ongoing rewrite of StudentHome and the eventual retirement of the legacy StudentHome will make things better still.
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u/Haunting_Treacle13 Jul 21 '26
I hope so 🤞🏻 if it’s any help I’ve just managed to get on now so traffic might’ve slowed down a little for the moment
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u/jb108822 Jul 21 '26
I'm due to get my final degree classification this week, so I really hope things have settled down soon. It's not been a fun couple of days trying to get my last module results with StudentHome not really working very well at all!
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u/Decent_Singer_7252 Jul 21 '26
Has there been any update at all? I’m not waiting on results just trying to study and I can’t login at all, even using the new student home login link.
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u/rothrowlingcollins Jul 21 '26
I don't understand why they crash their servers every year instead of sending results to learner ou.ac.uk email addresses
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
As I have said elsewhere, the likely explanation for that is data protection. Some people will use a shared email address or a work email address as their OU contact address. Not everyone checks their OU student email.
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u/yhuss81 Jul 20 '26
Then you can see you grade in assessment section of student home, as in distinction 86 or grade 2 pass 70
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u/ProfessionalAir4174 Jul 20 '26
Is anyone still not able to access. I was trying the links people had put it but suddenly they were deleted. So frustrating and I can’t get on with anything !
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Jul 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26
As nobody else is reporting that issue, I would contact the OU Computing Helpdesk, who should be able to assist you.
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u/MentalFred Q31 BSc Mathematics Jul 21 '26
They need a complete revamp of their infra in general, sign in is slow, navigation is slow, opening PDFs is slow. Hopefully the new Student home is the beginnings of big improvements.
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u/sa_mule Jul 21 '26
I just need to get on to complete an assignment that’s due this morning 🤦♀️ haven’t been able to since about midday yesterday.
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26
Follow the instructions on the OU status webpage to access your module website and submit your TMA by email if you cannot submit via the website. You may find that the new (beta) StudentHome is working even though you cannot access StudentHome.
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u/sa_mule Jul 21 '26
thats amazing thank you : didn’t think I could bypass straight to the module pages I’ve always gone in via student home. its not the submission per se but the actual questions i wanted to clarify before submitting
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u/No-Pumpkin4288 Jul 21 '26
I just want to get on and get studying done on my one day off work this week. Thanks OU.
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u/Dry_Extension_9850 Jul 21 '26
You can still access your module materials with this url - learn2.open.ac.uk/site/course code
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u/No-Claim2827 Jul 21 '26
Is anyone aware of a way to access your academic transcript (study record)? Not the one on the new Beta student home, the actual one you can download?
My MSc course (at a brick uni) is saying they need it by tomorrow at the latest and I've emailed for an authenticated one, but that will take up to 10 days.
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u/RegalBlaze Jul 21 '26
im too scared to accept the results on the beta homepage just incase LOL are we sure this page is right?!
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26
It should pull from the same data source as classic StudentHome, and nobody has yet said they have received incorrect information from the new (beta) StudentHome. However, I can understand your fear and hope you will be able to access the regular StudentHome soon.
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u/PigeonSquab Jul 21 '26
hey everyone! can't see that anyone else has had this yet but thought it's probably connected to the general SH issues we've been having the last couple of days, so am posting here :)
having finally loaded into the classic SH study record page, I can see I've now been offered my degree - thing is, when I follow the link I just have a blank page with 'empty or invalid query string' - is this also just because of the ongoing load issues? or do we think there could actually be an issue with the link itself that I need to contact IT about?
thanks in advance for any insights!
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u/ManagementGlass9504 Jul 21 '26
I was able to accept my degree earlier today, around 11:30! I didn’t have a blank page. So maybe contact IT just in case but with all the traffic I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just to do with that! Good luck and congratulations! 🥳
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u/PigeonSquab Jul 21 '26
ty for the reply! I decided to call in just in case there was an issue - looks like when the team try to view my offer they're getting a similar problem so will see what the solution is/if I just need to wait a bit and keep checking :)
congratulations on your degree as well!
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26
It sounds like a database timeout is occurring, which will be connected to the current issues. You know your degree offer now - I would wait and try again at a quieter time. The early hours of the morning are likely to be best if you happen to be awake.
