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 liked face-to-face tutorials and would like them to continue, but there often is not enough coverage to make attendance easy and they often have low attendance. You suggested day schools might make a more attractive option.
We did...
We will continue to offer a mix of face-to-face and online tutorials, and continue to monitor attendance data to inform our tuition strategy. We are considering the possibility of larger events where more than one mathematics or statistics tutorial is held at the same time and in the same place. We had added information about the value of attending tutorials to all our module websites and will continue to encourage attendance.
Mathematics and Statistics
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You said...
Online tutorials are convenient but are often more limited than face-to-face events.
We did...
We will continue to support tutors in making the most of the available online systems and developing appropriate teaching skills. We will continue to investigate what works best for online tutorials.
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You said...
That you appreciated the support given by the Student Support Team, but sometimes have problems getting the advice needed.
We did...
We will continue to ensure the School of Mathematics and Statistics works closely with the Student Support Team to ensure there is good two-way communication.
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You said...
You would like better signposting to appropriate library resources.
We did...
We are working to enhance the links between the Mathematics and Statistics Subject Site and the Library to better highlight relevant texts.
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You said...
That you would like forums to be at the module level, not split into smaller groups.
We did...
All module forums, including level 1, are now module-wide.
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You said...
You would like generic (year independent) study calendars to help your planning.
We did...
We have made these available on the Mathematics and Statistics Subject Site.
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You said...
You liked studying from books.
We did...
We will continue to make the case for relevant modules to have printed books. There are no plans to move away from books in mathematics and statistics.
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You said...
You would like to be able to study MST210 before M208.
We did...
We have removed the restriction on this study order.
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You said...
Smaller sessions, especially tutor-group sessions, are better suited to working through activities, asking questions and ‘interactivity’. Larger sessions have their place in clarifying concepts and synthesizing information, drawing out the more important points. A mixture of types of session is needed. Frequent tutorials are beneficial.
We did...
We recommended to the level 3 physics re-write module team to maintain a mix of tutor-group tutorials and module-wide tutorials. We are encouraging ALs to deliver more interactivity in their tutorials. We abandoned plans to dispose of tutor-group tutorials in the current level 3 modules. We will promote the concept of recorded “lectures”, with a separate live question and answer session. Posted on:
You said...
There is a need for both online lectures and also more informal, interactive, small-group sessions. The purpose of the sessions should be clear. Activities within online sessions need to be well thought out and authentic. Small-group sessions should be opportunities for students to try out ideas, explaining and problem solving.
We did...
We will design future modules with a mix of both types of online events. We will develop guidance notes for ALs with suggestions on how to best deploy interactivity in a tutorial setting. Posted on:
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