The Open University
Student Support Platform
The Open University is one of the world's largest distance-learning institutions. With 200,000 students a year, each with their own mix of needs, questions and contact points, getting to the right help at the right moment was harder than it needed to be.
We worked with the OU's student services teams to fix that, building a suite of digital services that guided students to what they needed next, whether that was finding an answer, completing a form, or getting in touch with the right person.
Our role
We worked closely with the OU's student services teams on the technical strategy and design of a platform that could deliver everything from simple pages and articles to complex forms and guided wizards. It became the foundation for the Help Centre, Student Policies and Regulations site, and OU Community.
Student Help Centre
The main digital support hub for students. Built to be accessible and inclusive, it provides 24/7 self-serve access to help and support, web forms, contact information and web chat.
Complaints and appeals
The complaints and appeals service regularly attracts very positive feedback from students. It gives them ready access to contact the correct person or department to resolve their complaint, as well as the ability to find answers themselves for more straightforward queries.
Countdown to study
In an organisation as complex as the Open University, knowing what you need to do and when is genuinely hard. We built an interactive timeline that gave students timely nudges throughout their studies, from applying for Disabled Students Allowances (DSA) shortly after registering, to preparing for upcoming assessments. It started as a pilot and became a permanent part of the student experience.
More services we worked on
We worked with subject matter experts to improve many services including:
- Support with study during the Coronavirus pandemic
- Taking a break from study
- Getting careers and employability advice
- Booking an online or face to face tutorial
- Requesting extra time to complete an assignment
- Requesting that special circumstances are taken into account in module results
- Requesting additional support at tutorials and residential schools
- Requesting financial support
- Requesting to change course
- Selecting and registering on modules
- Requesting a reference from the OU
- Checking digital skills levels
- Getting help with writing assignments
- Mental health and wellbeing support
- Student induction
- Support with next steps having completed a qualification
Who we worked with
We worked with staff across many different units including:
- Student Services
- Marketing and communications
- Learning design
- Faculties
- IT
- Human Resources
- Finance and procurement
- Strategy
- Library
- Academics
- Researchers
- Tutors
Fancy a chat?
Sometimes it’s just useful to talk things through with someone who’s seen similar situations before.
No pitch, just a conversation. We’ll talk things through and see where we can help.