Welcome to OCN North West Region welcome to ocn north west region
	Courses and qualifications Becoming an OCN centre News and updates Welcome Welcome to the new OCNNWR website. We hope you find it informative and that it contains the information you require. About Us. Who is Open College Network North West Region? Our Mission is to support learning and widen opportunity by recognising achievement through credit-based courses and qualifications. We’ve been at the forefront of credit based qualifications and courses for the last 25 years and have built our reputation for flexible qualifications which can be used for small steps of learning to full size awards, Certificates and Diplomas. We’ve also been offering Access to HE Diplomas designed and developed with the region’s Universities. Our area of activity covers the entire North West of England and we are one of eleven OCNs covering England Wales and Northern Ireland. Together these OCNs form NOCN the national network of Open Colleges. The OCN is a partnership of many different organisations offering education and training from all sectors across the North West Region, including: local authorities; schools; further education colleges; universities; employers; private training providers; community and voluntary groups. All organisations using OCN services become mebers of the OCN and can contribute to our governance structure and participate in decision making. OCNNWR is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (co. no …) and a registered charity (no ….). Why Choose OCNNWR? We can offer you a range of very flexible courses and qualifications to suit you and your learners’ needs. The credit based system we use and the fact that all of our qualifications are approved by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA) means that they are all fundable by the Learning and Skills Council. Small steps of learning and full size Awards, certificates and Diplomas are all in our product portfolio. These, together with our rigorous external scrutiny and quality assurance are our commitment to you to provide excellent customer support and service. We continuously review our systems to keep our products and services up to date and invest in our staff to make sure we can meet your needs. Whether you are a long-time member and user of the OCN or a brand new organisation coming to us for the first time you’ll find that we can offer a friendly and efficient service. Use the panel on the right hand side of the screen to find out more about what we do – we look forward to working with you. About Us Who are OCNNWR? Our Mission is to support learning and widen opportunity by recognising achievement through credit-based courses and qualifications Who are Open College Network North West Region ? • OCNNWR is one of 11 Open College Networks covering the whole of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Open College Networks (OCNs) are licensed by the National Open College Network (NOCN) to award NOCN Qualifications and other locally developed courses of learning. – link to NOCN website • OCNNWR is an Access to Higher Education Validating Agency (AVA) authorised by Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) to approve and certificate Access to Higher Education Programmes – link for Access to HE page • OCNNWR is a partnership of many different organisations offering education and training from all sectors across the North West Region, including: local authorities; schools; further education colleges; universities; employers; private training providers; community and voluntary groups. – link to case studies • OCNNWR is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (co. no …) and a registered charity (no ….). Why Choose Open College Network? NOCN work with Open College Networks (OCNs) and other stakeholders including Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to develop qualifications. N/OCN qualifications and courses are designed to meet the needs of the education and training providers we work with. Our regional structure and links with other OCNs in the national network bring opportunities for our providers by ensuring the qualifications and courses on offer meet the needs of organisations at a local, regional and national level. Together as a Network organisation, comprising all 11 OCNs, NOCN, is one of the largest adult education Awarding Bodies, leading in credit-based learning. There are more than 3,000 centres nationally, offering Open College Network Qualifications and/or localised courses Certificates are awarded to approximately one million learners every year.