The Open University Students Educational Trust

OUSET is a grant-giving trust, established in 1982 by the Open University Students Association (Open SU’s former name) as its affiliated trust. The Trust acts as a safety net for OU students, who might otherwise struggle to continue to fund their studies due to financial hardship, through their grant-giving activities.

OUSET specifically helps current undergraduate and postgraduate OU students who have obtained a minimum of 60 credits, and don’t qualify for other avenues of financial support such as student loans. There are specific criteria for assistance from OUSET for both levels of study, which can be found by contacting ouset@open.ac.uk.

Here’s how OUSET helped OU Student, J:

“Getting this grant really helped with the costs of my education. My journey at The Open University has been incredibly enriching. It has enabled me to focus entirely on my studies and academic interests, without the ongoing stress of handling extra expenses. I really appreciate the sense of security and support I’ve received; it’s been incredibly motivating.”

OU students and their support for OUSET in 2023–2024:

What you may not know is that OUSET is 100% reliant on donations to fund its grant- giving activities. In 2023, OUSET began work with the supportive OU student community to organise exciting challenges, to raise awareness of the support OUSET can provide, whilst also raising funds to support the Trust’s grant-giving activities.

Step Up for OUSET challenge – 2023:

The first OUSET fundraising challenge, was the Step Up for OUSET challenge, run between October to December 2023. This was a virtual distance challenge, run in collaboration with the thriving student club, OU Fit.

This was a fully assessible challenge, in which anyone could participate, whether through running, walking, swimming, rolling or your daily step counts – all were welcome to take part.

Statistics from Step Up for OUSET – 2023:

Over 160 students participated.
The combined distance travelled was an amazing 18,076 km!
£305 was raised for OUSET, through the JustGiving campaign page.

Here are some quotes from Students who took part in the Step Up for OUSET challenge:

“Loving the challenge and seeing everyone’s distances, and as a wheelchair user it has been amazing having something I can be involved in. This is how equality works, and I never once felt like I was not part of the team or my contribution was less than others. Thank you.”

“I never mix or meet others due to my illness, but I feel like part of a team now.”

“As someone who is not the fittest, this challenge would not have been for me, but my daughter has been doing it with me and it has really boosted my confidence and helped me to go out and about a bit more. Thank you.”

OUSET Three Yorkshire Peaks Challenge – 2024:

The second OUSET challenge was a sponsored hike in August 2024, in which OU Students (and members of the public) could sign up to take part in the challenge, and raise funds through sponsorship to support OUSET’s grant-giving activities.

The challenge itself was to hike across 24.5 miles, covering three of Yorkshire’s most beautiful peaks, within 12 hours.

Statistics from OUSET Three Yorkshire Peaks Challenge – 2024:

Nine challengers participated, with three people completing the first two peaks, and six challengers completing all three peaks.
They completed the challenge within 13 hours 30 mins.
Together they raised a fantastic, combined total of £2,899.72 for OUSET, with 113 supporters.

You can see a photo of the 2024 challenge below:

The OU volunteers walking along a path, surrounded by green Yorkshire peaks.