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Please read the Opentution rules regarding soliciting services on the forum. No rule and regulation abiding member of Opentution will answer this question.
Better to approach mentor through OBU Mentoring Website. You need to register there as a mentee first.
Web Address: https://www.oxfordbrookesmentoring.co.uk/.
Hi everyone..So I just completed f9…I want to start working on the project now..If you understand how to do it well..is it still necessary to have a mentor??Thanx in advance!
Yes you need a mentor to certify your work and you have to do a Presentation to them. You cannot submit unless you use a mentor from the OBU list
Dear Hafsa,
You must have a registered mentor while preparing your project and hold three meetings (including presentation) with him/her. Your hard work and His/Her professional guidelines will be helpful for you to secure your good grade. Your bsc class has been decided by your average ACCA Marks. So As per my suggestion to focus on your grade now.
If you need any further assistance, feel free to discuss here.
Regards,
ALI FAROOQ – ACCA Member USA Chapter, CPA USA & OBU Registered MentorMENTOR QUALIFICATION CHANGES:
We regret that due to continuing problems identified with some Mentors over recent submission periods, the original mentor categories are now required to be enforced. Oxford Brookes University has identified three categories of individuals from which students should choose their Registered Project Mentor.A new Project Mentor must be one of the following:
• A current qualified Chartered
Certified Accountant – Full Member
(ACCA) – [not part qualified or Affiliate
Members]
• The student’s “Senior Colleague” at
work e.g. line manager
• A lecturer or tutor at an Approved
Learning ProviderIMPORTANT NOTES:
• A prospective mentor applying for registration who is none of these may not automatically act as a Mentor for BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting students.
• Full members of other professional bodies may be permitted to Register at the discretion of the Programme Lead.
• Oxford Brookes University may permit existing Registered Mentors to continue to offer Mentoring, subject to review.
• if you select the category “Senior Colleague” we expect you to register a company email and that your mentees will be your colleagues only. You may have a maximum of 3 students per submission period. Mentors who defy this restriction and mentor other students will be suspended permanently.MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MENTEES: It is proposed that the maximum number of mentees that a Mentor may supervise will be 50 per submission period. [This will be confirmed.] It is expected that all Mentors have permanent employment that keeps then grounded in current Accountancy practice. Therefore it is considered by OBU that Mentors cannot professionally supervise very large numbers. It is stated again that Mentors claiming to be Line Managers/Seniors may only have a maximum of three students per submission period.
If you need any assistance, feel free to discuss.
Ali Farooq
ACCA USA Chapter, CPA USA & OBU Registered Mentor.Hello OT family, I have logged in the OBU site as a mentee since 04 Jan 2016 and contacted two mentors via the list provided and even got a confirmation email in my inbox saying the mentors have eventually received my request, however we are now on the 16 Jan and I still haven’t got any reply from any of them yet. That’s very discouraging as a first contact on the OBU site.
Also, I would like to know why are we being compelled to contact listed members on the site while OBU clearly says that they do NOT approve these mentors, they are only listed mentors who have passed the mentor test online. I’m not discrediting any mentors, I’m sure they are very competent to have reached that level, my point is on TWO issues. a) familiarity / trust and b) Financial. Previously we could find ANY mentor ( in our local area whom we know and are acquainted with, they could have been our managers, seniors or a professional whom we know). Being familiar with these mentors not only allowed us being more comfortable with them in terms of communication and interaction but also in terms of proximity. We are in the same country and a face-face would be very easy ( though I’m aware this is not a compulsory requirement). My second issue is about the mentor fees. My goodness ! OBU is forcing us to find a listed mentor who charges at least £300. This represents more than a whole month salary for me. I could have arranged for half that amount under the previous conditions.
I started ACCA as a self study student in 2012 and when I referred to the then OBU info pack, I immediately made up my mind to go for the OBU to achieve the degree. This was my main motive which has now been completely jeopardized by the new requirements. My concern is today even if we comply by these harsh requirements, tomorrow with a re-sit it can even be worse and we’ll continue struggling and paying without achieving the degree.
Your comments and views on this would be most welcome.
@nzeadall – I can understand your frustrations. Regarding the lack of a response – I am surprised at this. I suppose it may depend on what their other commitments are at this time of year as many mentors are employed full-time elsewhere and if in a responsible accounting role could be involved in company year end matters or sorting out tax returns. Most students do not begin their RAPS till February /March so in that respect January is a month when possibly they lie low and catch up with personal affairs – who knows, but I agree it is disappointing for you
A principal concern for OBU is plagiarised work or students copying from each other – something which has now reached epidemic proportions in the UK university system according to the Times Educational Supplement. Unfortunately in some parts of the world mentors are part of this scourge so by insisting on registered mentors, OBU hopes to control one element of the problem as unscrupulous mentors can now be delisted. All of these things tend to penalise the innocent as well as the guilty as you now find that you have to pay what you consider is an extortionate amount to someone to act as your mentor. Again I agree and cannot see how anyone can justify charging GBP 300 + for the 3 basic meetings – which is why currently we do not endorse any UK mentors.
