Mary Keys is a Senior Manager in Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation and is responsible for the BA or BSc Open Degree qualification. In this post, Mary reflects on her time since starting in this role sharing some of the highlights over the last 18 months.
I am the Senior Manager for the Open Programme at the OU. This was originally going to be a blog reflecting on my new job (which I started in Jan 2021!) and then it was going to be a blog reflecting back on the first 12 months of my new job. Now, 18 months on, I am fully aware that I shouldn’t really be calling it a new job anymore! However, there is a good reason for the delay in writing this and it’s simply because since starting this role it has been an incredibly exciting and busy roller-coaster 18 months – getting to know colleagues across the OU and working with them to enhance the experience for students on our Open qualifications.
From working with advisors in the Student Support Teams, to our careers and employability colleagues, to the teams who present the modules our students study, who all share the same passion and motivation to provide students with the best study experience we can offer. We’ve held Student Hub Live events, attended conferences, recorded employability conversations and undertaken some scholarship work to get to know our students better in order to improve their experience.
I’ve worked at the OU since 2001, mainly working in the STEM Faculty managing modules and qualifications. When the opportunity arose to manage the Open Degree (BA/BSc (Hons) Open), the OU’s oldest and largest qualification, I couldn’t let it pass and I’m so pleased I didn’t. Managing the Open degree and working with colleagues and hearing from students has reminded me just how special the Open degree is – enabling students to choose their own study journey and allow their learning to reflect their interests and support their individual goals.
However, as the Open qualifications are quite unique, not all new (and sometimes current!) students are aware we have them or understand how they work. In the past few years we’ve also expanded our offering and, alongside the Open degree, we also now offer a BSc Combined STEM qualification and a MA/MSc Open. So we’ve been working with a great team to produce an animation to show how our Open qualifications can be created and individualised. You can watch the animation here. We wanted to share just how special the Open qualifications are and we think this animation is a great showcase for it. We hope the animation will encourage others to start exploring what their Open qualification will look like and what opportunities there are, so look out for it on our social media platforms.
If the last 18 months are anything to go by, the next 18 months will fly by but they will be definitely not be boring or predictable!
One area I’m keen to explore next is how we can better support our Open students to plan and create their pathway through their qualification. I want us to be there to guide them on what combinations work well, how to pace their study and how to leave their options open if they haven’t quite decided on areas they want to pursue. We have our fabulous Student Support Teams, who are on hand to help students, and our Open qualification study site has lots of advice and guidance but I want to explore other ways we can help students engage and explore. Given the many options and combinations available to students, this is quite a challenge but one I’m keen to start and see where it takes us. I want to involve students as much as possible in the process, listening to when and how they want/need support.
So, now I’ve written my first blog, I feel I can finally say this is no longer my new role, but it’s still one I feel privileged to do and I hope to do my best for all of our Open students.