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.
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...
Students were asked for their feedback on building in Activity Weeks (weeks designed to offer different ways for students to study and engage with one another within the study guide). The vision was for this to be a collaborative space and use on wikis. We offered students alternatives about what this might best look like.
We did...
Student feedback was enthusiastic about the use of wikis and unanimous that they found it most intuitive to move from the module site into wikis for each activity, rather than base the weeks wholly within wiki spaces. Students have been able to navigate these weeks as evidenced by some great engagement, including a student-generated poster session in May.
Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport
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You said...
Students advised, through surveys and interviews linked to scholarship, how and in what ways Microsoft Office365 OneNote can be useful in supporting personal development planning (PDP) as an ePortfolio tool.
We did...
We now offer Microsoft Office365 OneNote templates for students to adopt and adapt (including advice for Mac Users), and activities within our modules which link to these templates should students want to use them. The activities similarly work if other ePortfolios or mechanisms for personal development planning are needed. Student/peer PDP coaches have been able to exemplify how they use OneNote.
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You said...
You want to be able to apply to extend the time limits for a qualifying law degree during your studies, instead of having to wait until the completion of their last module.
We did...
We changed the regulations governing the LLB to enable students to apply to extend the time limits at any point during their studies, so they no longer need to wait until the complete the degree.
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You said...
Students starting their studies at level one feel isolated due to the distance learning nature of OU studies
We did...
We introduced a pilot peer mentoring project for students starting their first law module in February 2020, Students who asked to be part of the project were placed in small groups with a peer student mentor who had completed the module in the last 2 years. The groups could meet online or communicate through a forum.
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You said...
Scholarship highlighted isolation as one of the key issues affecting students at the Open University. We considered that this is likely to be exacerbated by the lock-down.
We did...
We arranged a digital coffee morning as an informal space where students can 'meet' virtually and have a social chat with one another. This is arranged across the law school programme so students have the opportunity to discuss issues across different modules, compare and contrast study etc. This was the second digital coffee morning we have arranged in the last 2 months. At the first digital coffee morning we asked students what was the most difficult three things they found about OU study and almost all students mentioned isolation as one of these three things.
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You said...
The word count explanation on page 12 is 'hidden' a little, perhaps could have been more clear.
We did...
We have tightened up the wording of some of the TMA questions to provide greater clarity about word counts.
AccessPosted on:
You said...
Unfortunately, the tutor group forum was not used very much, although our tutor did attempt to get discussions going on several occasions.
We did...
We are hosting a workshop on effective tutor group forum use at our annual conference for Access tutors. We have also improved our guidance to Access tutors about the purpose of the TGFs and how often they should check/post to the forum.
AccessPosted on:
You said...
It's not always clear what recordings of online learning events are available or where to find them.
We did...
We have committed to ensure that key information is visible and readily accessible to students at the beginning of the module. In addition, a university-wide policy on tutorial recording is in preparation.
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You said...
The content and/or purpose of learning events is not always clearly explained in advance.
We did...
Module teams have been directed to make use of module-wide forums to publicise further details about learning events in a timely fashion throughout the module.
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You said...
Adobe Connect sessions cannot exactly replicate face-to-face events, so content and delivery sometimes need to be considered differently.
We did...
Several projects on this subject are currently underway within the school. These are looking at issues such as the accessibility of online learning events for students with disabilities and what kinds of teaching work on Adobe Connect. The results will be used to inform teaching practise across the Arts and Humanities curriculum. Additional training for effective online teaching is also being put in place for our Associate Lecturers.
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