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Become an OU student

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Being an OU student
Being an OU student

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1 Navigating StudentHome

As the name suggests, StudentHome is the starting point for almost everything you do online with the OU.

From StudentHome you can:

  • access your module website (it opens about 3 weeks before your module start date)
  • contact your module tutor or study adviser (you’ll be allocated one shortly before your module starts)
  • contact your student support team (SST) (you’ll find out more about what your SST can help you with in the next session)
  • find help and support
  • submit and collect assignments
  • choose your next module
  • check your qualification progress
  • check and change your personal details.

Finding your way around StudentHome now will mean you’ll be able to quickly find things once your module starts.

Open a new window or tab in your web browser so you can follow the information and activities in this course while looking at your own StudentHome.

Activity _unit2.1.1 Activity 1 Accessing StudentHome

Timing: Allow about 5 minutes

The first thing you need to do, if you haven’t already, is actually access StudentHome.

Follow the steps below to access StudentHome.

  1. Go to the OU website at www.open.ac.uk [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . This is the public page for the OU. Click ‘Sign in’ at the top of the screen. You’ll have been provided with an OUCU (Open University Computer Username) which consists of a series of letters and numbers (usually your initials and a number) and a PI (Personal Identifier) which tends to be a single letter followed by a number. These both remain unchanged throughout your study with the OU. The link to StudentHome and your access details will be in the email you received when you first signed up for study.
Described image
Figure _unit2.1.1 Figure 1 OU homepage
  1. Enter your registered email address, OUCU or PI as the username and then the password provided to you. If you can’t remember the password, then you can reset it on the same page by answering a number of security questions.
  2. Use the drop-down options below the password box to choose to sign into StudentHome.
Described image
Figure _unit2.1.2 Figure 2 Sign-in page

Now you’ve accessed StudentHome it’s time to explore it in more detail.