In fact the concept of paid mentors is relatively new – OBU originally envisaged mentors would be colleagues, supervisors/ line managers or a student’s college lecturer I.e. someone performing the role for free. Unfortunately though others saw it as a money-making opportunity. I have always stressed that students need to feel comfortable with their mentor. You can still use a person known to you but they would normally have to be ACCA qualified and complete the online mentoring course (cost about GBP 85).
However I understand that OBU is always willing to listen to student views so why not write the ACCA OBU Programme Diirector Jane Towers-Clarke about your dissatisfaction? Who knows, if you live in the UK you may even be invited to become a student representative and attend some of their programme development meetings. Personally I think to absolutely guarantee integrity and standards OBU staff should do the mentoring as they do on normal university courses but I suspect (a) OBU doesn’t have sufficient staff hours and (b) would have to levy a charge of at least GBP 300 to pay staff if they had them to do it anyway.
Hi, @nzeadall,
Hope you are well!
With regards to mentoring request that you have sent, there can be many issues why those mentors did not reply. May be mentors are busy, or they have not yet started taking mentees as you know its January and submission is in May. There can be several other issues, but i agree they should reply in reasonable time stating whether they want to become your mentor. This will help you in saving your time and finding other mentors.
OBU website database contain number of mentors who are based worldwide, database maintained is of mentors who pass OBU mentoring course. This course is designed so all mentors know basics of mentoring i.e. what mentee require from them. OBU always recommend mentors to guide & direct students without actually doing their work. You may realise, since last few session there has been several changes to RAP guidelines which is more focused on mentors providing good service to students. One example you gave is of this mentoring course which resulted in mentors chosen are only in the database who meets specified criteria that they are ACCA Member, Your Senior Colleague (restricted to 3 mentees a session), lecturer at an Approved learning institution and have done mentoring course. Narrowing criteria and course helped in removing those mentors who have no knowledge of BSc RAP and OBU but they are acting as mentors because student wants them to be. Further, you can still select a mentor who you know, if he is ACCA Member, your senior colleague/manager or lecturer of approved learning institution.
This may be helping OBU in segregating quality mentors and shrinking this list further in future. Previous rule was really open and led many problems, such as plagiarism, mentors selling projects or doing work of mentees in exchange for huge fee. OBU is catering worldwide students so there range of different issues, and i believe this rule of selecting mentors from their database help in reducing complaints of poor service and unethical mentoring which i told works like students were being offered whole RAP in exchange for money by freelance writers acting as mentors. I don’t know from which country you belong but you may find any good mentor who provide face-to-face mentoring and as you know current world is of technology so you can develop most skills via online services too.
Remember OBU’s aim is to develop your skills, technical, interpersonal and academic. Hence, if you select an unfamiliar mentor there may be risk of poor service but if you research and look for good-one, it will benefit you more, in-terms of communication and learning.
With regards to fee, it is on mentors discretion, currently there is no restriction as in case of ACCA Exams Lectures, some charge high, some low. I know GBP 300 is huge but you can find lower charging good mentors who charge between GBP 100 to 150. They do exist as GBP 300 is also equivalent to salary of many other students who are about to do their RAPs. Please also note that higher fee will give guaranteed service too and lower fee may have service problems. In the end, you can find good mentors in both fee ranges.
Don’t be hopeless, these requirements are for your benefit and i know you can achieve RAP within your desired goals with desired requirements. So, just search for the best mentor, contact more mentors who you believe can provide good service and work hard.
In case of any question(s), please do ask.
Regards,
Hammad Ahmed Qureshi – OBU Registered Mentor.hello guys, am looking for the cheapest mentor anyone who can recommend one 😉 i have done academic projects and papers before so all i need is a guy to sign off my project.
Hello,
There is no cheapest or expensive one. There are good and normal mentors who follow BSc Info pack and they must be having 3 meetings with you for ensuring your project is upto mark. You can’t find mentor who will just sign off your project as it is breaching requirements of OBU.
Please don’t ignore value of mentor as RAP require new skills which you may not have acquired previously.
Regards,
Hammad Ahmed Qureshi.Hey! @ewanyonyi & @nzeadall
I read your post and I felt u are facing the same issue I had it. I would like to help you in this regard because I know what u are in to. I got recommendation from friends and talked with them about mentoring “honestly I like them all”. Their way of teaching are awesome as my friends told me about them. I found first mentor was Anna Lishman UK based Mentor. Her way of teaching was great, the only thing I had trouble with the payment. She charges GBP 395 me more than I thought.
Second Mentor was Luminarium on OT Singapore based Mentor. I found them very helpful but again if I talk about the fee it was little more or less $500 which was beyond my budget.
