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.
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 more exam preparation assistance, in particular practice quizzes, sample solutions, more sample exams with solutions and advice on exam technique.
We did...
As part of a review, resources for examination preparation will be considered together with individual support on modules.
Mathematics and Statistics
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You said...
Diagnostic quizzes were welcome but it was felt that they should be more prominent. They were particularly valued at the start of study and between levels when prior knowledge from another area was required.
We did...
We have placed all these quizzes in a more prominent place on the new subject site. In addition we will remind students about these resources through news items on the subject site. We are hopeful that there will be an IT solution in place to provide links to these quizzes from Module Chooser.
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You said...
The 'Revise & Refresh' website was a useful resource for students registered to study Essential Mathematics (MST124), and other Modules, but the website needed to be more prominent.
We did...
A Revise and Refresh for MST224 was created in summer 2017, and that will soon be broadened out in order to help students going onto other modules after MST124. There are also plans to develop a Revise and refresh for MST210 / M208 and level 3. All these resources are now hosted on the Mathematics and Statistics subject site and we have been doing much to ensure that it, and the Revise and refresh resources within it, are promoted to students at every appropriate opportunity.
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You said...
Quizzes, video clips and applets (in that order) were welcome and it would be good to have exercise booklets or additional exercises available in more modules than was currently the case.
We did...
We will incorporate such tools and exercise booklets into modules where appropriate as modules are refreshed.
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You said...
With regard to employability, what was of utmost importance was the actual mathematics skills rather than generic study skills. Quite a number of students expressed the opinion that the assessment of employability skills should be optional, but given the compulsory nature of these activities more people were in favour of report-writing and team work over the more generic skills which were assessed at level 1. There was general dislike of the assessment of these skills at level 1, however it was felt that it would be useful to have guidance in how to turn skills, such as analysing problems into notable points for a CV. Optional career advice would be helpful. Modules were successful at linking material to the real world, with M249 being cited as an example.
We did...
We will strengthen the advice and links with the OU Careers and Employability Services and any generic advice on employability skills. The SUCCEED section of the Mathematics and Statistics subject site contains extensive resources relevant to careers and employability. We have reviewed which specific skills are important for each module and amended the module assessment strategies accordingly. This process will continue as modules are refreshed and updated.
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You said...
Face-to-face tutorials were strongly preferred to online (with the request for more face-to-face tutorials at level 3). For face-to-face tutorials it would be useful to have a mixture of longer and shorter tutorials, with online tutorials being recorded. Tutorials with interaction were better than lectures. The value of face-to-face tutorials, particularly at level 3, was also noted in the NSS comments.
We did...
Our aim is to preserve face-to-face tutorial provision and try to provide a mixture of short and longer tutorials as appropriate and each module team reviews the tutorial provision each year. In addition the majority of modules. both undergraduate and postgraduate, have screencasts which supplement the module material and synchronous tutorial provision. The mathematics and statistics AL staff development group organised a series of Adobe Connect training for mathematics and statistics ALs to develop skills in delivering interactive online tutorials through the new software.
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You said...
MU123/intensive start MU123 was praised in terms of the written material, video clips, quizzes and study planner, and tutors and registration staff. Whilst some students felt that MU123 might set students up to fail given the steep learning curve following the completion of this module, this was countered by a number others who had started with MU123 which had been at the right level for them and who were now doing well at level 2. Some students objected to being made to study level 1 modules when they felt they could have started at a higher level and suggested that students should be allowed to study modules at a higher level, or be given a reduced fee for level 1 modules.
We did...
We aim to strengthen advice to students regarding the starting point at level 1, both in terms of starting with MU123 and the intensive start. Currently there is no move to relax the regulation for 120 credits at each level, however the Board of Studies has been given permission to grant exceptional permission for students who are unhappy with the free choice slot and want to count down a level 2 or 3 module.
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You said...
The student consultation forum highlighted the Undergraduate mathematics and statistics website as the most useful place to find information.
We did...
Using your feedback to make it even more useful. The new Mathematics and Statistics Support Team will be reviewing its communication framework and look to incorporate the suggestion that emails are sent at appropriate times of the year signposting students to the relevant parts of the UG M&S website. The School of Mathematics and Statistics and the SST will work together to provide this information, with the possibility of moving this to the replacement for the Qualifications online site if this provides a suitable platform.
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