Open University
Milton Keynes
Open University Frustration
Hey all,
So I wanted to compare experiences with other OU students? I chose the OU as I work from home and it was convenient for me but so far I’ve found it to be a frustrating experience. Considering that anyone can join an OU course, the tutor marked assignments are marked surprisingly harshly. You can only realistically ask for help in the drop in sessions but they get cancelled a lot and I can’t always re-book them with work.
I’m passing my course on good passes but feel like every assignment, i’m given more of a critique and not enough constructive feedback generally. I don’t want to keep bothering my tutor all the time because I don’t want to annoy them and them get even harsher.
I understand that it’s a pretty faceless form of university but I honestly think that i’m never going to be able to please this tutor and it’s making me feel despondent. In my recent ICMA I scored high but with assignments I score slightly higher than a normal pass.
So I wanted to compare experiences with other OU students? I chose the OU as I work from home and it was convenient for me but so far I’ve found it to be a frustrating experience. Considering that anyone can join an OU course, the tutor marked assignments are marked surprisingly harshly. You can only realistically ask for help in the drop in sessions but they get cancelled a lot and I can’t always re-book them with work.
I’m passing my course on good passes but feel like every assignment, i’m given more of a critique and not enough constructive feedback generally. I don’t want to keep bothering my tutor all the time because I don’t want to annoy them and them get even harsher.
I understand that it’s a pretty faceless form of university but I honestly think that i’m never going to be able to please this tutor and it’s making me feel despondent. In my recent ICMA I scored high but with assignments I score slightly higher than a normal pass.
(edited 3 years ago)
Doesn't sound like my experience at all, which was pretty good. Also my tutors were very receptive to emailing to follow up on feedback I received if I wanted to clarify or didn't understand it (or in one case, disagreed with it - and ended up with my mark improved because they looked at it again and saw they had made a mistake 
). They also offered to speak with students by telephone, although I never did that. It may of course vary between subjects and individual tutors though, but that is also true of "brick uni" learning, and really is the exception that proves the rule which is that they aren't all like that and you will have different experiences as you continue with them, hopefully!
I've also moved your thread to the Open University forum so hopefully more students from the OU will see it and be able to discuss their experiences
). They also offered to speak with students by telephone, although I never did that. It may of course vary between subjects and individual tutors though, but that is also true of "brick uni" learning, and really is the exception that proves the rule which is that they aren't all like that and you will have different experiences as you continue with them, hopefully!I've also moved your thread to the Open University forum so hopefully more students from the OU will see it and be able to discuss their experiences
(edited 3 years ago)
Open University
Milton Keynes
The OU do mark very harshly compared to a brick uni (the need to ensure that the degrees they offer are seen as highly credible) but your tutor should be fully supporting you on your journey. You could phone student support and ask for a different tutor if you don't feel like your current one is not particularly helpful. Most of my tutors were fantastic but I had one in my final year who really took a strong dislike to me and made no secret of it, so I know how stressful a bad tutor can be. Definitely speak to student support though. Good luck!
Original post by readyamzfire
Hey all,
So I wanted to compare experiences with other OU students? I chose the OU as I work from home and it was convenient for me but so far I’ve found it to be a frustrating experience. Considering that anyone can join an OU course, the tutor marked assignments are marked surprisingly harshly. You can only realistically ask for help in the drop in sessions but they get cancelled a lot and I can’t always re-book them with work.
I’m passing my course on good passes but feel like every assignment, i’m given more of a critique and not enough constructive feedback generally. I don’t want to keep bothering my tutor all the time because I don’t want to annoy them and them get even harsher.
I understand that it’s a pretty faceless form of university but I honestly think that i’m never going to be able to please this tutor and it’s making me feel despondent. In my recent ICMA I scored high but with assignments I score slightly higher than a normal pass.
So I wanted to compare experiences with other OU students? I chose the OU as I work from home and it was convenient for me but so far I’ve found it to be a frustrating experience. Considering that anyone can join an OU course, the tutor marked assignments are marked surprisingly harshly. You can only realistically ask for help in the drop in sessions but they get cancelled a lot and I can’t always re-book them with work.
I’m passing my course on good passes but feel like every assignment, i’m given more of a critique and not enough constructive feedback generally. I don’t want to keep bothering my tutor all the time because I don’t want to annoy them and them get even harsher.
I understand that it’s a pretty faceless form of university but I honestly think that i’m never going to be able to please this tutor and it’s making me feel despondent. In my recent ICMA I scored high but with assignments I score slightly higher than a normal pass.
Hi there!
A lot of the experience with the OU is dependent on the tutors you get. I found that most of my tutors were excellent - quick to respond to emails, happy to chat over the phone, gave a lot of feedback. However I did have one that marked assignments more harshly and did not give a lot of feedback to support the grades I was being given. It was very frustrating. Luckily, it was just that one module.
Don't be afraid to contact your tutors and ask for more feedback or support - that's what they are there for. If you really feel they are being unfair or unhelpful, you can contact student services to discuss your concerns.
You will find that, as you do more modules, tutors vary greatly in their approach. I had some fantastic tutors there and enjoyed my OU experience. Hopefully things will get better for you!
Not all tutors are bad, but there are some extremely bad ones marking the TMAs.
Sometimes It seemed like I lost marks for completely arbitrary reasons.
This one time I was deducted 3 marks for not presenting results in a table as opposed to just listing them. It was an L3 math module. You can guess how much value this piece of feedback carried when it comes to learning math.
