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Who said there are too many committees?
The Open University Student Association (OUSA) is currently in talks with the Open University (OU) regarding the proposed amalgamation of the Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) and the Regional Committee Ireland. It is felt that such a merge will benefit both parties in that,
- OUSA volunteers will not have to attend duplicate meetings and thus will not have to waste their valuable free time.
- The OU will save on the expense of running two committees and free up personnel resources to deal with other pressing matters.
The original reason for these committees to be separate was to take into account the different laws covering the two jurisdictions. In reality however, the difference between the two committees is not huge and it is felt that as there will still be representatives from both jurisdictions in attendance, the representation for either the OUSA or the OU will not diminish through this amalgamation.
As both committees receive almost the same paper work, there will also be associated savings made from an administration point of view, not to mention the countless trees that will be saved
So the reason why the OUSA and the OU are considering the amalgamation are simple; instead of having two committees discussing many of the same issues and having eight meetings a year, the intention is to have a reduction to four meetings a year.
Reports suggest that amalgamated committees in other regions are progressing without any major problems. So let it not be said that the OUSA only ever creates committees !
For further details contact
Paul Wilson
Execuitive Committee Member (ECM) for region 12 N.ireland through OUSA office.
Open University Students Association SS 88/3
Lone Parents and Residential Schools
Are you a lone parent who would like to attend Residential School?
One of my priorities as Vice President Equal Opportunities for this year is to investigate how many lone parents with young children cannot attend residential school due to lack of childcare.
Many Open University students as part of their courses, or as an essential element of named awards, have a requirement to attend Residential School in the summer. Unfortunately there are no childcare facilities, and this is something I would like to change, how about you?
We all know that the primary carer best looks after a child and as such many lone parents feel they cannot leave their child behind for a week to attend Residential School. Often studying with the Open University is the only option for lone parents because of the extensive childcare needs associated with traditional University structures. Residential Schools are a valuable part of University study.
Hence we at OUSA (Open University Students Association) want to look at ways in which this childcare could be introduced to Residential Schools to allow single parents to enrich their studies by attending such schools.
I must however make it very clear that childcare would only be available whilst the student is at study, not social time.
To have your voice heard contact the OUSA Vice President for Equal Opportunities through OUSA office, http://www2.open.ac.uk/ousa/menu/p4.shtm
*DATA PROTECTION - the personal data you provide will be held by V P Equal Opportunities and the OUSA office for the purposes of collating information for this investigation only. Your details will not be passed to a third party without your consent.
OUSA responds to the OU's drive to encourage younger students
According to figures released by the OU, 20% of all new undergraduate OU students are 24 years old or under. These figures have prompted the OU to mount a new marketing campaign aimed at school leavers.
While changes in the age of our new undergraduates will have little or no bearing on existing students, it will however have a bearing on how representative the OUSA will be to this new section of the student body.
OUSA has responded to this challenge by setting up an online Younger Student Conference, offering these students the opportunity to communicate with each other and to have a place where they can voice their concerns. Currently the Younger Students conference is actively discussing the possibility of producing a newsletter for younger students.
OUSA is also considering if there are ways in which the OU could promote this conference, to offer younger students a more complete university experience.
For further information contact Keith Ward Vice President Representation (VPR) through the OUSA office.
Ethnic minority students
At the heart of any association, claiming to be representative, there is an absolute need for as wide a participation of the membership, as is practically possible.
With this in mind Louise Woosey, Vice President Equal Opportunities (VPEO), is in the process of setting up an Ethnic Minorities Working Group. It is hoped that this working group will allow OUSA to investigate the needs of Open University (OU) students from ethnic minorities.
As a first step Louise Woosey is in the process of setting up an online conference, using the OUSA FirstClass suite of conferences. This conference will serve as a communication vehicle, enabling OU students from ethnic minorities to voice their opinions on OU and OUSA matters.
Those OU students who prefer not to communicate online or have no access to the Internet can contact Louise Woosey through the OUSA office,
Comments
Hi, I was just wondering if it is possible for me to get a student card? I am studying a part time masters in social science.. Thanks very much, Kerry Lynn
Kerry Lynn | Tue Nov 11 2008
Hi Kerry The best thing for me to do is to re-direct you to the OUSA home page; "www2.open.ac.uk/ousa/p2_1.shtml" Hope that is of some help Cheers Michael_H
Michael Hickland | Tue Nov 11 2008