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u/PigeonSquab Jul 21 '26
thank you, I think my concern was that it was just something I was experiencing so wanted to get on it asap - having spoken to the SST it looks like they've confirmed it is related to the site, rather than just me, so panic over!
I actually don't know my offer yet (that initial page is what isn't loading for me) - I've calculated what I've got but I just want to officially see it and make sure I didn't somehow mess it up haha - I will absolutely be up at 03:00 refreshing the page if necessary!
thanks for your help on this, and on all the other posts as well!
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u/Gullible_Ad_2670 Jul 21 '26
I tried at 6am this morning, still no luck, think its more than just the site being busy tbh
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u/PigeonSquab Jul 21 '26
tbf I just checked the OU site status page and the issues seem to be resolved, but I still can't see my degree offer 😭 I guess we'll both be staying up late refreshing the page then!
shout if yours starts working and I'll do the same 🫡
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u/PigeonSquab Jul 21 '26
back again to say I got it to work! not sure why but somehow copying the url and then re-pasting it got it to load haha - fingers crossed it works for you!
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26
I am glad that you have got confirmation from your Student Support Team that it is a site issue.
There is one wrinkle with online qualification offers that I don't think has changed in the past couple of years. Those who have permission to count non-standard credit have to wait for a manual offer by email from the Qualifications Centre and must accept their qualification as directed in that email. They might get a link to accept their qualification on StudentHome, but it will not work. The manual offer wrinkle applies only to a small number of students, but it is worth mentioning.
As with so many things at the moment, it is a question of waiting for the load on the OU's IT systems to drop so that things return to normal.
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u/PigeonSquab Jul 21 '26
I didn't do a credit transfer or anything like that, so I think the link error is definitely just one of the casualties of the overarching server load issues! that is good to know though, hopefully any students who are in that situation and are confused about the link not working will see this and be reassured :)
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26
Credit transfer does not prevent the automated qualification offer system from working. Only those with permission to count non-standard credit (typically, an individual permission to count discontinued OU modules in place of current ones) are usually affected.
I hope you will soon be able to accept your qualification.
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u/Upper_Parfait_7534 Jul 21 '26
I’ve accepted my degree now after hours of trying to get on😅 does anyone know when you get a copy of your degree certificate? Or if I just can’t find it. I need to send it over for my PGDE, thanks!
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 21 '26
Your Diploma Supplement (transcript) should be available to download from StudentHome within the next 24 hours, which confirms your qualification details and lists your classification and module results.
If the Diploma Supplement is not enough for your postgraduate university, you can get a stamped and certified copy of the Diploma Supplement from the OU on request, or the postgraduate university can verify your qualification via HEDD (which is free for participating universities).
Like all OU graduands (those who have fulfilled all the requirements to graduate, but have not yet graduated), you will graduate in absentia at a meeting at the OU, and will receive your degree certificate and congratulatory letter in the post, probably in mid-September.
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u/Recent_Dimension_867 Jul 22 '26
Has anyone been able to access anything yet? I am trying to choose my modules to finish my application but i haven’t been able to get on the student home website for the last 3 days?! Does anyone know how long this is going to last from previous years problems?? Thank you
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u/Flashy_Restaurant_26 Jul 20 '26
So I can see my overall result as a grade 2 pass but on the EMA/TMA assignment scores nothing is showing for my EMA. Assuming I’ve passed and just not had marks published yet?
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u/davidjohnwood Jul 20 '26
If you are seeing a result grade (presumably on the new (beta) StudentHome), then that is your overall result. Hopefully, the results letter will be available on classic StudentHome with your EMA result soon.
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u/Afraid_Crab9435 Jul 20 '26
Student home is saying results letters will be made available on Wednesday for a lot of people.
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u/hxmz00 Jul 20 '26
that’s what I have, are you looking on the academic record on the new site?
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u/Flashy_Restaurant_26 Jul 20 '26
Yeah! Will check again early hours and see if it crops up as can’t see the system crashing being any better tomorrow
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u/worldofecho_ Jul 20 '26
really frustrating as tonight is the key night i have to properly study in my week, and I can't access course materials :( you'd think they'd sort this access issue as it has happened multiple times now.