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 be able to organise your studies so that you can follow a level 2 module in one subject directly with the level 3 module in that subject area without leaving a year’s gap.
We did...
We have now relaxed the requirement within the broad and chemistry pathways in Natural Sciences (Q64) to enable level 3 study in any order and are working with the Student Support Team to provide the appropriate advice and guidance as regards study order.
Life, Health and Chemical Sciences
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You said...
You wanted information on compulsory projects for MSc qualifications.
We did...
Project information is available and accessible for MSc project modules S810 and SXM810. Students on the new MSc in Mental Health Science will need to successfully complete S826 (Stage 1) and SD816 (Stage 2) before being eligible to register for SXH810. These stages complete in July 2018, and the project module commences in November 2018, so there will be plenty of opportunity over the three-month summer break period to plan ahead for the project.
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You said...
As well as providing preparatory materials and study advice to support your next module, you suggested that modules might provide a targeted list of relevant OpenLearn material or MOOCS.
We did...
The majority of modules have now developed preparatory materials. Within the School we are working on a number of Badged Open Courses (BOCS) delivered via OpenLearn that may be interest as optional study between modules and will support our modules. In relation to our master’s programmes, the University has developed a BOC on “Succeeding in postgraduate study” which is designed to help students with the transition from UG to PG study.
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You said...
You are frustrated with the timeliness of delivery of Print on Demand.
We did...
Whilst this is outside of our direct control we will continue to push for this to be as soon as possible on modules where this is offered.
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You said...
We should consider the introduction of a student buddy scheme.
We did...
We are piloting this scheme for the October (17J) presentations of our chemistry modules, S215 and S315 and if successful will roll this out on other modules.
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You said...
You welcome opportunities to gain practical experience but would like more information on laboratory schools and field trips to be more up front. You also asked whether some sort of ‘badging’ might be possible.
We did...
We will try to ensure that schools are advertised as early as possible together with dates, timing and costs as well as providing module tutors with information on the schools so that they can answer queries. While the schools will appear in your academic transcripts we are also working with the OU Knowledge Media Institute (KMI) to see whether some sort of ‘badging’ for laboratory skills is possible.
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You said...
You would like more help in planning your study and module choices.
We did...
We have launched a new Open qualifications website which includes around 40 subject advisory routes, a forum to discuss modules, and signposting to taster material. We are also involved in discussions around possibilities for introducing a qualification planning tool for all students.
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You said...
You are finding it difficult to navigate the new qualification website and in particular, access your Open qualifications forum.
We did...
We have fed back your concerns to the team responsible for making changes to the website to help inform any future changes or developments. We are also looking at ways to help students navigate the Open qualifications site better, including the inclusion of a ‘quick start’ guide and specific advice around finding and saving forums to the student dashboard. We are discussing this with the team responsible for the design of the website and are looking at ways to try and make this link more prominent on the home page.
Open QualificationsPosted on:
You said...
You are not all aware of the resources available from the careers service.
We did...
We have hosted an Adobe Connect session specifically for Open degree students around how to describe an Open degree to an employer. The recording and transcript for this session are now available on the Open qualifications website and we plan to repeat a similar session in 2018it as an annual event. Other resources relating to careers and employability, specifically for students on Open qualifications, are also available on the Open qualifications website and we will explore ways of promoting these resources to students via StudentHome.
Open QualificationsPosted on:
You said...
The way modules are assessed is too complicated.
We did...
We introduced simpler assessment strategies where possible, allowing you to more easily monitor your marks in order to enable you to keep an eye on your final module result.
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