The OU Students Association has been added to the list of organisations capable of nominating a learner representative to the Welsh Commission for Tertiary Education and Research (CTER) board, which will come into existence in 2024.
Under the arrangements proposed by the Welsh government, NUS Wales would have been the only designated Learner Representative Body, as they have been for the last 15 years under the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW). However, the OU Students Association submitted a formal response to the Welsh government’s public consultation pointing out that OU students are not represented by NUS Wales and need an independent voice to convey the unique experiences and challenges of being an OU student.
As a result of this, the Welsh government has listened and taken the decision to add the OU Students Association to the list of designated Learner Representative Bodies, meaning that we will be able to send a representative to important meetings that impact higher education policy in Wales when the new CTER board comes into operation.
Deputy President, Gareth Jones, said: “This is a great step forward in raising the profile of part-time and distance-learning issues in Wales and making sure that OU Students are included in the important conversations that affect their student experience.”
If you want to find out more about how the OU Students Association represents students, visit the Student Leadership area of our website.