Welcome to OUSA Near You!

When you register to study with the Open University (O U), you automatically become a member of the Open University Students Association (O U S A). Whether you are looking for support, have issues you would you like to take up with the University, would like to get involved in student activities or are simply wishing to socialise with fellow students, O U S A is here for you. This site attempts to help you get in touch with fellow students in your area.

O U S A is organised in a regional and branch structure that closely follows the O U catchment areas, although some neighbouring branches have merged to form one larger branch. When you received your first mailing from the O U you will have been informed which region you belong to. Select that region from the links above and you will find a list of branches in that region. Hopefully you will find one near you.

Please note that the information you find may not be completely up to date. We can only update the site as and when we are informed of changes at a local level.

Not all branches are active and several are online branches where students may or may not meet socially in person. Your local branch forum will be there for you whether you decide to take an active part or not. You can choose to go along to a social event if there is one; pop in to the branch FirstClass conference and say hi or just read the messages! You could also visit a neighbouring branch if that seems more lively. It doesn’t take much time to look into a branch conference on FirstClass and send a message, and attending a monthly face to face meeting can be a great way of relieving stress. These are both great ways of compensating for the remoteness of distance learning.

Like all O U students you will doubtless have work and/or family commitments as well as your studies and perhaps these have made you reticent to contact your local Branch. O U S A 's branches are run by O U students, so everyone is mindful of the commitment required of distance learning students. Being part of your branch means you are free to determine your own level of involvement at your own pace. That might be at a social level, you might need to talk through your studies and need or be able to offer some moral support or you may want to become more involved in the running of your branch or regional forum, or in O U S A generally.

The Regional Forum is a group of students who volunteer their time to meet and discuss issues affecting students in the region. It consists of officers and representatives of each branch in the region, as well as a member of the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee is a group who run OUSA and includes the President of OUSA. They debate and draw up policies and motions for the annual Conference. These policies include issues relating to our studies with the OU such as plagiarism, tutorial support, exam and assignment scoring and course choices and degree awards. So it really is possible even at grass-roots branch level to have influence over the way OUSA and the OU works for us.

Whatever your involvement your support and input will be greatly welcomed. O U S A relies upon student participation, especially at local level, so why not join a group who keep the student voice alive?

Local branch newsletters and regional mailings contain more information on getting involved within your O U S A, as do O.U. Student and SESAME publications.

To find out more about O U S A visit www.ousa.org.uk where there is much useful and interesting information about how O U S A can help you as a distance learning student of the O.U

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