A. OUSA listens to what students want because OUSA is run by students for students. As the OU officially recognised body for student representation OUSA have representatives on all OU decision making and consultative boards and committees. They are therefore able to voice the requirements of students direct to the decision making body's. OUSA have made the most of such opportunities and have successfully campaigned for such things as Named Degree's.
Q. What has OUSA done for students?
A. Just to list a few things...
1. The introduction of Named Degrees and Undergraduate diplomas
2. The workload review to ensure that all courses have an equal work load
weighting
3. Review of the fees structure
4. Student retention programme
5. Equal opportunities strategy
6. Multiple start dates of courses
7. Earlier examination re-sits
8. Change in complaints and appeals procedures
9. Examination feedback
10. Introduction of student profiles and portfolios
11. Exam results published on-line
12. On FirstClass, the OUSA suite of study and social conferences
13. Funding raising for OUSET, its own charity for hardship cases
A. The way OUSA are structured means that there is a Branch near you. Go to Local Contacts for a list of Branches and contacts in the West Midlands area.
A. Yes! In several ways. OUSA are very aware of the costs involved in courses and keep a watchful eye on them. OUSA also administer the Open University Students Educational Trust and can give valuable assistance to students who are undergoing financial hardship for whatever reason. In addition, there is the OUSA membership card which many students use to gain discounts on purchases and/or free admission.
A. Make contact with the local Branch or contact the OUSA Office at Milton Keynes. There are numerous ways that you can assist. For instance, locally there is always room for more people on committees (either to act directly for academically related items or just to organise social events) and Residential School Representatives are always needed, etc. Just ask - no pressure. Have a look at the OUSA Structure pages to see some of the various roles available.
A. A Self Help Group (SHG) is simply a group of students who meet, regularly or infrequently, to assist each other with a particular course or just to talk about the course or even to discuss similar OU issues amongst themselves.
Q. How can I set up a SHG?
A. Simplicity itself - just ask other students, after a tutorial, whether they would like to meet and discuss the course material. Just swap names, addresses/phone numbers and say where and when you will get together. Check out Self Help Groups for fuller details.
Q. How can I join my OUSA Branch
conference on FirstClass?
A. On FirstClass, e-mail 'OUSA Controller'.
In your request to join you need to include the following information:
- Your student identifier (thats your Personal Identifier or PI)
- Your branch name
- Which FirstClass server you are on
