Open University Associate Lecturer

[Lareunion974]

Hello everyone, this is my first ever post on Mumsnet! I am applying for an Associate Lecturer job with the Open University. It's a part-time, work from home position and I have been told I can organise my own hours. This all sounds amazing, but I wondered if anyone had any recent experience of working with the OU in terms of hours, work load and progression possibilities. I have two very young children so I am very attracted to the flexibility of hours. Thanks in advance.

Hi - I work for the OU although not in an AL role. Generally I have found them to be a much better employer than the other HE institutions I’ve worked for. It’s a very large, bureaucratic and stable institution. Which has its pluses and minuses! Be prepared for some intense admin processes… But it’s generally well resourced and in my role, the workload is significantly more reasonable than at previous HEIs.

In terms of progression, the AL role can be a bit of a silo- some modules have hundreds of ALs working on them so often there’s not too much contact with the central academic departments. But, that does depend on you and your department, and there are opportunities to get involved in producing modules and developing teaching practice. The way the OU works is more or less unique so if you do ever want to apply for a different post in the university it’s a big advantage to have worked as an AL and know the model.

Having said all of this- ALs are all being moved to permanent contracts (from being employed casually per module) which will likely change the dynamics and the role to some extent.

Amazingly helpful, thanks for that.

Hi @Lareunion974, I’m an OU AL 😊

Workload goes up and down throughout the year, some weeks I don’t have much to do at all, and other weeks I’ll be teaching, marking, moderating the forum all at once 😄 assessments are more of a pinch point, but workload probably depends on what form the assessments take, i.e. length, level, are you expected to give written and/or recorded/spoken feedback.

As @Woolsy says, we’re all going to permanent contracts which is great for job security - I think ALs used to be employed year to year, and you’d stay ‘appointable’ for a module for two years if you didn’t get allocated a teaching group, and then you’d have to re-apply. But I think now once you’ve been made appointable/are successful in your application, you stay appointable, regardless of whether there’s a group for you that academic year.

That's really helpful information, thank you so much. While you're there, do you have any tips for the interview? The sort of questions they may ask or the kind of activities I may have to do. Will I have to do a sample lesson? This is the first time I am applying for such a role. I know it is a work from home module, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

I remember being asked at interview about how I’d approach distance teaching and learning and about what I thought its challenges and opportunities would be. This was in 2020, so ‘luckily’ there was online pandemic teaching to draw on. Maybe have a think as well about the kinds of students you’ll be working with - on my module, I teach 18-year-olds whose school doesn’t offer my subject, right through to retired people who just want to try something new, plus students in prison, which had its own challenges as they can’t access the Adobe Connect system for online tutorials. It’s a very varied and interesting role! Good luck, you can PM me as well if you’d like 😊

Many thanks for the detailed response, incredibly useful. Can I ask if you actually had to teach a lesson during interview? And yes, I might PM you further down the track if I get picked for interview!

Sorry, I forgot to answer that part of your question, that’s quite important 😄 no, I didn’t have to teach as I had my interview over the summer after students had finished. The interview was a phone conversation with two tutors and covered four modules in my subject area (I was made appointable for two of them). So no teaching involved, just a fairly informal conversation. 😊

Yes it’s all distance learning- that means the modules all have a book and website with all the teaching materials for each week- website is interactive with activities, films etc. The students work through these independently, with access to online forums for discussion and some face to face or online tutorials (I think in my subject there is one per term but that varies). Tutorials are designed and run by ALs so one thing you may be asked to do for an interview is design a tutorial from some teaching materials.

It’s not online teaching as in weekly lectures and seminars on zoom, which a lot of people assume before starting. If you want to see what OU materials look like go on OpenLearn and there’s loads of free courses on there.

Most modules work by allocating each AL 15-20 students - you are then responsible for marking their work. Marking is more detailed and important than at other places as that’s the main time you can feed back to students individually. Then you also as @OMGTTC says moderate the student forums (where they discuss the module content) which most modules I think do on a rota system. You’ll usually be in a regional cluster- so all students from eg Scotland or North West England.

So it’s very different from normal teaching. The sheer range of students is also different to most places - full range of ages, life experience, and prior educational experience. So it’s important to demonstrate some understanding of challenges faced by distance learning students - eg isolation, motivation, balancing commitments. I think really good ALs are empathetic, constructive, and good communicators - the students get so little contact it needs to be good quality!

Thanks to both, amazing feedback. It's been described as part time but I do not know how part time that will be. That may be something for discussion at interview. How does one combat lack of motivation and isolation etc when students are working alone so much? I suppose it would be good communication, thorough feedback, and availability to talk to students regularly et cetera.

What else could I mention on that front?

