The OU is the only well-established university running such a course, which troubles Professor David Colquhoun of University College London. "The OU's first vice-chancellor, Walter Perry, who had been professor of pharmacology in Edinburgh, must be turning in his grave over the new course," he says. "The description sounds harmless enough ['This course provides an accessible, but rigorous introduction to complementary and alternative approaches to health'], but just how rigorous is it? The tutors are mostly true believers, some of whom seem to make their living from alternative medicine."