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...
Students would like to see a review of the year, to know what has been achieved. Students feel a published report on what was done, as well as minutes and reviews of discussions that have taken place would be helpful. [November 2017]
We did...
The Association creates an annual report to the Open University's Council in line with the academic year. We have published an informal snapshot of some of the Association's activities in 2017 in the format of the ’12 days of the Association’ that includes some text from the annual report. You can also view Central Executive Committee reports on oustudents.com to see what individual members of the student leadership team have achieved.
OU Students Association
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You said...
You asked for more social events on campus hosted by Post Graduate Research students. [December 2017]
We did...
In collaboration with the OU Graduate School Network, we have supported Postgraduate Research students to organise the first ever PubhD event for Open University and Cranfield University students, held at the Walton Hall campus in Milton Keynes. This provides much needed social and relaxation time for our busy research students, as well as an opportunity to present and discuss their doctoral projects. We are continuing conversations with the PGR student society, and hope to continue to strengthen our engagement.
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You said...
Assessment: You said that you found EMAs intimidating, especially at the end of level 1 modern languages modules, and many of you dropped out before EMAs.
We did...
We have amended our assessment strategy and all of our level 1 modules are now only assessed through TMAs marked by your own tutors.
Languages and Applied Linguistics
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You said...
Study preference: You said that you prefer to study language by language rather than studying stage by stage but this option needs to be better signposted.
We did...
We have planned to fully redesign our qualification / subject website in 2018, and we will feature this information more prominently.
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You said...
Concurrent study and assessment: You said that when you study more than one module, especially at level 1, you feel under pressure when there are clashes of TMA or EMA dates.
We did...
We have started a review of our assessment calendars across all level 1 modules and drawn a plan of actions to provide better support to students taking several modules concurrently. The Student Support Team (SST) has planned proactive phone calls to students enrolled on concurrent modules to discuss study plans and potential issues of TMA deadline clashes.
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You said...
Concurrent study and tutorials: You said that clashes in tutorial dates on different modules meant you had to choose which to attend when you study more than one module.
We did...
We have amended module tutorial strategies and revised our group tuition provision, changing the number and size of tutorial clusters to address the issue of tutorial clashes and offering more options and more flexibility to students.
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You said...
Advice about module choice: You said that you would like to have more sample materials available online to help with module choices (across the OU).
We did...
We are developing online sample materials and modern languages diagnostic tools to help you choose the right module. We are also revising our Information and Guidance document to better support advisors with your queries.
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You said...
Exploring languages and cultures (L161): You said that not all of the content of L161 is relevant to all students.
We did...
We have introduced real-time feedback surveys on the L161 website which allow for recommendations to be made about more personalised pathways through the module materials.
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You said...
Vivace - intermediate Italian (L150): You said that working with a DVD-ROM was impractical as many computers are no longer fitted with DVD-ROM players.
We did...
We have transferred all the DVD-ROM activities to the module website without loss of any functionality to the audio-visual interactive material.
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You said...
Exploring English grammar (E304): You said that you needed more support with the use of the module corpus tool.
We did...
We have run a corpus tool online forum moderated by a specialist AL to provide help on the module website. We have also briefed and trained ALs and IT helpdesk staff to ensure that they are more confident and can provide more advice to students.
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