Priority Areas Steering Teams Updates
At their July quarterly meeting, the Student Leadership Team set out their agenda for the work, projects and campaigns they are intending to complete during the final year of their term.
Since the July meeting, the Association has unveiled its new four-year strategy, which the Student Leadership Team were heavily involved in shaping throughout the entire first year of their term alongside the Board of Trustees and other student volunteers.
Other achievements under the SLT’s priority areas include:
Under the Representation priority area, the Students Association led an open letter campaign on student finance, which resulted in an open letter being sent to the Ministers for Education and Higher Education calling for changes to student finance eligibility requirements for part-time and distance-learning students. The letter was signed by over 50 elected student leaders from 27 different student unions/guilds/associations from across England.
Additionally, members of the Student Leadership Team communicated student frustrations during the OU’s system outage on results day and engaged in constructive dialogue around how future similar issues might be avoided.
Under the EDI and Accessibility priority area, after some initial communication challenges, there have been constructive conversations with the ND Student Network and the Association has publicly committed to improving support for neurodivergent students at the Open University.
Elsewhere, the Association, in partnership with the OU in Scotland, received a Student Mental Health Agreement (SMHA) recognition certificate from the National Union of Students Scotland’s ‘Think Positive’ project. The award was for the Student Mental Health Agreement, which is a partnership committed to promoting the mental wellbeing of all students. The Student Leadership Team would like to extend our gratitude to the previous elected student leaders and volunteers who set up this project in 2021.
Under the Communities and Engagement priority area the Association ran a series of ‘End of Year’ local meet-ups across the UK provide an opportunity for OU students to come together and celebrate the end of their modules or their result. These were delivered in difficult circumstance as many students were impacted by the Marking and Assessment Boycott.
Once again, the Association has organised an extensive programme of freshers events, including one at the Milton Keynes campus, to ensure that both new and returning students have an opportunity to learn about our services and activities, and to meet like-minded students to build communities with throughout their time with the OU. Freshers will also provide an opportunity for Tutors who were nominated in the Tutor Awards to receive their awards.
Under the Association Awareness priority area, a working group has been established to develop and improve the Association’s online magazine, The Hoot. Over the next year the group intends to create more opportunities for OU students to contribute content that appears on the site, and provide the type of content that students find valuable and entertaining.
For more information on the work being done in the Student Leadership Team’s four priority areas, please visit the Our Priorities area of the website.
SLT Approvals
OU Students Association 2023 Tutor Awards Winners and Runners-up – 17th July 2023 – This paper remains confidential until presentation of the awards.
Honorary Life Membership Nomination (August 2023) – 18th August 2023 – This paper remains confidential pending the conferment of Honorary Life Membership on the recipient.
SLT Statements and News Stories
VP EDI attended a House of Lords roundtable discussion on blended learning in Higher Education.
The Student Leadership Team responded to the system issues affecting the release of module and qualification results in July 2023.
The OU in Scotland and the OU Students Association worked in partnership to gain a Student Mental Health Agreement Certificate.
The Student Association lead a national campaign calling for greater financial support for part time and distance learners.
The OU Students Association gained an 80% positivity rating in the 2023 NSS results.
The Student Leadership Team shared the outcomes from the student issues discussed at the July SLT meeting.
An update on discussions with members of the Neurodivergent Student Network was shared following a strain in the relationship over the summer.
Laura, our Vice President Education, announced that they will be stepping down from the role following a handover to a replacement.
We said goodbye to Paul, our Scotland Representative.
An update on the ongoing University and College Union (UCU) industrial action, with good news about an end to the Marking and Assessment Boycott
Student Issues and Concerns
Concerns were raised following the technical issues faced by many students to access their module and qualification results. As part of the response, the Deputy President attended emergency response meetings with the OU, and provided input into how the OU should respond, in particular with regards their communications to students.
Multiple students have raised concerns with the software used for final assessments on the module A350. These concerns were raised with the appropriate people at the OU, and whilst a final resolution has not been reached, we have attempted to facilitate direct communications with those involved.
The Marking and Assessment Boycott being conducted by UCU has combined with other issues to produce an increased amount of Pending results this year for students. The VP Education and Deputy President have been in regular communication with Assessment, Credit and Qualification team, who release results when available. Whilst acknowledging the amount of work that is being undertaken to release results as quickly as possible, and the difficulty in overcoming challenges related to the boycott, they continue to push for results to released as quickly as possible whilst maintaining the required academic scrutiny.
Members of the team have also engaged with the Assessment, Credit and Qualification team in regard to issues relating to Graduation Ceremonies. Concerns have been shared by students in relation to:
- Availability of venues.
- Location of venues.
