Five ways students changed the OU this year

Over the past academic year, nearly 500 students contributed to online Student Consultation Forums and over 4,000 signed up to take part in the Student Voice Festival.

Here are five ways their feedback made a difference:

1 A better experience for new students

New students sometimes feel overwhelmed by information, and they said they wanted more help navigating the OU websites. From October 2024, an induction course called ‘OU Ready’ will be available, covering some key things new students need to know.
2 Making the OU more accessible

At the Student Voice Festival, students shared that it can be difficult to find out what support is available for disabled students and how to access it, so the University organised a series of online ‘Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) Application Support Events’ – a step-by-step guide through the form with Disability Support Advisers on hand to answer questions.
A number of students took the time to carefully review OU policies and procedures this year. Their feedback will help make them clearer and more accessible. For example, students recommended moving away from the terms ‘disclosure and declaration’, so language around sharing mental health challenges is now being updated across Student Support Services.
At an event called ‘Who belongs in STEM?’ students said that hearing stories from other students helped them to feel a greater sense of belonging in their subject area. They requested more events or meetings like that one, so STEM is now planning a series with similar topic. In the meantime, a resource has been created to support reflecting on stereotypes in STEM.
3 Helpful new module content

Student feedback is also shaping the content of your courses. For example, Education, Childhood & Youth Studies (ECYS) students said that they would like to build confidence using online forums, so in addition to the OU-wide mini course on using online forums, new ECYS module updates include activities to support confidence in using online forums.
4 Using AI creatively and ethically

This year, students have been exploring the role of generative AI in study, assessment and the working world. Together with OU faculty, they have come up with ideas for how to equip students to interact with AI in creative and ethical ways. After the Student Voice Festival, the OU is working on guidance on how to use freely available Generative AI tools to obtain alternative explanations, get feedback on drafts and generate self-test quizzes.
5 Making the OU more sustainable – including divesting from fossil fuels!

After student feedback, at the end of 2021 The Open University Council agreed to divest its fossil fuel exposure from its investment portfolio. The final fund with fossil fuel exposure was sold at the end of 2023, meaning this goal has been met!
It doesn’t end there. Students are calling for more action, from information about how to recycle textbooks and the option to opt out of receiving printed materials to supporting students with eco anxiety and embedding sustainability into the curriculum. Together we are taking steps towards a more sustainable OU.