Best experiences are definitely the technicians and support from course leaders (Especially Neil Rose)

Lectures are good and informative, but more practical workshops would be appreciated

Reception was unreliable at times, with sudden or unannounced closures, which was very frustrating when information was needed or parcels needed collecting.

My overall experience has been great. I have met so many people and made so many friends, it has changed me into a better person (at least I hope). I am also really happy to work for my university, it is very rewarding for me. Unfortunately, most of the positive experiences have come from sources outside of my actual course. My course has drained me mentally and has left me a person who rarely enjoys his craft (photography) anymore. I understand that an undergraduate degree is bound to do this no matter the quality of the course, but I feel that my course specifically requires attention to bring it up to the national standard and the standard of the university it is a part of.

The university's facilities are much better than anything I had at my sixth-form college, but I still think some improvements can be made. For instance, though we have lots of high-quality media equipment in our 'Equipment Resource Centre', much of it suffers from mild to severe technical faults. In addition, the ERC itself is understaffed and queues can be long.

I don't feel that there is much support for students when it comes to feedback or counselling. The feedback on my course is something that most students feel is terrible. As a student representative, I've received many complaints and comments that the feedback is vague, unnecessarily harsh and unprofessional, or non-existent. I have also known more than one person who has gone to our student-counselling services only to return feeling worse than before. This is not to say that all the staff in student support are corrupt, I know for a fact that there are very helpful staff in there, but I feel that there are some unhelpful characters that are ruining support for the students.

I think that my Students' Union is excellent and deserves more support from the university (faculty and students included). Our SU is a calmer and more pleasant (in my opinion) environment than I have seen in other universities, and in bar/clubs around Plymouth. I think that if the SU were given more support, especially financially, it could really flourish.

Plymouth is in a beautiful location wedged between the sea and Dartmoor. You can pretty quickly and easily get to some very beautiful places, especially if you have a car and somebody who knows the area. Unfortunately, Plymouth can be a rough city, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. There are lots of homeless people on the streets.

This seems to be something which is taking off. It wasn't very popular when I was a first-year, but appears to be taking off. I haven't used clubs and societies much, but I know that there are some very popular ones.

I feel that the professional practice module on my course specifically currently lacks true meaning and is almost entirely based on the lecturers' understanding of 'employability', which I have often found to be quite deluded. I feel similarly about other modules on my course as well, however, I do not believe that students on other courses are as unhappy. In my opinion, the course's modules lack structure and are, as noted above, based on the lecturer's personal interests, beliefs, and desires. I do not feel that the majority of my course is to the advantage of its students. I am happy that in the second year my class and I have been given more freedom to work on our own interests, but I feel there is still lots to be improved in this area.

12

My university has a careers office which is well-staffed with people in the know on careers in the creative industry who are always on hand to help students further their professional careers. The careers office also offers potential work placement bursaries to help you with the costs of travelling to and working on a work placement. Additionally, my university employs students as 'Student Ambassadors', a flexible and interesting role that I feel pairs perfectly with student life.