Along with The Open University, we are inviting students to take part in a Student Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Survey. ALL students at the University are invited to share their experiences in this survey.
The survey should only take less than 15 minutes to complete. As a thank you for completing the survey, you will have the chance to win one of five £150 or have the money donated to a UK Registered Charity of your choice.
The survey will remain open until Wednesday 5 June at 9am.
Complete the survey
Your responses will help to:
- Identify and understand barriers to fairness and equality at the University.
- Create an inclusive environment where all our students can achieve their goals.
- Understand student experience of bullying and harassment at the OU.
- Improve the experience and outcomes of our students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
- Improve the experience and outcomes of our disabled students, particularly those with mental health conditions.
As an Association, we have worked alongside the OU to make up this survey. The results of this survey will be used to develop actions that will make the OU a more inclusive place where everyone can reach their full potential, regardless of their age, caring responsibilities, disability, care experience, ethnicity/race/nationality, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status and religion. The more students that complete the survey, the better!
For more information about the survey, please contact race-equality@open.ac.uk.
Please note, if you have been contacted via email with a unique link to participate in this survey, please use that link to complete the survey. The opt-in link should only be used by students who have not been contacted directly.
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Frequently asked questions
Some of the students on my module were contacted directly and invited to participate – why haven’t I been invited directly?
Due to restrictions on how often The Open University can approach students to participate in surveys, the OU is only allowed to contact a certain number of students directly. This is to ensure that they are not contacting the same students about multiple surveys during the year.
All students are welcome to opt-in and participate in this student-facing EDI survey, and we would really value your responses to these survey questions.
We are keen for as many students as possible to participate and share their views and experiences with us, so that the results of the survey will be as representative as possible of the student body.
Several of the questions focus just on race or disability – are these the only protected characteristics you care about?
The OU’s data shows that students from some backgrounds, including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and disabled students – particularly those with mental health conditions – do not achieve the same outcomes as their peers. This survey will ask some specific questions to help better understand why this is the case, and to put actions in place to address any barriers found. While this survey is focused on these areas, the aim is to understand the broader impact of our actions on every student, regardless of whether they belong to under-represented or disadvantaged groups.
How do we collect your feedback?
An OU-approved online survey system called Qualtrics is used to collect your feedback. You can take the survey on your computer, tablet or smartphone but if you have any technical problems or accessibility issues, please get in touch with surveys@open.ac.uk and they will help. We are unable to help with any study-related queries, so to get help with your module, visit https://help.open.ac.uk/contact or call +44 (0)300 303 5303 – Mon – Fri 08:00 – 17:30. Please see the student privacy notice for more information about how The Open University processes student data.
What about your answers?
Your privacy and the security of your information are really important. Your personal answers are stored securely at all times on the Qualtrics system, and then on the OU data stores for analysis and reporting. Survey data will be considered anonymously by relevant staff from The Open University. Your honest feedback is welcomed and valuable to us, but because of anonymisation, it will have no direct impact on your personal experience as a student. Any personal data will be collected, processed and stored by The Open University in accordance with data protection legislation.
What are the prize draw details?
As a thank you for completing the survey, you can opt into entering a prize draw to win one of five £150 Amazon.co.uk/Tango vouchers or have the money donated to a UK Registered Charity of your choice. Prize draw winners will be emailed by Wednesday 31 July.