Standard online tutorials at The Open University, based in the UK, are generally tutor-led with the tutor setting the agenda and content. This study investigated the inclusion of online student-led drop-in tutorials to support assessment on an OU level one module. The aims were to gauge the value to students of this style of tutorial, to…

As part of a wider study into perceptions that different university stakeholders have of tutorials, we investigated the UK Open University model for tuition through a process of semi-structured interviews with a self-selecting set of STEM tutors. The aim of the study was to elucidate perceptions that tutors have of the role and purpose of…

For students new to higher education, the task of developing their academic writing skills, and particularly the principles and practices of source-referencing, can be daunting. Although institutions and teachers can and do provide positive guidance on this score, all too often students veer into inadvertent plagiarism through lack of confidence…

Discusses prison education in Great Britain and reports on a study of Open University prison tutors that investigated tutorial relationships, student characteristics, and contextual features. Highlights include research on prison education; the Open University/Home Office Scheme that arranged prison education; and an appendix that shows course…

Reports results of a telephone survey of students in the Open University's School of Education (Wales), set in the context of Total Quality Management, that investigated student attitudes toward tutorial support. The need for improved service in rural areas is discussed, and implications for tutors and for marketing strategies are suggested. (LRW)

This paper reports on a research study that draws on the perceptions of students, tutors, field centre coordinators and central management to evaluate the support services provided to students in the National Teachers' Institute's distance teacher training programme. Within a conceptual framework that built upon models of teaching and learning…