Dr Maureen Rhoden

Professional biography 

Dr Maureen Rhoden (PGCE, SEDA, FHEA) is an academic, researcher and Student Experience Manager in The Open University Business School, Faculty of Business and Law. Her work focuses on inclusive online higher education, student experience and the institutional practices that shape participation, belonging and educational outcomes.

Her research and scholarship are particularly concerned with the experiences of students who may encounter structural or institutional barriers within higher education. Her current research interests include dyslexia and neurodiversity in online higher education, inclusive assessment and tutor practice; belonging and mattering; student experience and retention; widening participation; and the ways in which institutional policies, systems and practices can support or constrain equitable student outcomes.

Maureen has led and collaborated on a range of funded higher education scholarship projects. Her recent work has examined the experiences of online tutors assessing the work of students with declared dyslexia, the creation of inclusive learning environments for students with dyslexia, student complaints as a source of evidence for improving retention and the student experience, and the future of online distance learning. Her research is intended not only to contribute to academic knowledge but also to inform educational practice, staff development, module design and institutional decision making.

Her scholarship on dyslexia and online higher education has generated peer reviewed publications, research resports, conference presentations and practitioner facing outputs. This work examines the relationship between tutor knowledge and experience, assessment practice, institutional support and the creation of inclusive learning environments. 

A further strand of Maureen's research examines belonging, participation and the experiences of students who have traditionally been underrepresented within higher education. Her published work includes research examining the experiences of international womein students with preschool children and the support required by international master's students to successfully navigate higher education.

Research interests

Maureen's principle research interests include:

• inclusive online and distance higher education;
• dyslexia, neurodiversity and disability inclusion;
• student belonging and mattering;
• inclusive assessment and feedback;
• tutor practice and professional learning;
• student experience, retention and progression;
• widening participation and educational equity;
• institutional responsibility for inclusive education
• international and minoritised students' experiences of higher education; and
• evidence informed educational policy and practice

Research leadership and impact

Maureen combines research and scholarship with academic leadership focused on translating evidence into improvements in educational practice. She is a member of the Black Women's Academy Leadership Team and a member of their Research and Data Collection team and contributes to initiatives concerned with research development, scholarship, leadership and the experiences of Black women at the Open University. 

Her institutional work also includes research ethics and governance, where she has contributed to the development and implementation of approaches supporting ethical research within taught higher education modules. 

Her scholarship has informed work relating to inclusive teaching and assessment, student retention and progression, tutor development and the use of student experience evidence to identify opportunities for institutional improvement.

Teaching and educational leadership

Maureen has extensive experience of undergraduate and postgraduate education across face - to - face, distance and online learning environments. At the Open University she has contributed to module leadership, module production, student experience management and initiatives designed to increase access, participation and success.

She was a member of the team involved in developing the OpenLearn course Introducing Black Leadership and the Level 1 module Making Your Learning Count at Work, which formed part of a leadership development programme designed to increase access to leadership learning for people from minority ethnic communities. 

Academic Service

Maureen contributes to the wider academic community through peer review, research ethics, mentoring and scholarship development. She has reviewed for a range of international higher education journals, and the quality of her peer review contribution has recieved recognition from the Journal of International Students.

Earlier academic career

Before joining The Open University, Maureen was a Course Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich, where she taught and led undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in housing, leadership, managment and related subjects. She also worked with the Chartered Institute of Housing as an academic consultant and lecturer in their distance education courses.

Her earlier research focused on housing policy, social housing, regeneration, housing and health, inequality and the experiences of marginalised communities. She is co-author of the fourth edition of Housing Policy: An Introduction (Routledge), alongside a wider body of publications in housing and the built environment.

Across these areas of work a consistent theme has been an interest in how institutions, policies and professional practices affect the lived experiences and opportunities of individuals and communities.