So now all those who work at The Open University may finally have some 'closure': Peter Horrocks, the Vice-Chancellor, is going and the future suddenly looks a lot more open than it did a week ago. The acting V-C, Professor Mary Kellett, is in place and has issued a widely-welcomed message in which she calls… Continue reading Closure at the Open University?
Category: students
Am I a ‘teacher’? Apparently not.
Is what central academics at The Open University 'teaching'? Apparently not. Just wondering why we write all the teaching materials, then...!
University admissions – true stories
University admissions - has there ever been a completely 'fair' system?
Exam season – my top tips
Students - How to survive the exam season with your sanity intact...
Harassment and sexual misconduct: discussing the unthinkable
Issues of power and consent in higher education: as harassment advisor and from the other side
The agony of marking
It's that season, yet again. For UK academics, term has ended, and coursework marking has begun. Soon to come: marking dissertations, followed by marking exams. I gave up marking when I moved to The Open University in 2011, as there it's done by the associate lecturers (aka 'tutors'), so all that was left for me… Continue reading The agony of marking
On sleep and nightmares
So, subconscious mind, get used to it: I'm still an academic, but I'm not going back to the Day Job, ever!
Rites of passage (1): lunch and visibility
Yesterday marked a double rite of passage. My first pension payment arrived in my bank account (always a relief to know that this sort of thing works!) and we had lunch with my former department to mark my retirement. Held well away from the office (as in, not in Milton Keynes but in Oxford - distance… Continue reading Rites of passage (1): lunch and visibility
Ten days of retirement
Naked Minotaur, ancient and modern science, and a MOOC - and no REF in sight!
PhDs: what are we doing?
Today I acted as a PhD external examiner for the final time. If you've read discussions of what the responsibilities of a retired academic should be, you'll maybe have seen 'examining PhDs' in there, as part of our supposed duty to the next generation of scholarship. However, having examined more PhDs in the last three… Continue reading PhDs: what are we doing?
The retiring academic 