Ask HN: Open university in the eyes of US grad schools and industries?

I recently attempted to my on back to school. Universities wouldn’t take me for a multitude of reasons and I can’t afford Community College (even with in state tuition I’m paying nearly what a 4 year degree would cost me here) I’m looking at Open University now, which seems a miles more affordable and I could probably complete in a non-obscene timeframe.

However for the specific degree/industry I’m targeting they don’t really have a program. They do have programs that may allow me to apply to Masters programs in the field.

However I don’t know how Open University is seen by US schools or Companies. The name has a certain ring to it that makes me think “unaccredited for-profit that preys on non traditional students” even if I personally don’t think that way about it. Also open admission is a red flag (again not my personal opinion, just one I’ve seen enough discussion around)

Note: for the record and to avoid unrelated discussion, I’m not looking at a CS degree.