I was an AL 10 years ago so take this with a pinch of salt. Normally you're be given a nominal no. of ours that you're expect to put in in each module. It is very easy to get carried away and do more than that (for example, you could correct each and every grammar mistake in a student assignment... or you could simply correct a few and say something in the feedback to the effect of "get in touch with Student support to work on your grammar"). So it is important to have the self-discipline to not do more than you're paid for - in my experience, the line managers are understanding and won't expect you to spend hours doing something for which you're maybe paid 30 minutes.
If you are given more than one group, or have regular groups every year, etc. then you eventually develop your own strategies and you'll ned to dedicate fewer hours to the module than you would in your first presentation.
In terms of the teaching, the OU students were by far the most rewarding students I've ever taught. They are very motivated, and most of them will be in their mid-20s or above so really they are much more mature and also used to balancing multiple commitments with work and family. It is true the OU has a VERY high attrition rate - you may start with 20 students but end with 13 or 14 - I think part of this is inevitable due to the lonely nature of online study and the fact that many students have work or family commitments and might not have appreciated the time it takes to study for a degree. But the OU has a great student services team who can help students who are struggling - you will be expected to refer students to them, but not to engage in substantial remedial work or pastoral support.
The main thing I didn't like in my AL role was the very scarce to non-existent progression opportunities. I was at the time fresh out of my PhD, keen to build an academic career; the AL roles gives you a lot of experience of marking, deadling with students on a day-to-day basis, and some experience of designing tutorial activities. This was useful but I soon found out that it was nearly impossible to get some of the more advanced experience that is likely to make your application stand out as an early career academic - e.g. experience in designing a curriculum, or undertaking QA work; every now and then such opportunities would be advertised among existing ALs but they got dozens of applications and in the end they tended to go to the experienced ones. Plus, at the time the OU had some weird policies that ALs weren't entitled to use "THe Open University" as their affiliation when attending a conference or publishing a paper, which absolutely rubbed me the wrong way.

Hey OP! I'm not an academic but a student. I've done a degree in a brick uni and now a second at the OU. Other people have outlined the structural differences which are important - and it's a great system, the feedback on work is far more detailed than I had previously.

Someone touched on student diversity. This is a major area of difference that I've noticed. As most students are "mature" they often have any combination of physical health issues, mental health issues, childcare issues, work deadlines, caring responsibilities of elderly relatives and/or children with varying degrees of disabilities, abusive relationships and unsupportive spouses - and more! Then you have the people who didn't finish school with good exam results for any number of reasons and don't quite believe they're cleaver enough to study, even while they're actually studying! Every year there will be someone studying from hospital before or after an op or having a baby!

When I was an undergrad the first time we had a "student life". Very few if any OU students have that. There's no heading off to the library with your mates to study then heading out for a beer. It's usually studying around life. And studying entirely alone. As I'm unable to attend f2f tutorials, I've not even seen another student in my whole 5 years of study. I'm not alone in that.

My first degree came from one of the red brick unis and I value both it and the experience. But my OU degree is something I am proud of (more so when I actually finish it! 😂). I also love watching the FB groups around graduation time to hear people's stories. The dedication and determination required to complete an OU degree, while fulfilling the rest of your obligations, makes OU students a breed apart in my opinion.

This is maybe - probably! - not directly relevant to your interview, but possibly provides some background info that's helpful. Good luck!

*not sure why "mature" is in quotation marks! I mean aged 21+ with different lifestyles than 18 years old and living in halls.

Amazing and highly detailed feedback from everyone, thank you so much for these insights. Fingers crossed for an interview. Best wishes to all!

Is AL the lowest level of tutor? I’m interested in becoming an OU tutor but I’m unsure of the tutor hierarchy.

TIA

I'm no expert as this is my first application to the OU but yes, I think it is. I don't have a PhD and it wasn't mentioned on the requirement although I do have a Masters. This would imply that it's a fairly low level position I reckon, as otherwise a PhD may be required.

Thank you! It’s not clear on their website. I went by the pay grades.

best of luck with your application!

The OU has an unusual structure which is partly historical - it’s divided into ‘central’ and ‘regional’. A central academic role is the most similar to a trad academic job, you have a balance of ‘teaching’ (mainly writing modules and admin on existing modules, no marking) and research, with usual progression lecturer, senior lecturer, prof. The terms for these jobs are in line with pre 92 unis. For this you’re nominally based in Milton Keynes.

The ‘regional’ roles are more about the delivery of the modules and have all the contact with students. As the OU is delivered all over the UK the students are organised in regional clusters for teaching and there are also some regional offices left as well, although fewer than there used to be. So ALs are employed regionally, and managed by Staff Tutors, a more senior regional role. A big module can have over a hundred ALs, several Staff Tutors, plus some central academics involved in running it.

This means that it can be quite difficult to move from being an AL (or Staff Tutor) into a more traditional central academic role. It does happen, but it’s not like moving from lecturer to senior lecturer. So yes, @aridapricot can see it would be a bit frustrating if you were trying to build an academic career on the basis of it. Staff Tutors do have some time for research built in but it’s significantly less than the central roles.

And yes I think the OU website is terrible at explaining any of these roles which don’t exist in other places! It makes it difficult for external people applying.

Hi there
so I had my interview, they said I am appointable, now what? Thu said they will wait for Students to sign in the module then tell me! Seems a bit weird no?

Hi there
so I had my interview and they said I am appointable, notes I have to wait for students? Is this joes they always recruit? Is for an associate lecturer role starting in October

Hi there
So I passed my interview for AL they said I am appointable and now I’m waiting for students? Is this the normal way of doing things at OU?

The e Mail I just got days I’m appointable but if I don’t hear from them in 6 months then my case is closer? Just strange
still waiting for students for my course. Is that normal?

Yes that’s normal- as they won’t know how many students there will be yet and so how many ALs will be needed for the module. Well done on passing the interview!

Oh thank you, do you think it’s wise if I ask the number of the cohort they had last year? Thank you ☺️

I have been made appointable but the e Mail says if you haven’t heard from us in 6 months we have taken you off the register. No one has given me a contract to sign so I don’t think they are making ALs permanent

Yes, (sadly) that's normal, and one of the frustrating things about working for the OU. Bear in mind that some courses, particularly those at level 2 and 3, might attract quite small numbers of students so there might be only one group. Personally I was always more fortunate with the very large level 1 introductory courses.