OUSA Near You at a Glance                 
links to forums, contacts, websites, facebook pages and platform pages

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/national structure that closely follows the O U catchment areas. 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 information about that area.

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.

You can choose to go along to a social event if there is one; pop in to the FirstClass forums and say hi or just read the messages! You could also visit a neighbouring group if that seems more lively. It doesn’t take much time to look into a forum 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 OUSA..Our activities are run by O U students, so everyone is mindful of the commitment required of distance learning students. Being part of a group 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 local Assembly, or in O U S A generally.

OUSA Forums are linked from your Student Home page. They are many and varied and include Study Rooms where you can meet others doing the same module as yourself, Social forums ranging from Debate to Cats and Regional forums where you can meet others from your area. Why not drop in and see what's there!

The Regional or National Assembly or 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 from the region/nation, as well as a member of the Central Executive Committee.

The Central 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 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 newsletters 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

visit the OUSA Facebook page

Open University Students Educational Trust (OUSET)

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Wish to donate to the student charity OUSET? Your kind donation will help those in financial need to study at the Open University. Follow the link for more details on OUSET, or click on 'Donate' below to make your donation. Thank you very much.

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