You Said, We Did
How your voice has made a difference
This page provides an opportunity to see the valuable feedback received from students across a wide range of communication channels, and to see what the OU has done in response.
Please note this video is now a couple of years old so some people no longer have the same title. The current Students Association leadership can be seen on their website.
Choose a topic from the drop-down list below to see how students can have an impact on their university experience and be empowered to help shape the University. Next time you are asked to give your opinion, you know that the OU is taking this feedback seriously and will respond.
You said...
Communication strategies that recognise that not all students are ‘natural engagers’ and may value a range of channels. This could include a tutorial-type activity.
We did...
It is recognised that due to the vast number of OU students, there is no one method of communicating with students. When information is sent out all channels (email, social media, and signposting to / from website, post and mail) are utilised. We are committed to ensuring that students who do not use social media are able to access equivalent information through our website and via email. We also offer a mailing list for student who prefer to receive a digest of news via a monthly email.
OU Students Association
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You said...
There is confusion about how the Students Association and academic representation works with excessive jargon and initialisms, which doesn’t encourage engagement
We did...
We are aware of the confusing terminology, and this is outlined in our strategy as to remove the jargon from our roles and role descriptions. We understand that due to the complex nature of a lot of the Academic Representation related work the overall message about what we are doing and achieving can be lost. We are looking to produce clearer resources and content in the future, which includes the launch this year of the student voice bulletin, we have produced a video based on the work of the Senate Reference Group and we utilising a Student Voice Twitter account to release bite sized and digestible bits of information that relate to our work.
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You said...
You would like a website giving details of the availability of OU online services that students could check in the event of being unable to access them.
We did...
The OU system status website is now available for all students to access which gives you live updates on our key services as well as details of any planned maintenance.
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You said...
You can't always find your way around the library website.
We did...
We worked with our student panel to make improvements to the website look and feel.
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You said...
Library Student Panel members did not always notice the email updates
We did...
We are using a much more visual, interactive communication tool.
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You said...
You want to feel part of a community.
We did...
We introduced more real-time informal learning and discussion events such as live chats through social media platforms.
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You said...
We would like teaching training provision - PRES
We did...
As a response to PRES survey, teaching training was added to Core Training programme in January 2019.
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You said...
You said you wanted to be able to tell the difference between ebooks and print books in Library Search more easily.
We did...
We have given ebooks and print books different labels in the Search results, and different filters under 'Resource types'.
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You said...
You said the new Library Search user interface was cleaner and easier to use than the old one.
We did...
We moved to the new Library Search interface in August 2018.
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You said...
You said you like to study early in the morning and late at night.
We did...
We have added training at times to suit larks and night owls with early morning and later evening sessions.
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Latest Opportunities
Student Consultation Meetings 2025 - Get involved!
United Kingdom and online
National Student Survey 2025
Online/Virtual
