There are many facets to the work that the Student Leadership Team (SLT) undertakes, with each elected member having their own specific remits. However, alongside this there are also areas of work that candidates identify as part of their manifestos during the elections.
Following the elections, myself, the Deputy President and members of the staff team brought all the manifestos together and picked out the common themes across them all. From this we then held an in-person SLT onboarding session to discuss these themes and dive deeper into what this work would look like in practice. Following further discussion and planning, these were turned into four priority areas that we will tackle together as a team throughout our term:
Student support
Campaign for access to OU student support services with increased availability that meet needs of the OU student population.
As the elected Student Leadership Team, we are committed to ensuring that all students have access to the support they need, when they need it. In an institution as diverse and dynamic as The Open University, it is essential that the support systems in place reflect the broad spectrum of needs across our student population.
At the heart of this priority area is the need for the availability of Student Support Teams to reflect the barriers that OU students face in accessing study, offering more options for ways that students can reach and interact with SSTs, and developing more individualised personalised support pathways that can adapt to the varying schedules, responsibilities, and backgrounds of our students. We look forward to working constructively with the University on this priority.
Student wellbeing
Champion initiatives that prioritise the wellbeing of the diverse OU student communities.
There is a strong link between wellbeing and achieving success in higher education. Our enormously diverse student community is made up of individuals from all walks of life, each with their own unique challenges and needs. Ensuring that efforts to protect and improve student wellbeing reflect this diversity is central to this priority area. To champion this, the Student Leadership Team intends to introduce a range of initiatives that will provide OU students with opportunities, resources, and support that will contribute to positive wellbeing.
We want to ensure that all students have the opportunity to feel as though they belong to a community that they care about, and that cares about them. This is an exciting area of work that has the potential to enhance the overall student experience.
The academic experience
Advocate for best-practice in teaching delivery to create a consistent academic student experience.
As elected representatives of the student body, we believe that every student at the Open University should be entitled to a high-quality and consistent academic experience. Whether you’re attending tutorials, submitting assessments, or communicating with your tutors, we believe that every student deserves clear, supportive, and reliable academic interactions. At the heart of these concerns is the need for greater consistency across teaching delivery. This means ensuring that students, regardless of their course or tutor, have access to the same high standards of academic support and feedback. We believe that a clear definition of best-practice teaching delivery should be agreed upon and applied across the board to ensure all students receive the same level of quality in their academic interactions. We know that everyone at The Open University cares deeply about giving students the best possible experience, and we are excited to engage with them on this important area of work.
The neurodivergent experience
Campaign for improvements in policy & process to create an equitable experience for diagnosed and undiagnosed neurodivergent Students.
At the 2024 OU Students Association Conference, OU Students passed a motion calling on the University to better support diagnosis of Neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD where students are seeking a diagnosis to support their study. This priority area goes further than that in aspiring to create an environment within The Open University that is inclusive, accessible, and supportive of those who are neurodivergent, whether diagnosed or undiagnosed. Our aim is to ensure that neurodivergent students are not left behind by rigid structures or lack of understanding and that their access to support is not determined by whether they have received an official diagnosis. We will work closely with the University to push for these much-needed changes, advocating for a culture where neurodivergent students feel seen, understood, and supported. By focusing on improvements in both policy and process, we believe we can help create a more equitable and inclusive academic experience that allows all students to succeed.
We look forward to getting to grips with this work and making some positive changes for all OU students. We are always looking for student input and to understand student issues and celebrate best practice. You can raise student issues and find the contact details for all of our student reps.
Student Leadership Team priority areas overview