Facilities (5) - I truly believe that my degree is perfectly accommodated for just by looking at the facilities on offer. Not only that, but the actual hive bar is brilliant and there is lots of space for everyone. Location (3) - Although the building itself looks fabulous where it is, to get there you have to cross a very busy main road that sometimes can be dangerous and with it being outside of the AO arena, it makes it hard being there when a concert or show is on. With that being said however, the fact it is barely a 10 minute walk from Victoria station makes it very easy for me as a commuter. Student Support (4) - I believe that UCEN goes above and beyond when trying to support students, particularly with their schemes on offer to help those less financially stable. The only thing I’d say is maybe make it a bit more obvious where to access these support by putting posters up around the campus. Campus Look and Feel (5) - It is clear that there has been a lot of work gone into the campus itself which makes it a really beautiful and welcoming place to be. The campus actually featured on the latest season of Waterloo Road so I am pretty sure that this only goes to show how incredible it is. Student Life (4) - As far as I am aware, as a commuter student, the campus is brilliant for somebody like me as I can easily get there everyday providing the trains are running, but I do feel that with the location of the campus, students find it relatively difficult to find accommodation on offer around it, and therefore, this can make it difficult for students to really get to grips with student life when not being close to the campus or city centre. Students Union (5) - The students union is always thriving, there is always something going on that they have put together in the hive, and it is really a pleasure to get involved in these things and take a break from the degree for a moment. Whether that be painting or putting on a movie night, they really do go above and beyond. They also promote our concerts and events which is lovely to see.

Course Content (4) - As far as course content goes, there are a lot of pros and cons to think about. The actual course itself is great for those who are interested in musical theatre but don’t necessarily enjoy the dance aspect of it. Some things were genuinely unexpected as someone who had only seen the course advertised properly on social media - for example, I never expected music theory or dance to be as intense as they were, but I do really believe that I have learned so much through my 1to1 singing lessons and vocal biology lessons. As somebody who would love to go on and hopefully be a professional vocalist, I do believe this degree gives me all the right tools for that, but I also wish we did studio work in year one or even have a professional industry placement to help us understand life as a vocalist. Lecturers and Teaching Quality (4) - I honestly believe I got so lucky with The Arden as I never expected to feel so welcomed by these tutors at all. Everyone is so supportive and kind and the constructive criticism we receive is so helpful and appreciated. It is almost like a community and every tutor has your best interests at heart which is something I adore and truly believe in. In terms of teaching quality, as a class, we were quick to speak up about certain learning aspects we dislike and most of these issues have been sorted, however we do wish that communication was a bigger priority. I feel that as a class we often try and help one another through our conversations, but sometimes we find a lack of communication between tutors which has put us in frequent difficulties. Tutor Contact Time (4) - We often have a lot of time, if not too much time, with our tutors to get work done and even have chats about our progress. The only issue we really have with contact time is communication once again, as we have turned up to classes where the tutor hasn’t turned up and we haven’t been given that information before hand. This is really vital for us to know as independent work is always appreciated when we have things to get done. It isn’t really tutor contact time we have an issue with but rather the lack of time we have to prepare for exams when we are sometimes put in lessons that would be more beneficial to work on exams etc. Tutors are mostly very good at messaging us on teams. Subject Facilities (4) - There are absolutely no issues with the subject facilities in themselves as there is a lot of space for us to work and everything is very clean and tidy, but it is sometimes difficult to find practice rooms and even though the timetables are on the doors, some classes are in there when it doesn’t actually say they should be.

I havent had any bad experiences at UCEN and i love the community it has created.

Best aspect is that im enjoying every bit.