The Mathematics and Statistics Community of Learners

Project leader(s): Rachel Hilliam
Theme: Supporting students
Faculty: STEM
Status: Archived
Dates: May 2019 to December 2020

The Mathematics and Statistics Study Site was created in September 2017 and was one of a number of pilot study sites in the OU. Many of the resources on the site have grown out of smaller scholarship projects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the site for students, ALs and SRSC staff.

The main findings showed that education and senior advisors in the M&S SST found the site particularly useful and regularly used the resources in their conversations with students. However most of the SRF staff who work across all faculties, and are the front-line staff in the SRSC, were unaware of the existence of the site.

There needs to be both staff development and induction for SRF staff regarding study sites. There is also a problem with students finding the site in the first place. However, once students discover the study site they use it on a reasonably regularly basis, particularly for help in choosing their next module and for using the resources between module study.

There is also a lack of awareness of the site amongst ALs and this needs to be addressed through staff development and in CDSA conversations. One criticism is that navigation both to the study site and around the site is difficult, and thought should be given to how students are routed to the site and to the tab headings which do not seem to be fit for purpose.