Update for Open SU international students – March 2026

International students regularly provide feedback about issues that are affecting them. Open SU and members of the Student Leadership Team (SLT) have also gathered feedback from students in lots of different ways.

This resulted in the creation of the Open SU webpage “What we believe in”, as well as three “Best Practice” documents regarding the Academic Student Experience, Student Support and Curriculum Withdrawals. The SLT also published their position statements regarding the return of face-to-face exams, graduation ceremonies, the impact of generative AI on academic misconduct, and changes to welfare support and how these affect OU students.

As the webpage and documents contain a lot of information, here are a few points which are most relevant for international students, and relate to the feedback received from them.

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Quality and accessibility of tutorials

Tutorial timing and frequency

Open SU’s recommendations:

• Where possible, tutorials should be offered at different times – daytime, evenings, and weekends – to suit different student needs.
• The OU should use tutor time wisely to increase the number of tutorials. Pre-recorded content can help free up time for live sessions.

Use of cameras

Open SU’s recommendations:

• Tutors can be encouraged to use their cameras during tutorials.
• If cameras won’t be used, make this clear when students book the session.

Access to recordings

Open SU’s recommendations:

• The OU should keep the current approach of offering at least one recorded and one unrecorded tutorial per module.
• Make it clear when booking whether a session will be recorded.
• If a planned recording isn’t available, provide an alternative quickly.

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Provision and clarity of study materials

Quality and representation

Open SU’s recommendation:

• Materials should reflect diverse perspectives and avoid British or Eurocentric bias.

Timeliness and flexibility

Open SU’s recommendations:

• Accessible formats, including printed materials, must be delivered in good time.
• Students should be clearly informed about what materials will be provided and when.

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Contacting the Student Support Team

Student Support Team opening hours

Open SU’s recommendations:

• The OU should trial evening and Saturday opening hours for Student Support Teams to help students who work full-time or have other weekday commitments. This would also support international students in different time zones.
• Student Support Teams should extend their opening hours during peak periods, such as results days, registration deadlines, module start dates and end of module preparation weeks.

Accessibility of Student Support Teams for international students

International students often face unique barriers when trying to contact the OU Student Support Team. Time zone differences can make it difficult to reach support during UK office hours, especially when those hours are already limited. For students living overseas, the lack of evening or weekend availability means they may need to wait until late at night or early morning to speak to someone, leaving students feeling disconnected and unsupported at critical moments in their studies. Additionally, the cost of international calls might be prohibitive to some OU students.

Open SU’s recommendations:

• International students should be able to request a callback through the scheduled contact service to avoid the need for long waits and make support more accessible across time zones.
• The OU should promote the scheduled contact service clearly on the website, in student emails, and during tutorials so students know they can book a convenient time for help.

Ways of contacting the Student Support Team

Open SU’s recommendations:

• The OU should expand web chat support, following the OU Library’s example of extended hours and quick responses.
• The OU should explore additional digital options, like secure messaging apps or integrated tools in the student portal, to give students more flexible ways to reach support.

Queue times for phone calls and response times for emails

Open SU’s recommendations:

• Extra staff or temporary support should be added during high-demand periods to cut phone queues and speed up responses.
• The OU should set targets for faster email turnaround, prioritising urgent cases. A triage system could help flag and resolve critical issues quickly.
• Call handling should be improved so students aren’t passed around. Staff should be empowered to resolve issues or escalate efficiently. If tutors are unavailable, Student Support should step in to prevent delays.

Routing calls

Open SU’s recommendation:

• Students should be connected directly to the Student Support Team, not routed through Student Recruitment.

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The reintroduction of face-to-face exams

While Open SU is not opposed to face-to-face exams, the SLT has outlined several key considerations and concerns:

If face-to-face exams are reintroduced, they must be fully accessible. This includes:

Locations within reasonable distance for all students, including international learners. 

Photo by Pang Yuhao on UnsplashGraduation ceremonies

Open SU believes the following considerations should guide the OU’s approach to graduation ceremonies:

Increase capacity

• The OU should offer more spaces at graduation ceremonies to meet student demand.

Reintroduce online graduations

• The OU should assess interest and feasibility of bringing back online graduation ceremonies. These were popular during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided a flexible, lower-cost option that is currently unavailable.