What OU study involves

How is Open University study different?

Your students will find learning with The Open University quite different to the study they’re used to. Rather than learning face to face in a classroom with a teacher and other classmates, they’ll undertake most of their study independently from a variety of interactive materials which are delivered direct to them and have the support of a personal tutor or study adviser.

The majority of the modules on offer through YASS don’t have a formal exam at the end of them. Instead they’re continuously assessed through assignments or project work. Throughout the module, your students will be encouraged to discuss what they have learned with other students, but any work submitted must be entirely their own.

The Developing Good Academic Practice free study unit gives more detailed information about what collaborative working means.

Module materials

Module materials will be delivered direct before the start of the module and may include books, DVDs, CDs. Additional learning materials may also be available for download online or by email. Students will also be given a study guide and a module calendar which will let them know how their module is structured and when their assignments are due. To access this information they’ll just need to log in to your Student Home Page using the username and password they’ll be given.

They will then learn by working actively with their module materials. By this we mean much more than just reading the materials. They will be asked to give their thoughts on what they’ve read, try out examples, make notes and so on. Their module materials are working documents and should end up annotated, highlighted and full of post-it notes!

Open University assignments

Details of any assignments due will be available in the module calendar. Assignments come in three forms: tutor-marked assignments (TMAs), computer-marked assignments (CMAs), and end of course assessments (ECAs).

Usually the assignments make up 50% of the marks for a module, while the other 50% is made up by an end-of-module exam or other type of assessment like a project. Students will need to check the exact details of their module on the module calendar. When they’ve completed an assignment, you then send it to your tutor.

Support throughout your studies

Students are allocated a personal tutor at the start of the module, or will have access to a study adviser and their support will last until the module is completed. Throughout the module, they’ll be able to communicate with your tutor or adviser by phone, email and possibly by online conferencing (where messages can be read by the group). The tutor marks the assignments and provides feedback.

Working with other students

YASS students will be studying their module alongside adult learners with all kinds of backgrounds and experiences and may have the opportunity to meet them face-to-face in tutorials. Alongside tutorials, there are also increasing opportunities to chat to other students in online forums or discussion groups.

Setting up a study group in school

Many YASS students who learn with The Open University organise study groups in their schools or colleges to allow them to share ideas and support each other. This works well as it’s always good to have someone to talk to who’s going through the same thing as you, especially for those who are new to university level study.

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