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...
You value insights into how Arts and Humanities alumni progressed their careers, and would like to see the range of student stories in the Study website extended.
(Employability provision in the Arts and Humanities)
We did...
Three sets of student stories are already available on this page of the Arts and Humanities subject site:
- Student stories and OU alumni Q&As: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=207009&cmid=1611061
- PhD student lecturer Q&As: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=207009&cmid=1843291
Student Consultations
Posted on:
You said...
You want to know what employers are looking for in Arts and Humanities graduates
(Employability provision in the Arts and Humanities)
We did...
There is already a substantial amount of material on this topic available on the OU’s Careers and Employability Service website: Careers and employability | Help Centre | The Open University
However, we agree that it would be valuable to hear directly from a range of employers about what they value in Arts and Humanities graduates.
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You said...
You would welcome opportunities to network with people already employed in the career areas that interest you.
We did...
Virtual careers events with employers and students are already run on the IVent platform: Events (open.ac.uk)
IVent has live networking area, where students can interact directly with other students as well as employers.
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You said...
You would welcome additional help with creating tailored searches and alerts in the Opportunity Hub.
We did...
This is useful feedback and we agree that these refinements would be very helpful to students. We will ask our employer engagement team to explore how the use of search criteria in the Opportunity Hub can be made more effective and focussed for Arts and Humanities students.
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You said...
You would like to see more employability resources catering explicitly for career changers and mature students.
We did...
We will explore how best to provide self-help material designed specifically for students planning to change their careers. • Work on this to begin in autumn 2021, with the release of some initial resources in 2022.
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You said...
You were not aware of the full range of employability resources available via the ‘Succeed’ tab in the Arts and Humanities Study website.
Employability provision in the Arts and Humanities.
We did...
• We will add links to the Arts and Humanities Study website, where our employability resources live, in the first and last weeks of module study planners and under the ‘resources’ tab on module websites. • The existence and character of Arts and Humanities employability resources will be flagged up more clearly in the various ‘enhancing your career’ forum threads on run on discipline forums and on module welcome forums. • When new Arts and Humanities employability resources are made available, news items and forum postings on module websites will be used to alert students
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You said...
Clearer prompts are needed to engage with PDP elements and FutureYOU, where modules and qualifications include these.
We did...
PDP (personal development planning) is embedded in many of our newer modules and we will continue with that approach. However, we accept that FutureYOU, whilst receiving excellent feedback from those who use it, is not visible enough and most students do not therefore get the benefit of it. • We will ‘map’ more of our modules to FutureYOU, meaning that it will offer more specific examples of which parts of modules relate to particular transferable skills • We will add links to FutureYOU in the first and last weeks of study planners on module websites, along with a brief explanation of what is and what it is for. • The existence and value of FutureYOU will be flagged up more clearly in careers and employability-related threads on the Arts and Humanities discipline forums.
Posted on:
You said...
You would welcome additional help with creating tailored searches and alerts in the Opportunity Hub
Employability provision in the Arts and Humanities.
We did...
This is useful feedback and we agree that these refinements would be very helpful to students. We will ask our employer engagement team to explore how the use of search criteria in the Opportunity Hub can be made more effective and focussed for Arts and Humanities students.
Posted on:
You said...
You want help to get used to Adobe Connect, and for your online tutorials to be slicker.
We did...
To address these issues, we have introduced Adobe Connect orientation sessions at the start of level 1 and have signposted self-help resources on later level 1 modules. You will find these resources here: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=207009&cmid=1543363. Tutors benefit from a good deal of general Adobe Connect training already, but we have added to that by running extra training for them in using it to teach their own discipline.
Arts and Humanities
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You said...
Many modules ask students to switch back and forth between print and online materials several times in each unit. This can be disorienting and off-putting.
We did...
We recognise the difficulties here. Since 2019 new modules have followed a simpler format: start online, move to a print chapter, and then finish online. We are also encouraging modules undergoing midlife review to consider making changes which will facilitate a better study pattern between print and online. We hope that this approach will make it easier for students to study in this blended way.
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