Election Campaign and Hustings for Round 2 of of the 2012/14 Elections Open from 2pm Today 15 May!! - Tue, 15 May 2012
We are about to publish the Student Profiles and Manifestos of all the candidates standing for positions as Association Officers (President, Dep President, Vice Presidents), OU Council Member and Trustees.
The Virtual Hustings Questions Forum will also open at 2pm and this is where you can make your suggestions for questions to be put to any, or all, of the candidates.
The Candidates’ Soapbox forum also opens at 2pm today - so if you want to read what the candidates have to say for themselves in the lead up to voting at Conference on 23 June please use the link below.
OUSA Conference Registration Now Open - Tue, 15 May 2012
Registration for OUSA Conference 2012 is now open and applications for delegate places are flooding in both for the Face to Face event happening on Campus from 22 - 24 June and the online event running alongside. Read more about it from the Conference link below.
Many students have already received confirmation that they’re on the delegate list, and others are still waiting to hear if they have secured one of the precious places on behalf of their Region or Nation. It’s taking a little time to process applications but those in the pipeline should keep watching their mailboxes for news.
It’s going to be the biggest Conference in OUSA’s history and there’s still time for any OU student to apply for a place by accessing the link below and putting in your online application.
For further information and all enquires email ousa@open.ac.uk
Election Campaign and Hustings for Students Association Representatives Open from 2pm Today 10 May!! - Thu, 10 May 2012
We are about to publish the Student Profiles and Manifestos of all the candidates standing to represent Regions and Nations on OUSA’s 2012/14 Central Executive Committee.
The Virtual Hustings Questions Forum will also open at 2pm and this is where you can make your suggestions for questions to be put to any, or all, of the candidates. Please click the link below to the Virtual Hustings Questions Forum.
The Candidates’ Soapbox forum also opens at 2pm today - so if you want to read what the candidates have to say for themselves in the lead up to voting from 7 June, please click the link below to the Candidates' Soapbox Forum.
Campaign and Hustings forums for Officers, Council Member and other Trustees will open next Thursday, 15 May. Watch this space!
President Calls On O U Students To Help OUSA Make A Difference! - Thu, 26 Apr 2012
As Universities across England grapple with the new funding regime that will hit students from this autumn there are still some important issues around funding that OUSA believes are worth fighting for.
OUSA is putting together its submission for the latest HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) consultation and we’d love to hear from some of you so that we can include some powerful, personal testimonies in our evidence.
HEFCE is currently consulting on how it should allocate what is left of the public funding for higher education. Most important from OUSA’s point of view will be what HEFCE decides to do about replacing the old part-time, widening participation and disabled students funding which together provided something like £60m to the OU " so we are not talking about marginal amounts of money.
Although these funds have always gone direct to universities rather than to individual students, OUSA is very clear that it is these funds which have enabled our University to do some of its most outstanding work; reaching out to and supporting those students who would have been unlikely to enter higher education via any other institution. Under the new funding regime, those efforts will need to be redoubled if the OU is to continue changing the lives of some of those most in need of another chance.
Marianne Cantieri, OUSA President, believes that our current students hold the key to making our voices heard when we talk to governmental bodies. Marianne said “Our response to this consultation is really important for us and our University because it goes to the heart of what makes the OU so different " it is about making sure the support part-time students need is recognised and it is about removing barriers for those who are so often shut out of higher education.†Marianne went on to say “During my years of representing OU students I have come across some truly remarkable examples of student achievement despite the most daunting challenges. I want to collect some of those stories and use them as case studies at the heart of the submission we will be making to HEFCE.â€
OUSA will be putting together its submission over the next few weeks and Marianne is asking any of you who would be willing to put yourself forward as a case study to contact her directly via ousa-president@open.ac.uk. If you can help, she’d be delighted to hear from you, especially if you:
• entered the OU from a ‘non-traditional’ background, e.g. through the access/taster/openings programmes and went on to complete your studies and transform your employment status or
• faced extraordinary challenges during your studies and still managed to succeed
• are willing to tell us about this in less than 300 words (no complete life-stories please!)
Please write to Marianne by Monday 14th May, and title your email ’Student Case Study’. If possible, let us have a telephone number as well as your email address in case we need to check any details with you. Please let us know whether you would be happy for us to include your name in our response or whether you would prefer us to keep your identity confidential.
Let’s make sure OU students are heard! Thanks in advance for your help.
It Is OUSA Conference - But Not As We Know It! - Fri, 20 Apr 2012
OUSA Conference will witness the biggest makeover in its history this year when up to 400 students are expected on the OU Campus in Milton Keynes from 22 - 24 June together with a similar number taking part in a related online event. 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. Also, this year for the first time, a major part of the weekend is being devoted to student focused activities. These will include workshops, presentations, lectures, debates, seminars and discussion groups, both at the face to face (f2f) event and in the online arena. There will also be ample time for students to do what students do naturally - that’s plenty of socialising with lots of L g t s (Little get togethers), linking up with fellow students and generally having a good student time.
We are expecting that this rare opportunity to be a delegate at the OUSA Conference on the OU Campus at this big and bouncy, new and improved event will be seized on by hundreds of O U students who have so few chances to get together. Similarly, we expect there to be a fantastic take up of delegate places in the related online Conference where we will be replicating some of the activity of the f2f event as well as offering activities specifically designed for the online medium. This will enable hundreds of O U students to take part in OUSA Conference who have never been able to consider the idea before. And just so that everyone is included, there will also be the opportunity for those who aren’t registered to view much of the interesting Conference material online from the comfort of their own homes.
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 very large take up of these places and the Students Association will be meeting all accommodation and catering costs for the f2f event as well as reasonable travel expenses.
Registration for Conference 2012, (both f2f and online) doesn’t open until six weeks prior to the event but we’re already keeping a mailing list of interested students to provide them with early information about when and how they register. 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.
So what’s keeping you?
To get on the OUSA Conference 2012 mailing list to guarantee early information about applying for a place at this year’s event, send your name and student number to s.j.carter@open.ac.uk without delay. Also let us know your region or nation and if you are interested in attending the f2f event or if you would prefer to participate online.
Want to get early updates on Conference News ? Then follow twitter.com/OUStudents or message @OUstudents for news and information.
