Academic calendar
Autumn Seasonal Academic Year 2026 runs Sep 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Autumn Seasonal Academic Year 2026Relevant now
- Winter Seasonal Academic Year 2027
- Spring Seasonal Academic Year 2027
- Summer Seasonal Academic Year 2027
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 11 of 11 terms
A
- AL
- Associate Lecturer; the specific tutor assigned to guide a student through a module.
B
- Brick Uni
- A term used by OU students to refer to traditional, physical campus-based universities.
E
- EMA
- End-of-Module Assessment; the final project or exam that concludes a course.
F
- FASS
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; one of the largest academic departments.
I
- iCMA
- interactive Computer-Marked Assignment; online quizzes used for assessment.
M
- Mulberry's
- A popular cafe located within the Berrill Building.
O
- OUSA
- Open University Students Association; the official student union.
S
- SST
- Student Support Team; the primary contact for academic and administrative help.
T
- The Cellar
- The student bar and social space located in the Hub building.
- The Hub
- The main dining and social area located at the Walton Hall campus.
- TMA
- Tutor-Marked Assignment; the core essays or projects submitted for grading.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- Berrill
- The Berrill Building, which serves as the main administrative and reception hub.
- berrill_building_caf
- Berrill Building Café
- Jennie Lee
- The Jennie Lee Building, housing the Institute of Educational Technology and library services.
- OUSBA
- Open University Student Budget Accounts; a subsidiary that provides credit to pay for module fees.
- Perry
- The Perry Building, a major academic and office building on the Walton Hall site.
- SCONUL
- A scheme that allows OU students to borrow books from other university libraries across the UK and Ireland.
- StudentHome
- The personalized online portal where students manage their studies and access materials.
- the_hub
- The Hub
- VLE
- Virtual Learning Environment; the online platform (Moodle) where module content is hosted.
- Walton Hall
- The historic manor house and the name used for the main Milton Keynes campus.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Autumn Seasonal Academic Year 2026 runs Sep 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 11 approved campus terms and 10 local details are included in full.
- Are all approved campus terms included?
- Yes. The complete approved glossary is available in the scrollable, searchable campus-language section.
- Where does this guide come from?
- Calendar dates, campus terms, and local details come from DormWay's approved campus reference library.