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...
The workload on some of our modules continues to be an issue.
We did...
We are developing a ‘Student Resource Portal’, where we are providing ‘quizzes’, ‘taster’ material and other resources, to support you when choosing a module and so that you know what to expect from each module. We are also trying to make it clearer, through the Portal and other means, including your Student Support Team, what prior knowledge and skills are required by modules, including where a module requires completion of another module first.
Computing and Communications
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You said...
You said you weren’t satisfied with the assessment on some level one modules.
We did...
We review our assessment every year and where possible integrate student and tutor feedback into any changes we make. As part of an OU initiative we will be reviewing our assessment in level one modules and will be removing the end of module assessment across all of our level one modules over the next few years.
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You said...
You said that you sometimes receive inconsistent study advice.
We did...
We are developing enhanced written guidance on our qualifications so that staff liaising with students can provide the most up to date information. We will also promote more widely the forums on our qualifications site where students can access academic advice and guidance directly, particularly in periods between studying modules.
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You said...
You said that you were not happy with the value for money you received from your modules.
We did...
We take this very seriously so will be doing two main things to address this. Firstly we will be exploring with you, through consultation, what parts of your modules that you are most unhappy with to add this to the vital feedback that you give us, such as through the National Student Survey (NSS). We will also be working hard to highlight the full range of services and support provided by the University beyond your modules such as the library, Students Union and the Careers and Employability Service to make sure that you can benefit from them all.
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You said...
You said that you weren’t satisfied with feedback you received.
We did...
We are going to be investigating what kind of feedback you aren’t happy with by asking you to participate in a consultative forum via StudentHome.
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You said...
Although many of us have said how much we like having the module materials available online, nearly all of us really dislike it when this is the only form we can access. We really want the main text of the teaching content to be in printed form as well.
We did...
This Board of Studies agrees that unless there are good academic reasons for providing material online only, in general students are best served by having their module texts in book form as well. We have now adopted this approach for all new modules.
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You said...
There is a need to build in more employability skills into the BA (Hons) Health and Social Care degree.
We did...
Our re-design of the BA (Hons) Health and Social Care degree will be designed to have employability skills.
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You said...
Results from the National Student Survey indicated that some students weren’t satisfied with the quality of the BA (Hons) Health and Social Care degree.
We did...
The new BA (Hons) Health and Social Care degree is being designed to provide an exciting, coherent and quality offering for our students.
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You said...
Level 1 languages EMAs are stressful, especially speaking EMAs.
We did...
From 2017, all of our level 1 modules will be assessed through continuous assessment only.
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You said...
There have been times when I have felt isolated.
We did...
On all of our level 1 modules, former students act as student buddies. They are available on the module forum to provide advice, answer questions, and encourage students to support each other.
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