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4 Community and belonging
Open qualifications bring together a diverse network of students with different backgrounds, motivations for study, interests and career aspirations. You may find you’re one of a few students on your module studying for an Open qualification whilst other students are on a named degree pathway and so may have studied previous modules relating to that subject.
Studying an Open qualification makes you a brave learner as you’re using your own knowledge and experience to direct your course of study. Whilst there are many benefits to this way of studying, we also recognise some of the challenges this might bring, including making decisions about what module to study next, adapting to different approaches in disciplines (such as referencing) or how to access timely advice and guidance. We support a virtual community of multidisciplinary students and have created opportunities for you to embrace the space between your modules to connect with other students, reflect on your study pathway and qualification aims.
You can connect with other students studying an Open qualification in various ways including via the student-led Facebook group student forums [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , hosted on the qualification subject site, where students can ask questions about module choices, pathways and module combinations.
The Open Blog celebrates the Open curriculum at the OU and has entries from students, our mental health advisor team, the student consultation group, careers service and many others, as well as the Open qualifications team. The blog highlights the reach of our Open qualifications community, its rich diversity and interest from others.
Finally, the Open qualifications team work closely with colleagues from Student Hub Live (SHL) which are a series of live, interactive events, to deliver informative, interesting and innovative sessions. Events run with the Open qualifications team can be found here:
- What’s in your (Open) box?
- #Your Degree Your Choice!
- Different Perspectives: Why talking across subjects sparks new ideas
- Different Perspectives: Exploring the big questions from different points of view
Don’t forget the Open University Students Association has a thriving community with several opportunities to get involved in their different interest groups.
Activity 5
Select one of these opportunities to engage with the wider Open community and explore it further. Note down some of the benefits engaging with the wider study community might bring you.