Student Voice Week – Navigating your Journey

Cin is an OU student currently studying some micro-credentials alongside her Access module. She is a Central Committee Representative on the Access Board of Studies and on the Access and Open Academic Committee (Learning, Teaching and Assessment). She is also the 2022-2025 elected Student Officer for the RAISE network (Researching, Advancing, and Inspiring Student Engagement).

As part of Student Voice Week we had a great session focused on Open and Access students entitled Navigating your Journey as an Open and Access student.  We had a solid turn out with students from across many different subjects and from all levels of experience. We saw brand new students getting ready to start Access in February, across all undergrad levels and right through to Open post-grad students joining us. Continue reading “Student Voice Week – Navigating your Journey”

Being open: not just a qualification?

Prof. John Butcher is Director for Access, Open & Cross-curricular Innovation at the Open University.

 

I was asked to write a blog for the Open qualifications blog site at the precise moment when my colleagues knew I was unlikely to refuse…

Picture the scene, a new pub by the canal in Milton Keynes, on a September evening, and I had just delivered my inaugural lecture in the Berrill Theatre on the Walton Hall campus.  I was in the pub with a few kind colleagues who wanted to celebrate the occasion with me – and because a lot of my lecture was about achievements within a team and being open to new opportunities. Continue reading “Being open: not just a qualification?”

Graduation Ceremony – the reason why we do what we do!

Gina Sharp is Stakeholder Engagement Manager for the Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation team at the Open University.

 

I was lucky enough to be able to travel to the Open University graduation ceremony in Harrogate last weekend to be on the registration desk.  This is the second time I’ve worked at a graduation ceremony and to be honest it’s a little bit addictive! Continue reading “Graduation Ceremony – the reason why we do what we do!”

A uniquely ‘Open’ role

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!  Continue reading “A uniquely ‘Open’ role”

Notes on the OU Interdisciplinary Conference

Sarah McKernan is a Tutor Support Manager in Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation and supports the delivery of Access and Open Box modules.  In this post, Sarah reflects on the recent online conference on ‘The Future of Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning at the OU’ and the variety of sessions and media.

 

The Future of Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning at the OU Conference was held on Tuesday and Wednesday 21st and 22nd June and was the first conference of this scale I have attended virtually, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Continue reading “Notes on the OU Interdisciplinary Conference”

Reflecting on the Student Hub Live event #YourDegreeYourChoice

 Jay Rixon is a Senior Manager in Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation and responsible for the MA or MSc Open qualification. In this post, Jay reflects on a Student Hub Live (SHL) live broadcast on the 10th May entitled ‘#YourDegreeYourChoice’ and shares her highlights of the event.

 

The Open qualifications team always love a chance to collaborate with Student Hub Live (SHL) and this session was no different; one hour packed full of great conversations exploring the value of studying across subjects and how that makes you stand out in the workplace and to potential employers.  Continue reading “Reflecting on the Student Hub Live event #YourDegreeYourChoice”