My name is Isabelle and I am the Representative for International Students with the OU Students Association.
On the ‘Have your say day’ organised by the OU in November 2024, the OU Students Association held two student consultations for international students. This article will give a summary of the feedback we received from students and about the actions we have taken or will take.
Student Support Team
You told us that:
- Contacting the Student Support Team (SST) can be difficult for international students, particularly when registering for modules, because international phone calls can be very costly; the live chat is only available during SST opening hours; the time difference with the UK; it takes time to receive a response by email.
- You would like the OU to extend the SST opening hours for calls and the live chat function
- You would like to call the OU through Teams
- You would like a quicker call back option for international students
We have:
- The International Area Representative met with OU staff in charge of the Student Support Team (SST) and was informed that the SST is trialling the Scheduled Contact Service, whereby students can book an appointment with the SST at which time an advisor will call them. This new service will save international students from having to make expensive calls to the SST.
We will:
- The International Area Representative will continue to liaise with the OU about the SST and pass on your feedback.
Study materials
You told us that:
- Having hardcopy study materials posted in time for the module start would be helpful
We will:
- The International Area Representative will liaise with the OU about posting the study materials to international students earlier.
Tutorials
You told us that:
- A greater range of tutorial time-slots would make it easier for international students to join them
We will:
- The International Student Representative will pass on your feedback to the OU about the tutorial times.
Career advice
You told us that:
- Career advice targeted at students living outside the UK would be beneficial
- Having career-focused advice at the start of studies would be useful
- You would like support for different hiring methods, as expectations and interviews can completely different abroad compared to the UK
We have:
- The International Area Representative and the OU Careers and Employability Services have curated career-related resources for international students and wrote an article in The Hoot: https://thehootstudents.com/job-opportunities-for-international-students/.
- The OU Careers and Employability Services have a monthly Careers Express newsletter where you can find the latest careers events, news, resources and opportunities. The newsletter is emailed to all current OU students each month, no matter at which level they are studying. If you are not receiving it, you check your junk mail and update your Communication settings in OpportunityHub.
We will:
- The International Area Representative will continue to liaise with the OU Careers and Employability Services and pass on your feedback about receiving career advice earlier in your studies and support for international hiring methods.
OU Community
You told us that:
- You would like to have more opportunities to meet with fellow international students
- Studying as an international student can be a lonely experience
- You would like the OU Students Association to help international student engage in different activities and events
We have:
- The OU Students Association is undertaking research work into student community and well-being, with international student engagement as a priority area.
- The OU Students Association is exploring opportunities for more dedicated events for international students, including focus groups.
- The International Area Representative is holding monthly online meet-ups for international students. All OU Students Association events are listed on the website: https://www.oustudents.com/whats-on/events-listing/.
Library
You told us that:
- In-person access to libraries, such as that offered by SCONUL within the UK, would be helpful
We have:
- The OU Students Association liaised with the OU Library. There are some options available for international students. More information is available on the Library website (https://www5.open.ac.uk/library/help-and-support/using-other-libraries-and-sconul-access) under “Libraries near you for overseas students”.
- The International Area Representative wrote an article in The Hoot about Library Services for International Students: https://thehootstudents.com/library-services-for-international-students/.
Curriculum
You told us that:
- It can sometimes be difficult to understand the module materials due to cultural differences between the British society and international students
We will:
- The International Area Representative will liaise with the OU and pass on your feedback.
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