Open University Students Association

Open University Students Association
Institution Open University
Location Milton Keynes, England
Established 1977
President Chris Pane
Members c. 200,000
Affiliations National Union of Students
Website OUSA homepage

The Open University Students Association is the equivalent of a students' union for the Open University, and is often referred to as OUSA. All Open University students are members of OUSA unless they elect to formally opt out.

Facilities

As the Open University is a distance learning university, the Students Association does not have the scope to provide year-round bars, shops and other facilities to its members that other students unions do. However, it does provide an online shop which sells past Open University exam papers and branded merchandise. Most social interaction between students takes place online, or within the Association's Regions and Nations.

The Association usually has a presence at open days, graduation ceremonies and residential schools.

Structure

The Association is governed by a Board of Trustees and a Central Executive Committee. The Officers are elected by Conference with other members of the Executive elected regionally. (Section 22(9) of the Education Act 1994 exempts the Association from the usual requirement that this election is done by a secret ballot of all members).

The Association is organised into sixteen Nations, Regions and sub-regions:

Regions and Nations hold an annual general meeting whilst some also Opendays and/or other events, including training. Many have informal Groups which enable study groups and hold social events such as lunches, trips to the theatre and places of interest and other opportunities to meet fellow students.

Communications

Regions and Nations can send at least four newsletters to OUSA members in their area each year giving information on any news and events.

In addition, the Association publishes The OU Student, which is incorporated in the University's own newspaper, Sesame, now available mainly online. The latest edition of OU Student can be found on the OUSA Website.

The Association as a whole makes extensive use of online forums allowing members to socialise and discuss their studies on-line. Access to these forums is restricted, i.e. only available to students, staff and alumni.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.