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Access, Participation and Success

Helping IMD Q1 M&S students feel that they belong at the OU

  • Marianna Volpi

    • Members of communities whose aspirations have not traditionally included attending university may experience feelings of imposter syndrome, or a sense of being ‘out of place’ and not belonging to university when they commence their university career and indeed at points throughout their studies.

    May 2025 to September 2025

    Investigating the value of online ‘quiet’ tutorials for Level 1 Interdisciplinary Environment students

  • Alice Fraser-McDonaldMaria Townsend

    • Autistic and neurodivergent students, as well as others with declared mental health issues, may find attending live online tutorials challenging (Hunter, no date).

    May 2025 to March 2026

    SiSE Mathematics Research Experience

  • James Tuite Dan Rust

    • This project is a pilot scheme and feasibility study for research projects with SiSE students similar to previous OU bursary schemes. The circumstances of SiSE students and difficulty of communication means that such students are discouraged from applying to such initiatives.

    August 2024 to April 2025

    Postcode Inequity: Closing the Awarding Gap for Stage 1 STEM Students residing in our most deprived UK postcodes

  • Louise MacBrayneJennie Bellamy

    • Winner of the 10th Best Poster Competition at the 14th eSTEeM Annual Conference, 30th April – 1st May 2025.

    September 2024 to November 2025

    Evaluating an LGBTQ+ awarding gap and supporting our queer student community: An intersectional perspective (Phase 1)

  • Willow NealEmmanuel Zuza

    • Being LGBTQ+ exposes people to various stigmas and inequalities; societal, cultural, and legal, which are exacerbated when intersecting with other marginalised identities, such as race, disability or socio-economic status.

    June 2024 to October 2025

    Evaluating the impact on attainment and retention of implementing TMA-specific assessment checklists in LHCS modules

  • Kate FoxHeather Fraser

    • Most students feel some level of anxiety when completing and submitting their tutor marked assignments (TMAs). In addition, there is an awarding gap between students with anxiety-related mental health issues or neurodiversity, compared to their peers across Higher Education.

    June 2024 to September 2026

    Evaluation of Digital Assets to support LHCS Students’ Sense of Belonging

  • Zoë ChapmanJanette Wallace

    • Winner of the Most Engaging and Immersive Session on Day Two of the 14th eSTEeM Annual Conference, 30th April – 1st May 2025.

    July 2024 to July 2026

    Do assessment strategies contribute to awarding gaps in Stage 2 LHCS modules?

  • Zoë ChapmanKatie Harvey

    • The aim of this project is to investigate the impact of different assessment strategies used in Stage 2 modules in the School of Life, Health, and Chemical Sciences (LHCS), and to determine if the assessment type used contributes to awarding gaps that may be observed for disadvantaged and/or unde

    November 2023 to November 2024

    A case study analysis of STEM decolonising activity within UK Higher Education Institutions

  • Zoe Tompkins

    • The Issues

    May 2023 to April 2024

    Creating a suite of resources to support students with Maths Anxiety

  • Sue PawleyNicola McIntyreGemma WarrinerBecca Whitehead

    • Maths Anxiety can be described as “an emotion that blocks a person’s reasoning ability when confronted with a mathematical situation” [Spicer 2004], in an extreme form, “when confronted with a math problem, the sufferer has sweaty palms, is nauseous, has heart palpitations, and experiences paraly

    May 2023

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