Over the past year, students at The Open University have faced huge amounts of changes to the way they study, which have occurred because of the changes Vice-chancellor Peter Horrocks has brought in. Many students have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with the changes being made, both through official platforms and unofficial social media outlets, however the changes have been maintained. The vision Horrocks appears to have for the Open University does not bode well for the future of this institution, with them reporting losses of enrolled part-time students in this current academic year, a pattern which is sure to continue if the current rate of changes continues.

The detrimental changes that have occurred include tutorial system changes, meaning that many students are allocated a tutor with whom they couldn't possibly attend a tutorial with and therefore have to attend a tutorial with another tutor; often leading to confusion on assessment criteria. Furthermore, the Open University has continued to alter the way they present their modules, moving away from print books towards online material. This is despite many students voicing their preference of print books to work with.

A final issue regarding Horrocks are his recent comments claiming that Open University academics "don't teach". The blatant disregard for the work and effort put in by OU academics leads to the final conclusion by many that Peter Horrocks needs to be replaced as Vice-Chancellor in order to save the Open University from irrelevance.

I ask you to sign this petition as a sign of our dissatisfaction of the current trajectory of the Open University. Whether you are a past or present student of the OU or an individual who believes the maintenance of suitable distance learning to be vital to continued educational opportunities, your support is all welcome. #savetheOU #reclaimtheOU