The OU's course codes are made up of letters and numbers. The letter identifies the faculty or school that the course belongs to and the numbers identify the specific course. Some courses relate to more than one academic area and have more than one letter in the course code (e.g. DB123, You and your money is owned by the Faculty of Social Sciences and by the OU Business School).
The course start and end date vary from course to course and it is worth checking this information given in the individual course information before you apply.
Nine-month courses start in February and finish in October or start in October and finish in June. Six-month courses run from May to October or November to April.
Each AL appointment letter raised will specify the length of the contract and the months that the course is presented over. ALs may be contracted to teach on an every presentation of a course or a single presentation or an alternate presentation basis. A definition of the three types of appointment patterns is given below.
Every presentation
Most ALs will have been offered an appointment to teach a course on an every presentation basis which lasts for the duration of the course life (this is usually 8 years but may be extended or reduced). This means that you have been appointed to tutor a specified course for a given course presentation start each year. It only relates to a particular course presentation start; if the course is presented more than once a year a separate contract would be raised for each course presentation start. ALs who teach on the same course with multiple start dates would hold multiple contracts.
For example, if the course is presented twice a year (in February and October) and you hold an appointment for the February presentation then you would tutor the course every time the course was presented in February. If you want to tutor the course in October you would need to apply for, and be appointed to, the October presentation.
Alternate presentation
This presentation pattern appointment type is not frequently used. This type of contract can be raised where a course is presented bi-annually or where the AL is required to alternate between two courses as part of supporting a cohort of students through a programme of study.
Single presentation
A single presentation appointment is used for a one-off presentation of a course and is only offered in particular circumstances, such as, if you were asked to cover for an AL who has gone on maternity or long term sick leave, or for a corporate booking (where the work is not continuing).
The courses with face-to-face tuition require travel to tutorial venues, these are usually within the area of your regional centre, but this cannot be guaranteed. Some courses are tutored entirely online and tutorials are held via online forums.
Most courses have set books provided as part of the course materials. On some courses set books are not provided and students and associate lecturers are required to purchase them. Further information will be provided upon appointment.
This icon is used in the vacancies section to tell you how many points are awarded to a student for the successful completion of a course. OU credit points equate directly to the CATs points system used by most UK universities.
This icon is used in the vacancies section to tell you how many tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) are associated with the course. TMAs are marked by you to provide feedback to your students.
Some courses have a final examination and some have an end-of-course assessment (ECA). If you are shortlisted, you will receive detailed course information including whether a course has an examination or ECA.
This icon is used in the vacancies section to tell you which method of tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) submission students will use for the course. On most courses, students are asked to submit their assignment electronically (eTMAs).
As part of your duties as an associate lecturer you will be expected to use this online marking system which will require you to mark your students assignments using your computer.
The University is unable to provide technical support for staff who are Macintosh users.
Each course description tells you which method of TMA submission is appropriate for that course. The submission categories are:
1a - eTMA is encouraged: submission on paper will be at the associate lecturer's discretion where there is evidence that e-submission is not possible
1b - eTMA is encouraged but students can submit a hardcopy TMA if they wish
2 - eTMA is compulsory
3 - Hard copy is compulsory
4 - Other: Some courses will come under this category as some TMAs for the course can not be submitted via the eTMA system. Such TMAs are likely to be those with TMAs containing graphics and for some language courses where an audio recording is needed.
ICT requirements are categorised according to the level of computer use in a particular course, and the salary band for the course reflects this. The computer icon in the course descriptions indicates which of three levels reflects the use of online ICT for associate lecturers.
This icon is used in the vacancies section to tell you the number of students likely to be in your student group.
This icon is used in the vacancies section to give you an estimate of the number of hours per teaching week that you could expect to work. You are only expected to work while the course is in presentation.
The OU must be able to demonstrate compliance with the national minimum wage legislation. To do this, the OU specifies the average daily number of hours an associate lecturer is likely to spend in carrying out the duties required under the contract as an associate lecturer. The total number of hours reflects the number of months that the course is in presentation each year and the workload for the course as specified in the teaching and assessment strategy (i.e. taking into account the number of contact hours, number of students in the group, number of tutor-marked assignments). Therefore, the number of hours varies from course to course and can range from as little as 1 1/2 hours a week to as much as 10 hours a week.
This icon is used in the vacancies section to tell you which salary band is applicable for the course. The teaching and assessment strategy may not be confirmed for all courses, in which case salary information in the course description will be shown as 'to be advised'. The salary is paid over the months the course is in presentation.
