OVERALL UNIVERSITY RATING
Tell us about your overall university experience so far.
I have LOVED it. I think since many of the new students don't have other universities to compare it to, take for granted how GREAT...
University rating
Tell us about your overall university experience so far.
I have LOVED it. I think since many of the new students don't have other universities to compare it to, take for granted how GREAT the campuses are, how many resources there are and how talented the lecturers were. It is REALLY impressive. I wish I could have spent more time with the staff who left this year (they were brilliant) because I felt like I had so much to learn from them! But I am back for my PhD and HUNGRY for more knowledge - especially from this spectacular university.
Facilities
How good are your university's facilities?
OMG. Absolutely stunnig. Loads better than any university I have ever attended. I attended Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Humboldt, some community colleges for fun and UCLA. This university has INCREDIBLE resources that most students take for granted.
Student support
How good is the support offered by the uni? Think both academic (tutors/feedback) and personal (counselling, etc).
I think the support was INCREDIBLE. The lecturers were amazing. The lecturers/counselors and library aides (even the cafeteria staff!) were great. I even had lecturers, who were not my lecturers, help me out!!
Students' union
What do you think of your Students' Union in terms of student representation and facilities?
There was a recent shift, and so that all hasn't settled yet. I do think that the Student Union is out of touch with the day-to-day needs of the students. I love the emotional support with people who are on-call responders if people are feeling depressed/suicidal. That resource is AMAZING. And it's hard to say if the feeling of being out of touch stems from the resources provided by the school, or the elected student body. And with the recent shifts it's hard to nail down. I'm not dissatisfied with them... I just feel mostly they don't do anything to make my experience any better.
Local life
Is your university in a good location in terms of distance to accommodation and local amenities?
The center of the university (Parkgate) yes, it is. My campus (Kingsway) is a 45 minute walk away and is within a decent distance of Hoole - but I do feel like it's pretty remote. I feel like it's pretty far removed from the main campus or even Riverside Campus, or Queen's Park. Which also effects any shows being put up there. It's a performance art school, but then is inconvenient for anyone to attend a show there, which is not good. That is pure honesty. But I also (with pure honesty) say I LOVE the campus. It's artistic, has ton of quality/valuable resources and a cafeteria on campus. I really like it - it feels like a best friend's house. It's always open, there is always a room I can use and it's just terrific.
Societies and Sports
How would you rate the variety of societies/sports?
OMG - unparalleled. If you have an interest, there is a society that meets every week for that interest. I love it. I wish I had MORE TIME to be a part of more societies.
Lecturers and teaching quality
What do you like most and least about the way your course(s) are taught?
MOST: I love that the courses are based in the amount of knowledge needed to convey, and not about a specified time span. It makes the teaching concise and each class valuable.
LEAST: I think some classes could benefit from a stricter sense of education. We've had some students that literally do a 5-min monologue and that is their test. Or they phone in projects that others take a lot of time and effort in - only to receive the same exact achievement. This success will stem from administration supporting and trusting the teachers who are IN the classes instead of throwing them under the bus lest anyone complains.
MOST: the lectures almost ALWAYS included verbal lectures and visual components. This TOTALLY helps someone like me, who is not an auditory learner.
LEAST: I think maybe repeating some portions of learning? Sometimes we remember things by repetition, so to have some classes that go back over the impact of some knowledge in a different context would help ingrain the knowledge. Classes like Critical Analysis or Theory and applying it in different ways to maybe performances live in the class.
MOST: the lecturers were AMAZING! So knowledgeable about the art form AS WELL as the politics behind the art form. Ev, Julian, and Brian were ALWAYS available for questions or guidance. I always felt like they were leaders not authority figures. I came to them for guidance and they always helped me.
LEAST: I don't have anymore. I was digging deep to find the other two! I loved this university.
How many contact hours per week do you have?
12
Career prospects
How does your uni make efforts to increase your employability (careers department, work placements, transferable skills)?
The university experience has been interesting but mostly great - so great that I have decided to do my PhD here as well! As far as employability, I haven't been helped in finding workoutside of the university at all (or to a negligible dregree). I find that most art schools have 90% of their classes in the art form/technique because that's the fun part ... but never any classes in the business side of the art field. I wasn't helped in networking, making a resume, building an online presence, etc. So, I have more critical thinking knowledge but the only thing making me more employable is adding a line to my resume that says "MA Drama." I think this stems from the education system becoming more like a business - "you paid for your diploma so you get one" and less like an institution of learning. It should be like joining a gym. When you join a gym, there are the resources to get healthier but it's up to you to pursue them. It seems like the university wants to pass all of their students no matter what, otherwise it reflects poorly on the university - whether the students have learned anything or not. This also stems from nearly all the lecturers in my department quiting/resigning this year so there must be some things going on behind the scenes I'm unaware of. To me it's a sign that the lecturers are not getting the support they need, and the organization is top heavy. More work to the teachers, and they get the blame if anything goes wrong. The teachers need more support and maybe we would get better training as to being more employable to the outside world. They lost some INCREDIBLE teachers this year with excellent experience and contacts to people in the industry - and without the support (and increase in workload by the management) they lost nearly all of them.