I have also been deducted marks because of either carelessness or honest mistakes by the tutor. For example I made a reference to the method being used, but still lost marks for not making the reference. Once or twice I even solved the question correctly, but lost some marks as if the solution is wrong (with the given "correct" solution being the same as mine). I was able to get some of these corrected, but it's a real hassle to dispute TMA results, so I usually don't bother when I see that I'm getting enough marks for a distinction anyway.
Getting an answer from a tutor like this takes a week or more. They are not interested in going back and re-checking your TMA, so they are stalling. When you nag them enough, they will answer something like "No you are wrong, read page such and such of book X. Don't bother me with this nonsense I have too many TMAs to mark." I'm not even exaggerating this is almost literally what happened to me.
So far I had 2 tutors like this and 2 really nice ones who take time to read through your solutions and emails and reply quickly.
Sometimes It seemed like I lost marks for completely arbitrary reasons.
This one time I was deducted 3 marks for not presenting results in a table as opposed to just listing them. It was an L3 math module. You can guess how much value this piece of feedback carried when it comes to learning math.
I have also been deducted marks because of either carelessness or honest mistakes by the tutor. For example I made a reference to the method being used, but still lost marks for not making the reference. Once or twice I even solved the question correctly, but lost some marks as if the solution is wrong (with the given "correct" solution being the same as mine). I was able to get some of these corrected, but it's a real hassle to dispute TMA results, so I usually don't bother when I see that I'm getting enough marks for a distinction anyway.
Getting an answer from a tutor like this takes a week or more. They are not interested in going back and re-checking your TMA, so they are stalling. When you nag them enough, they will answer something like "No you are wrong, read page such and such of book X. Don't bother me with this nonsense I have too many TMAs to mark." I'm not even exaggerating this is almost literally what happened to me.
So far I had 2 tutors like this and 2 really nice ones who take time to read through your solutions and emails and reply quickly.
Thanks for the replies guys! 
I’ve decided to give it one more shot on a TMA and if I feel its marked too harshly i’ll contact student services.
I am taking another module, starting soon (I did one year over two because I started late) so hopefully I’ll have a tutor thats a bit more supportive!
Andrie2 Yes, i’m basically feeling the same. I lost marks for including a table when I apparently wasn’t supposed to. (It wasn’t specified on the TMA and I thought it was neater) My tutor just finds a way to disagree with me even if my argument bears enough credit or facts to it. I find them very pedantic... It’s their way or the highway! ><
In all honesty if I can just keep getting ok passes from this tutor, I can just move on from this module as i’ve lost all joy in it... I don’t think it’ll be like that with every module but this one’s just had too much negativity now to enjoy it now!
I’ve decided to give it one more shot on a TMA and if I feel its marked too harshly i’ll contact student services.
I am taking another module, starting soon (I did one year over two because I started late) so hopefully I’ll have a tutor thats a bit more supportive!
Andrie2 Yes, i’m basically feeling the same. I lost marks for including a table when I apparently wasn’t supposed to. (It wasn’t specified on the TMA and I thought it was neater) My tutor just finds a way to disagree with me even if my argument bears enough credit or facts to it. I find them very pedantic... It’s their way or the highway! ><
In all honesty if I can just keep getting ok passes from this tutor, I can just move on from this module as i’ve lost all joy in it... I don’t think it’ll be like that with every module but this one’s just had too much negativity now to enjoy it now!
Original post by readyamzfire
Hey all,
So I wanted to compare experiences with other OU students? I chose the OU as I work from home and it was convenient for me but so far I’ve found it to be a frustrating experience. Considering that anyone can join an OU course, the tutor marked assignments are marked surprisingly harshly. You can only realistically ask for help in the drop in sessions but they get cancelled a lot and I can’t always re-book them with work.
I’m passing my course on good passes but feel like every assignment, i’m given more of a critique and not enough constructive feedback generally. I don’t want to keep bothering my tutor all the time because I don’t want to annoy them and them get even harsher.
I understand that it’s a pretty faceless form of university but I honestly think that i’m never going to be able to please this tutor and it’s making me feel despondent. In my recent ICMA I scored high but with assignments I score slightly higher than a normal pass.
So I wanted to compare experiences with other OU students? I chose the OU as I work from home and it was convenient for me but so far I’ve found it to be a frustrating experience. Considering that anyone can join an OU course, the tutor marked assignments are marked surprisingly harshly. You can only realistically ask for help in the drop in sessions but they get cancelled a lot and I can’t always re-book them with work.
I’m passing my course on good passes but feel like every assignment, i’m given more of a critique and not enough constructive feedback generally. I don’t want to keep bothering my tutor all the time because I don’t want to annoy them and them get even harsher.
I understand that it’s a pretty faceless form of university but I honestly think that i’m never going to be able to please this tutor and it’s making me feel despondent. In my recent ICMA I scored high but with assignments I score slightly higher than a normal pass.
Hey!
Honestly, it depends on the tutors. I decided to do two modules this past year and in one of the modules i was doing really well and my marks were rising and in the other module, well I was not doing great. And i noticed there was a reason why. When i was given feedback for my assignments for both of the modules, I noticed that for the module I was not doing well in it was because the feedback was filled with where I had gone wrong and there were no suggestions on how i could do better. On the other hand, the module that i was doing well in, there were plenty of suggestions on how I could improve my marks with educational links attached etc. There was effort put in to that feedback.
I think you should contact student support, i'm sure they will be happy to help you.
Wishing you the best.
If there are things in your marked TMA that you need clarifying then feel free to ask your tutor to clarify. Ask them for more guidance and advice. If you need more help then ask to talk on the phone. You can also arrange individual support sessions via SST.
Never feel like you are bothering them. It is their job to respond to your queries.
Never feel like you are bothering them. It is their job to respond to your queries.
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