Flexibility (or lack of) at the Open University I'm thinking of doing a maths degree at the Open University. This course 

"BSc (Honours) Mathematics" 

The problem is, I'm expected to do the most basic of courses, starting with "Discovering Mathematics" 

http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/qualifications/details/mu123?orig=Q31

Considering I have 


BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
MSc in Microwaves and Optoelectronics 
PhD in Medical Physics


this seems a bit of a waste of my time and money. Unfortunately I got my Ph.D in 1999, so whilst the OU permit "credit transfer", they will not count the Ph.D, or any earlier degrees. 

I did their online test to see if I was ready for the next course "Essential Mathematics 1", and got every single answer correct. You have to select what your highest qualification was, and there was HNC/HND, but no choice of any sort of degree. Doing "Discovering Mathematics", which is said to be "Introduces and helps integrate key ideas from statistics, algebra, geometry and trigonometry into your everyday thinking to build your confidence in learning and using mathematics." really is a waste of my time and money. 

I have telephoned, and asked about this credit transfer, and I was told there's no flexibility - the fact my last degree was more than 16 years ago, means it does not count. 

I run an engineering company, doing fairly advanced maths. In fact, the reason I want to do the degree is that my maths is not good enough for some of the things I wish to do. But it is certainly much better than needed for a really basic course called "Discovering Mathematics"

Has anyone had any success in negotiating credit transfer after more than 16 years? 

Results of doing their test to see if I'm ready for Essential mathematics 1 (MST124)
I don't have the commenting functionality available, so will have to put this as an answer. 

To be honest, given your background, I think the whole degree will be a waste of your time. I took essential math 1 and 2 two years ago, both are very easy and highly superficial. They claim to teach advanced material but in reality only go through very few and very basic examples in each, so in the end you don't really learn anything. I got like 100% in essential math 1 and 95% in essential math 2 and learned nearly nothing. You'd be better served by buying a good calculus book and studying it. 

And more directly to your question - it is possible to negotiate with them directly. I was allowed to take essential math 1&amp;2 simultaneously because I needed that background for sth else and couldn't wait a year. You just need to email their support team and explain your circumstances.