The Open University Reviews

Cons

Poor pay considering the hours spent

Cons

poor overall conditions; precarious employment; you rarely teach what you prepare; limited research facilities; inefficient processes; poor office environment

Cons

Senior management is out of touch with work of front line staff, and staff lack autonomy to manage their own work. Micro management. OU ethos and cultural values being eroded.

Cons

currently going though big changes

Cons

Decline in academic input; gross staff bullying; lack of scientific knowledge in management.

Oh, what a decline over a decade. I am a biologist. When I started the academic standard was high with courses designed & managed by top notch researchers to high academic standards. Dialogue was as one would expect in a scientific environment. Gradually, that changed. Course management devolved to those without any relevant research experience; "new" courses were cobbled together from the fragments of old, without cohesion. Physical books were more or less dropped as tuition fees went sky high, losing the OU almost all of its lifelong learning contingent.

Worse, ideas came to be perceived as criticism & witch-hunts all too prevalent in an environment where respect for the associate lecturer became conspicuous by its absence. As an example, in my case, using the OU much-vaunted anti-bullying procedures, I found the issue dealt with by management who undertook a clandestine character assassination program. When I requested nearby venues for hearings, as I do have life-impacting but unseen disabilities, this resulted in a covert challenge that these disabilities were presented only after my complaint was made. I'm still trying to work out the rationale there but it was widely touted, including to my union rep & raised unwarranted questions over my integrity. And yes, I have it on record.

I left - I have 3 degrees in science & adult further/higher education but the illogical lack of support made the work a thankless task, to say the least. And there was no reason for it at all, as (in common with most out-posted staff) I worked considerably in excess of paid hours & was completely dedicated to my work & loyal to the OU in my dealings with tutees.

There is little left of the OU of old, which even then had a rather low academic reputation in comparison with mainstream, traditional, universities. Online education has become widespread & competition considerable. The OU all but abandoned its advantages of personal teaching & summer schools & dropped many of its science courses in my time with them. The introduction of inflexible marking schemes made it difficult to mark fairly, enforcing marks for inadequate answers & failing to allow credit for exceptional work. Pass thresholds were reduced. This fails to satisfy the basic educational tenet the marks awarded should reflect achievement - or lack of it. In case you wonder, providing the marks themselves was a comparatively minor (if essential) aspect of the associate lecturer role, which involved extensive student feedback.

I find it difficult to perceive what advantage the OU offers students in an increasingly competitive field in which major universities have an increasing input.

Cons

Can be very political and slow to react

Cons

Demotivated workforce due to constant and seemingly inefficient change.
Senior management disconnected from main body of staff.

Cons

Today changes on how life evolves (technology advancements, for example) leaves quite a desirable bit from an institution such as OU, or at least from the colleagues I am working with.

OU is being a bit/quite all over the place at the moment; overall very classist colleagues who either look for some pompous meaningless attention or are too focus in self-recognition.

I work as part of a team at the school of computing and communications that is rather all over the place, with a great overload = overworked, and not enough time to dedicate to work in the projects we have on the plate. Oftentimes not having time for quality meetings and not providing with leadership but a sense of being bossed around, which is terrible sad in 2018, at a university... Not much mentorship provided either.

Cons

current uncertainty about the OU future

Cons

Senior Management Team and Vice Chancellor