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...
...what a potential new Master of Physics (MPhys) qualification should look like, and how this should be developed from the existing Stage 3 curriculum.
We did...
Your views and suggestions helped guide the discussions within the School of Physical Sciences and influenced the draft plans for an MPhys which will be considered further by the School and the Faculty.
Physical Sciences
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You said...
Programming skills are important for a physics-flavoured undergraduate degree and should relate to programming in the Space Science and Technology MSc. They should be taught throughout the degree, be project-based and/or embedded in activities in modules, relate to problem-solving and impart transferable skills. The use of programming and computing should be authentic and not included for its own sake.
We did...
We agree that programming skills need to be developed throughout our BSc qualifications. We have already made the first step towards this goal: the new Stage 1 module SM123 “Physics and Space” contains some basic elements of coding in the context of physics examples, using Python as the language of choice. We hope to be able to develop this further at Stages 2 and 3, possibly as part of a project. While it is true that we wish to develop generic coding skills, not the peculiarities of a particular language, one language still has to be chosen, and given its popularity, for now this will be Python. This approach is also consistent with what we heard from employers on the SEPnet (South East Physics Network) employer engagement panel.
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You said...
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) material and resources of online-only modules such as Questions in science (S111) should be made available from the start of the module.
We did...
The full suite of resources of Questions in science (S111), Physics: from classical to quantum (S217) and Practical science: physics and astronomy (SXPA288) will be made available when their respective VLE sites open.
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You said...
You struggled with the online delivery of Physics: from classical to quantum (S217).
We did...
We have improved the print-quality PDF files by imbedding QR codes so that a student who chooses to work from printed pages can benefit from faster access to the multimedia resources (notably videos, simulations, and interactive elements).
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You said...
You found the Practical science: physics and astronomy (SXPA288) Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) site difficult to navigate and some resources are difficult to locate.
We did...
We have improved the organisation of the Practical science: physics and astronomy (SXPA288) VLE. We have also updated a number of the initial activities and videos to make them more visually engaging and relevant. The project booking system has been simplified and group work has been improved with the use of Adobe Connect for team collaboration.
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You said...
The amount of material covered in TMAs of The quantum world (SM358) is too uneven.
We did...
We have revised TMA1 of The quantum world (SM358) to obtain a more balanced workload.
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You said...
…which skills you think are necessary for OU study.
We did...
We used this information to develop a skills development strategy to thread through BA (Honours) Health and Social Care (R26). This addresses both skills for study and for employment.
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You said...
You wanted a sharper focus on employability in BA (Honours) Health and Social Care (R26).
We did...
We have worked with the Careers and Employability Services to strengthen the focus on employability.
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You said...
Our modules/qualifications are not always relevant to your career development and aspirations.
We did...
We held a consultation forum on the role of skill development and study motivation in Arts & Humanities to better understand our student body and its needs. We are in contact with the OU Students Association to facilitate a focus group that will develop principles and models arising from this forum for use in modules and qualifications. This work will feed directly into the production of A111, the core introductory Level 1 module for all A&H qualifications, which will be available to study from October 2019. As an interim measure, updates have been made in consultation with the OU’s careers service to the employability pages on the Arts & Humanities qualification pages, highlighting tools and information specific to our students. These will be available to students by October 2018.
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You said...
Sometimes tutorial organisation and delivery was a major impediment to the study experience.
We did...
Module teams revised tutorial plans for the October (17J) presentation in response to specific concerns about the frequency and mode of tuition, seeking to maximise opportunities for students to access tutorials. The University’s response to last year’s organisational problems meant that booking systems were more reliable.
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