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It is crucial not only to support students at all stages of their student journey, but also to create a space where they can benefit from peer support and interact with the wider mathematics and statistics (M&S) community. In a society awash with social media, it is possible to create online spaces that complement and enhance existing communities available in traditional face-to-face courses, or to provide such an environment for students who learn at a distance. The School of Mathematics and Statistics at The Open University (OU) has recently consolidated existing resources into a website resulting in an active and vibrant community of learners. The site contains resources, which students access at appropriate points in their student journey through M&S modules and qualifications. These resources are complemented by a number of dedicated and well-used online forums. In particular, a forum providing course choice information. Discussions in the forum have ultimately led to improvements in the structure of M&S qualifications, influencing the content of new modules, more effective assessment strategies, and better ways of supporting students. It is a true community of learners, where everyone - students, academics and educational advisors - all contribute, learn from each other, and shape the student experience.

At the Open University, where students learn online and at a distance, the School of Mathematics and Statistics has for many years provided innovative ways of supporting students outside the ‘classroom’ environment so was well prepared to support students during the COVID-19 pandemic. These forms of support include online forums to help students with module choice and taster resources including diagnostic quizzes for students to self-assess their readiness to study individual modules and receive targeted support. Since 2017, these resources, and more, have been incorporated into a multi-functional student-facing website. The website enables all units, both academic and non-academic, to provide consistent academic, pastoral and social support to students studying mathematics and statistics modules online. By focusing on the different stages of a student’s journey, the website provides a one-stop shop for students to self-serve and obtain appropriate support at each point in their own student lifecycle. Data gathered on the frequency of use of the website, together with the results from staff and student questionnaires, have provided insight into how students and staff use the website. The evaluation highlights the need for clear signposting to such resources. In addition, the wide range of resources which enable students to make informed module choices is shown to be particularly important for staff who provide pastoral and academic support to students.

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