OUSA East of England

This year's conference organised by the Open University Student Association (OUSA) is getting a makeover - and students are invited to register their interest in attending.

The conference is expected to host up to 400 students at the OU campus in Milton Keynes from 22 to 24 June 2012, with the same number again taking part in a related online event.

Also this year, for the first time a large part of the weekend is being devoted to student-focused activities including workshops, presentations, lectures, debates, seminars and discussion groups, both at the face-to-face event and in the online arena. There will also be ample time for students to socialise.

OUSA President Marianne Cantieri said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for more OUSA members than ever before to help decide on their student leaders and to have a say in other important decisions about their association and their university.

“Although we’re saving plenty of places (within both arenas) for students who already take an active part in OUSA, we’re encouraging those who haven’t been involved before to apply for the many places reserved especially for them. We expect there to be a large take up of these places and the Students Association will be meeting all accommodation and catering costs for the face to face event as well as reasonable travel expenses.”

Registration for OUSA Conference 2012, (both face-to-face and online) doesn’t open until six weeks prior to the event,  but students are asked to register their interest and will be included on a mailing list about how they can apply for a place when the time comes. To get on the mailing list, send your name and student number to  s.j.carter@open.ac.uk. Please include your region or nation and state if you are interested in attending the face-to-face event or the online version.

“After this year, the conference timetable changes and it will become a biennial event so it won’t be until 2014 that this fantastic opportunity for O U Students will be offered again,” added Marianne Cantieri.

You can also follow OUSA on Twitter for updates.




 

To take your mind off TMAs, EMAs, exams and results why not apply to join the OU University Challenge team?

OUSA is now starting the process of organising a team for the next series of University Challenge, one of the most challenging quiz programmes currently on television. To be eligible to apply you need to be a current student of the Open University and expect to be studying next year.       
 
If you fancy making an appeareance on television, would enjoy the chance to flex those brain cells and the opportunity to enhance your university's reputation please email your name and PI number to s.j.carter@open.ac.uk who will keep your details on file and send you an application form when they become available later in the year.
 
Those interested will be asked to take part in OUSA's selection process, with the successful applicants being required to attend an interview and be available for filming if the team gets to the televised stage. More details will be posted once they become available.
 

Platform's student blogger Carrie Walton writes about OUSA conference, a bit of business and the serious wobblies...

"Over the weekend of the 15th – 17th April 2011 I made more new friends and met more new and interesting people than I could’ve ever imagined and it’s all because I went to the OUSA Conference. I’ve been looking forward to it since I first became involved with OUSA at the back end of last year but had no idea what to expect from it."

Read the full post here

The Preliminary Policy Motions & Motions to Change the Constitution (incorporating the whole new constitution) has now been published and is available with a variety of other documents from the Conference section of the OUSA website.

You can also use this direct link to the Preliminary Motions.

We in the East of England have put forward three Motions for Conference 2011, as follows:
 

Conference instructs Central Representatives to make known, in a brief report to students generally, the nature of those issues that are under consideration at governance committees that may lead to significant changes to modules and awards that students are studying, whilst preserving the requirement not to publicise information that may be of a potentially sensitive commercial nature or that names individuals. The report should be produced within a month of the governance committee at which the issue is discussed, where necessary obtaining confirmation by the chair of the committee about the accuracy of such a report.

The Association calls upon the University to continue without any exceptions with the custom and practice that all student representatives to the Open University Consultative and Governance Structures shall be, as appropriate, either elected through elections organised by OUSA or appointed by OUSA.

Conference believes that meaningful representation of the consensus student viewpoint can only take place where students have an opportunity to discuss issues arising within the University's governance structure. Conference recognises that some matters are necessarily confidential and that these should be protected by the "Green Paper" system but believes that such matters are only a minority of the business. Conference calls on the University not to place any unreasonable or unnecessary restrictions on reporting by student representatives nor upon discussions within the student body.

Your comments on these, and any other Motions are welcome!