- Appropriate adjustments for those requiring them at ceremonies.
- The cancellation of invitations to ceremonies for some who are still waiting for qualification results.
Conversation remains ongoing on these issues.
Issues faced by students in Wales when claiming both means-tested benefits and maintenance support were raised, with a student sharing their experience that took nearly a year to resolve. The Deputy President has been working with the OU in Wales to help increase the awareness of the Special Support Grant, and has been in touch with NUS Wales and the higher education regulator in Wales to find out what else can been done on this topic.
Several students reached out to Lou (VP Engagement) about the Neurodivergent Students Club/Disabled Students Group decision. Lou fed back their concerns to the EDI team, in the hope that the situation can be clarified for these students.
A student raised with Lou that the advertising of Representative roles was listed as 'hybrid' which indicates some form of face-to-face requirement and how this stopped them from applying for the role. Lou forwarded this concern to the Volunteering & Representation Team to consider when writing role descriptions in the future, to ensure that 'hybrid' comes with a disclaimer that face-to-face elements are optional and that online alternatives are in place.
Concerns were raised with Nicola (WELS Faculty Rep) about the length of time it was taking for investigations into pending results to be resolved. Nic was going to raise this with the Faculty and the students that raised this have been contacted with further information about what is happening going forward.
A number of students raised concerns with Nicola, asking why the Peer Support Service had been withdrawn. Nic explained the reasons that this decision had been made and signposted students to the news article on the OU Students Association website that explained this further.
A student contacted Michael (VP Admin) with a concern over funding of their undergraduate studies, as well relatively little awareness of the other avenues available to them (e.g. the process of applying for OUSET). Whilst Michael provided information to the student, he will flag this at the next OUSET Board.
There were some concerns expressed by students to Natalie (VP EDI) around some of the terminology used in an advert for a workshop for Neurodivergent students. Natalie raised student concerns and the necessary amendments were made, to ensure that all students felt they were welcome.
Nigel (STEM Faculty Rep) was contacted by a STEM student who had a TMA rejected on the grounds of plagiarism. It appeared they had a good case for contesting this, so Nigel referred the student’s case to the Association’s Individual Representation service.
Nigel has been contacted by a Committee member from M500, concerned about the reduction in students attending their Revision Weekend and its long-term viability. Nigel is arranging an online meeting with the Committee member to discuss ways forward.
SLT Achievements and Priorities
Gareth attended the Researching, Advancing & Inspiring Student Engagement (RAISE) conference in Leeds as guest panel speaker. As a plenary panel member, Gareth talked about the importance of belonging in relation student success and satisfaction.
Michael, VP Admin, confirmed the OUSET Board have considered 14 applications for funding / grants in the last four weeks alone. Several were returning students who were able to demonstrate the value of their awards, including how the support of OUSA and OUSET had allowed them to progress further. Many appeared to be actively engaged, including in the student community.
Gareth took part in a series of podcasts, focussing on giving advice from current students to prospective students on being ready for university. This featured students for a wide variety of universities in Wales and can be found here.
Nigel wrote an article for the student online magazine, The Hoot, to explain the role of Student Reps on OU academic governance committees and to publicise recruitment opportunities for these roles.
Our VP Education took part in a podcast to communicate to staff the on-going work of Tuition & Assessment Reform for PVC-Students. The session generated some great debate and insights for the team to take forward.
Lou has been involved in various discussions regarding OU Societies.
Ongoing Projects
Members of the SLT and staff have been working on the production of a manifesto ahead of a probable General Election in 2024 that promotes addressing the benefits of lifelong learning and addressing the issues that face part time and distance learners.
Following the sending of an open letter to the Department of Education, and the respective Ministers that was co-signed by over 50 Student Leaders from 27 Student Unions, and the receipt of a disappointing response that does not provide any indication of addressing the issues raised, the team are committed to keeping the visibility of this issue high. They have sent this to opposition parties for consideration ahead of the expected 2024 General Election, produced an article in Wonkhe on the topic, and are exploring other ways to keep pushing the issue.
Members of the Student Leadership Team, alongside staff and Trustees, have been working hard to run the Co-option process that aims to appoint 9 new members of the Student Leadership Team. This includes 4 new/adapted roles! At the time of writing, the Co-option process is in progress, and we hope to have new colleagues in role before the quarterly meeting in October.
Our England Representative, Elizabeth, has represented students on the shortlisting and interview panel for the new Executive Dean for the Faculty of Business and Law. This followed Gareth doing the same for the new Executive Dean for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and for the new Director of the OU in Wales earlier in the summer.
The OU Business School is applying for EQUIS reaccreditation, and Elizabeth is helping them to compile the report. If successful, this means that the OU Business School will maintain its triple accreditation status.