After going through all these I decided to search more Mentor way ahead that way I can shop around. I spend a lot of time to search different Mentor. As a student my concern was to find a best Mentor with best rate. My classmate recommended Mr. Ali Farooq like others. He is US based Mentor and charge reasonable rate. I found him the best in my first meeting. All of them are best and recommended. I recommend you to select the best Mentor with the best rate from the best countries it will be helpful for you to learn more than their mentoring.I spend my time to reply your post because I don’t want you to waste your time and money.
Good Luck! I hope it will be helpful.
Best regard,
Amy
Thank you Trephena, Mr Hammad and amy2, I’m really grateful to all three of you for taking the time to reply to my query. I’m considering the precious advices you provided and will surely get back to you whenever needed
I understand it’s January, however I was not expecting a mentorship immediately, all I was expecting was a reply whether or not they are interested to become my mentor in the near future. However, as you advised I shall contact other mentors as well.
@ Mr Hammad, will it be possible for you to provide me a few mentors within the range of £100 to £150?
@amy2, how much Mr. Ali Farooq charge for the mentorship fee?Once again thank u very much.
As any advertisement is not allowed by OT, so i am messaging you mentors.
Regards,
Hammad Ahmed Qureshi.I have always implied that when selecting a mentor it is ‘horses for courses’ in other words different people have different needs and some mentors are definitely more experienced than others.
Whilst I maintain that it should not cost more than GBP 300 for a basic service it might be worth doing that for a really good mentorwho has an excellent track record (high pass rate, few if any ACO student cases) who is likely to help you pass first time. Remember a resubmission is nearly another GBP 200 for the resubmission fee and also means a delay in getting the degree (and you can only ever get a C grade) so using the services of a cheap but inefficient mentor is sometimes not the wisest choice.
Students should contact mentors from the list to discuss prices not do so on our forum. (I suggest too that they ensure there is a clause in the contract that if the mentor is removed from OBU’s list prior to submission they can get their money back because where mentors have assisted in plagiarism -and apparently OBU considers several have – they will be banned from operating as mentors)
And if of course you are submitting for the 3rd time and obviosly need to pass you might need a more specialist service relating to a critical review. This is where an experienced mentor would mark and comment on the RAP like the actual marker and requires a mentor who has mentored for at least about 5 years and has a pass rate of at least 80%. Such personal service because it involves very advanced mentoring skills and a great deal of time is never going to come cheap.
Hi Trephena, I have read your post after my answer, my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused. I was not supposed to discuss prices on this forum.
Hi @Nzeadall,
You should personally inquire them and shop.
Please visit the link below to search for the following Mentor by name:
Adrian Tan (Singapore) https://learningluminarium.com/
Anna Lishman (United Kingdom)
Ali Farooq (United State of America)https://www.oxfordbrookesmentoring.co.uk/mentors/view/list
Don’t forget to request a free career counseling class If you plan to go abroad. They can really advise you.
Good luck!!!.
Warm Regards,
AmyThank you again Trephena, Mr Hammad and amy2 for your responses and advices. I’m really grateful for that.
@ Mr Hammad thank you also for the mail I’ve received though I cannot reply directly on it.
I went through the link you provided and found it very useful.Thank you very much
@nzeadall you welcome 🙂
You should consult a mentor by logging on to the OBU mentoring website and using the system there to contact a listed mentor in the first instance. However, i have inbox you my detail.
https://www.oxfordbrookesmentoring.co.uk/
Mentors cannot post their email addresses or contact details on the Open Tuition website as this is against their Rules.
Kindly visit the below mentioned website and get full detail about registered Mentor and read pg 18
https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/ACCA_Global/Students/bsc/IP2015-16.pdf
or register here as a mentee and contact with mentor
https://www.oxfordbrookesmentoring.co.uk/Before attending first meeting with your project Mentor, Kindly read an important areas of BSc info pack 2015/2016, make a list of questions and try to develop research skills. I am pretty sure He/she guides you well.
Regards,
Ali Farooq
OBU Registered MentorHere are a couple of really useful links to OFFICIAL OBU Facebook pages (students should be aware that many of those claiming to be connected to the University are not -these however are)
The first may be especially useful for students as there are further links to video presentations made by senior markers and moderators so you will be getting accurate, invaluable and reliable advice including on choosing a topic, doing a presentation and avoiding plagiarism
https://m.facebook.com/OBUMentorship/
The second may be useful to mentors (as opposed to students) as it is linked to those who manage the OBU mentoring website.
Great answers from both Trephena and Ali.
What we would like to contribute is just a gentle point that the more prepared a student is, the more time and energy there will be to discuss the really important things within the RAP.
For example, how to conduct solid financial analysis or how to give both sides of an issue and conclude on which holds the most persuasion.Some students do not read the information pack at all and use the meetings to discuss small points like Harvard referencing system. While mentors will always be happy to help in that, students miss out the chance to discuss more critical issues.
So get well prepared and you will gain real value from your meetings! 🙂
Sending our best wishes,
The Learning Luminarium
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