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’d like more advice on careers choices and taking your next steps
We did...
Our new modules (e.g. S290) include ‘Employability insights’ and other resources, including ‘top tips’, prepared with the help of representatives from lots of different careers
Life, Health and Chemical Sciences
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You said...
That the transition to the OU from a brick University was difficult as there were so many things to get used to about the OU.
We did...
Working with experienced OU students, we have developed new advice available on the Science Study site to help students who are new to distance learning and the OU.
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You said...
You would find it helpful to know more about what the tools used within EE830, a stage 1 module within the Masters programme could be used for and practically how to use them.
We did...
We produced three videos about blogging/using your OU blog, using OpenStudio and using wikis and host these on our Masters Subject Site for reference at any point during study of the MA
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You said...
You wanted more live sessions about topics covered in the module(s).
We did...
We have just launched our first Learning and Teaching seminar series for 2021-2022 with four seminars which will be co-led by module team chairs, tutors and students discussing
a) who decides on the curriculum
b) learning and teaching in response to the pandemic
c) assessment, agency and identity and d) preparing for the dissertation module.
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You said...
You needed support with developing personal branding on social media accounts and profiles for career progression as well as tips to help better manage your digital well being.
We did...
Changes made include:
A) Developed new interactive networking webniars which look at creating Linked In profiles and use social media for career advancement.
B) Encouraged Careers Consultants to discuss digital health and mental wellbeing in all career consultations.
C) Encouraged students to support each other by discussing these topics in our Career Cafe forum - an informal space for students to get together to talk about alll things career related.
Careers and Employability
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You said...
The Facebook format is not the most effective way to give feedback on specific issues, particularly for neurodiverse students'. Facebook Live Chat would be more useful for general information gathering rather than for posing specific questions for comment.
Careers and Employability event during Student Voice Week 2020
We did...
For Student Voice Week 2021 there has been more consideration of formats taking into account target audience and their needs. Facebook Live Chat is not being used this year and focus groups, which have had positive feedback have taken priority.
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You said...
You value single honours, named degrees and would welcome a new named degree in Geology/Earth Science
We did...
The BSc Geology (R53) was formally approved earlier this year and students may already sign up for it (or transfer across from their current qualification).
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You said...
You commented that students need to feel part of an online community to engage in collaborative work.
Life, Health and Chemical Sciences
We did...
Over the last year, we have been developing ways to make students feel part of our online community by offering several different monthly events, primarily through the Science study website. We have asked module teams to explore with tutors icebreaker/get to know your group activities early in presentation.
Some module teams are also exploring further module team engagement for non-TMA discussions and guest lectures. It is great to hear how much you enjoyed the Chemistry Online Summer School and we plan to expand the offering in 2021 to include experiments for both biology and health science students.
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You said...
Some of the most intense learning occurred when you met with other students to discuss an assignment or test. Could there be some 'halfway house' in enabling co-operative work during some assessment, such as an open forum to discuss a past year's paper or TMA.
Life, Health and Chemical Sciences
We did...
We will pilot provision of student rooms on one or two further modules, facilitating student-led discussion of past assessment-type problems for the 21J (October 2021) presentations.
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You said...
You would like to see more notifications/alerts reminding students via study planners/websites of weekly collaborative activity requirements (plus option to switch off for those already working on the task) to improve overall student engagement with collaborative working.
Life, Health and Chemical Sciences
We did...
We will explore with module teams how best to add prompts and reminders for collaborative tasks on their module websites, and ensure they have a clear activity checklist. We will review notification alerts and check lists for collaborative activities ahead of 21J (October 2021) presentations.
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United Kingdom and online
At home / online