Margaret (President) and Gareth are campaigning for the introduction of changes to the financial support that is available in England, for part-time distance learners. A letter signed by over 50 signatories from Universities across England, was submitted to the Government calling for these changes. A copy of the letter has also been published online and was reposted on Twitter on the 4 August 2023.
WELS Rep, Nicola, is collaborating with the other Faculty Reps to gather and examine evidence of the student issue raised at the SLT July meeting, about Module staff becoming less responsive to student queries. The aim is to resolve the issue that students are facing by working with the University to provide a good outcome for all and plan to feed back to students by February 2024
Our VP Engagement confirmed set-up of a Hoot Working Group, designed to revamp The Hoot. The plan is to provide better links to the Association, provide more academic related content and improve student submissions. Both by creating helpful resources to promote submissions, but also encouraging the revival of Hoot writer micro-volunteering.
Now in its 4th edition, our VP Engagement is working towards the next Hoot for SiSE students (Students in Secure Environments), and the team continue to consider student feedback in improving this.
Lou is also again leading the planning for Student Voice Week 2024, which will undergo some positive changes this year.
Our VP EDI is working with student support groups and the Association EDI team on their plans and events for Freshers. There will be a chance for all students to get involved in sessions to learn more about Equality Diversity and Inclusion and why it matters, as well as opportunities to engage with support groups and find out more about the ways in which students are supported by the Students Association
Our VP EDI is also working with the OU to support the plans for Black History Month. Black History Month runs from 1st-31st October and the 2023 focus is on 'saluting our sisters'. Black History Month is always a fantastic opportunity for us to celebrate the invaluable contribution of Black people and Natalie hopes that staff and students will get involved in the Black History Month events, to celebrate the exceptional but often overlooked work of Black women everywhere.
VP EDI is still in conversation with the OU and the OU Pride group to ensure that all Trans and Non-Binary students are supported and feel safe at the OU.
Last year Nigel organised a series of Maths MSc Colloquia in the format of a MSc student presentation on a topic of interest, followed by a Q&A session. Nigel plans to revive the series for the coming academic year, (volunteers willing), and publicise it for undergraduates also.
SLT Social Media Conversations
Gareth shared news that the Co-option process to fill vacant roles on the Student Leadership Team had opened.
Margaret tweeted on 26th July, to raise awareness of the drop-in sessions available for those students who may need advice after receiving their results.
Gareth agreed with Wonkhe Associate Editor, Jim Dickinson that support for part-time and distance learners is ‘patently unfair’.
On 2 September, Margaret posted on X (prev Twitter) about why she loves studying with the OU, and the ability to study anywhere. The tweet included a picture of her laptop set against a camp site background.
Gareth shared a Hoot Article, highlighting one student struggle with, and victory against, unfair practices relating to maintenance support for students in Wales also on means-tested benefits.
Lou's video promoting the co-option process, has created a lot of student interest and positive comments.
Gareth celebrated the amazing NSS results that showed the OU Students Association having a 80% positivity rating and paid tribute to the student representatives who give up their time to make a difference for OU Students.
Margaret re-posted the advertisement regarding co-option opportunities and wrote about how glad she was to take the leap and put herself forward for the role of the President during the elections.
The President, Margaret, and Deputy President, Gareth, shared their Wonkhe blog on the need for better equity in financial support for part-time and distance learners in England.
Margaret re-posted a tweet on 5th August, posing the question “Would you be able to spot an OU student?”.
Gareth shared good luck messages to students awaiting results ahead of the big results period in July.
Margaret posted again on the 18th August, to wish everyone “Good Luck” when they receive their results. Also reminded students no matter what the results may be, all students should be proud of themselves for getting this far.
Margaret’s tweet on the 17th July, advised students of the links to use if they had difficulty accessing their Home page for their results. (This was when the system went down.)
Anything Else
As VP Admin, Michael’s role focuses on Association spending, ensuring students have confidence in how and where the Students Association funds its activities. One of the biggest milestones this quarter was the end of the financial year; crunching the numbers to analyse where we can do better.
Gareth (Deputy President), Beth Metcalf (Chief Executive) and Verity Robinson (Head of EDI & Student Welfare) met with the new Head of the Office for the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, talking about how the Association supports the complaints process at the OU, particularly highlighting the role our Individual Representation Service undertakes.
The Association's Sustainability work continues to go from strength to strength with three phenomenal events planned for this year's Freshers, including one to be run jointly with OU academics. Second Hand September allowed our VP Engagement to promote second-hand book resources. Last but not least, our work with the OU has been growing and we are now actively working towards Responsible Futures accreditation and ensuring students are involved throughout this journey.