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 would like to have webinars and forums aimed at preparing for the step up in academic skills at levels 2 and 3
We did...
The interactive library introductory sessions are part of helping you understand the expectations at these levels. For this year, SSGS have added library sessions for level 3 as well as level 2 and post-graduate
Social Sciences and Global Studies
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You said...
You would like to see 'Making connections' sessions, showing how one module 'fits' with others around it
We did...
The school is preparing moving on sessions for each discipline at level 2, which will highlight for level 1 students the links between the modules they have done and the level 2 modules in that discipline
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You said...
You would like to see reinforced messaging to encourage students to have conversations with their tutors
We did...
We have reinforced the importance of talking to your tutors in our messages to students who have signed up for more than 60 credits in a year We have reiterated our messages to our Associate Lecturers (tutors) about the importance of introductory messages to students and recommendations for the sort of information that should contain to emphasise that tutors are available to talk to students, including clarity around when and how they can be contacted
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You said...
You perceived discouragement for multiple module study, and you would like to see a more balanced representation of pros and cons, and issues to think about
We did...
We have consulted with Director, Student Support and Head of Student Success for this school and have put in place new prompts and approaches for student advisors to have discussions and give information to students in a neutral and no judgemental manner.
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You said...
During the pandemic I feel it has become harder and sometimes incredibly challenging to cope with the pace of study required in my module(s).
We did...
We have consistently revised our regulations to grant more flexibility in the submission of TMAs and we offered the possibility to postpone assessment without losing marks and incurring in further costs. We are constantly monitoring the situation and adapting progressively our rules to balance the need to guarantee quality of education and our commitment to support you.
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You said...
I found the workload in some of the modules particularly heavy and different across modules.
We did...
While there is a progression in the demands of modules at different levels (i.e., modules at Level 3 are more demanding than modules at Level 1 because you will have developed more skills), we are conducting a revision of our core modules in order to enhance student experience.
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You said...
that you had various well-argued views on the relative merits of remote and face-to-face exams.
We did...
feed these views into University discussions on this issue.
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You said...
that MT365 needs updating
We did...
note that the rewrite of this module (to be called Graphs, games and designs (MST368) is now starting, with a planned first presentation of October 2023.
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You said...
that you wanted a module in numerical mathematics
We did...
note that this will be included in the new module Computational applied mathematics (MST374) planned for first presentation in October 2023
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You said...
we should revise the level 1 pathways so that MST125 is studied as a last level module.
We did...
review the current pathway possibilities, with a view to updating the regulations, and updated advice to students on the Mathematics and Statistics Study Site.
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