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...
Clearer prompts are needed to engage with personal development planning and FutureYOU, where modules and qualifications include these.
We did...
PDP is embedded in many of our newer modules, and we will continue with that approach. We will add links to FutureYOU on module website study planners, along with a brief explanation of what is and what it is for. The value of FutureYOU will be explained in careers and employability-related threads on the Arts and Humanities discipline forums.
Arts and Humanities
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You said...
You would welcome opportunities to network with people already employed in the career areas that interest you.
We did...
Virtual careers events with employers and students are already run on the IVent platform: OpportunityHub Login (open.ac.uk) IVent has a live networking area, where students can interact directly with other students as well as employers.
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You said...
You are interested in voluntary opportunities, as well as paid work experience.
We did...
The Opportunity Hub promotes both paid and voluntary opportunities, including virtual internships, traineeships, work experience opportunities. We will explain the value of the Opportunity Hub more clearly in careers and employability-related threads on the Arts and Humanities discipline forums.
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You said...
You are particularly interested in opportunities for home-based work experience.
We did...
Advice on approaches to finding home-based opportunities for paid and volunteer work are available on the website of the OU’s Careers and Employability Service.
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You said...
Named qualifications such as MSc Cyber security were preferred to designations such as MSc Computing (Information security and forensics) because content is more obvious to employers.
We did...
The introduction of the MSc in Cyber Security was a result of consultation and reviewing current market trends. This launched Autumn 2020.
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You said...
Very high word counts expected for M816 assessments.
We did...
The word count expectations have been reviewed and reduced on M816.
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You said...
MSc Advanced networking – update knowledge and skills in fast changing environment.
We did...
The currency of the Advanced Networking curriculum is currently being addressed by replacing a number of 30 credit modules with a new 60 credit module (T829 Advanced Networking (CCNP Enterprise) launching in November 2021).
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You said...
Lack of tutorials on Postgraduate modules
We did...
Briefings are being trialled which are two-part briefings (Part 1 is a brief outline of the programme and an introduction to PG study, Part 2 is module specific). EMA/Exam briefings are also being trialled. The future of these briefings will depend on the evaluation of these briefings which will evaluate the success rate and attendance levels of the briefings before rolling out further
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You said...
”We would like to have more control over when we conduct our practical engineering work using the home experiment kits.”
We did...
Both of the T176 and T276 modules have been reconfigured with use of the home experiment kits spread more evenly across the module study calendar and with a greater degree of freedom when the practical work is completed.
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You said...
”We would like to better understand what modules are about before signing up to them” (from 19/20 QME - Student Consultative Forum on support before and between modules; also feedback from Student Support Team).
We did...
We have continued adding “Are you ready for?” quizzes to more and more of our modules on the Module Chooser site, as well as creating content on the Subject Sites under the heading “Discover your module”. These now provide a comprehensive set of taster materials and background information about our modules and informing students in their qualification progression. A student postcard has also been developed for Design students to help plan qualification study.
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