University rating
Tell us about your overall college experience so far.
My overall college experience so far has been a massive rollercoaster. On freshers week i discovered the uni doesnt have a student union bar, this made it difficult to make friends and instantly i thought i was going to be the last person on the bench when you pick your teams in dodgeball. The people at CCAD are different, it is a very accepting place and everyone shows their creativity in the way they dress and present themselfs, making people very open about themselfs.
I guess i didnt expect this to be as hard as what it is but now im here and i can see how far i have come and how much i have learned i am so glad i came. Although the work load is hard, with the facilities, oppertunitys and staff i feel like its almost impossible to fail. I feel like im doing really well, theres so many techniques im still yet to learn. Academically, my grades are the highest they have ever been throughout my years at CCAD. 4 years ago, i left college with 4 ungraded results and since being at CCAD i am achieving 2:1's and even a few firsts. This is an amazing achievement for me and i cant wait to see what the future has for me after i graduate.
Facilities
How good are your college's facilities?
The faculities at this college are insane, i dont think theres anything ive ever needed and not been able to get. I choose this uni mainly because of the print rooms. We have 2 large print beds, a dye lab, pigments (these are all free to use!) A heat press machine, a sowing room , options between apple and windows computers, a insane libary with specialist books and we are able to learn the full process of exposing our own silk screens for furnishings. They are a very well kitted uni, its just a awful shame that it costs 30p to print out a A4 colour photocopy ( buy your own printer).
Student support
How good is the support offered by the college? Think both academic (tutors/feedback) and personal (counselling, etc).
We are promised atleast one 30 minute sitting for each module with our tutor (Although this usually ends up 2 or 3 sittings). This doesnt include group tutorials, digital feedback or drop in sessions. Sometimes our lesson will be self directed study but or tutor will be open to drop in sessions, this gives people a chance to get on with any work they need to catch up on or you can gather in a communal room and take it in turns to have a talk about your current work, sometimes it may be 2 minutes long, sometimes it may be 45 but this time is allocated on a first come first served basis. People who dont make the time and effort to attend, do not get the oppertunity for some extra one on one feedback. At the end of every module we are given a feedback sheet with our grades, this highlights what areas of the breif we need to work on. It will also explain the reasoning behind the grade and short paragraphs depicting strong and weak points of your work. If things ever get to much, theres a person to help at student services for almost everything, from help with work, finances or even personal issues.
Lecturers and teaching quality
What do you like most and least about the way your course(s) are taught?
Its a very fast paced course, they is a lot to learn in the little time that you have. This is mostly due to the wide amount of equiptment the course has available, along with extra weekly workshops that are volentary to attend (advanced techniques). Our time with our tutors may be limited but with the help of the team at ict and all of the print technicion ladies, help is always there or even just reassurance. The thing i like most is the space available. We choose a bay at the start of the year and we can decorate and personalise our own work spaces. This is really handy for me because i have limited space at home to do work and as you can image being a surface design student, the scale is big. It also gives our tutors a oppertunity to look at the work we have done, so if people are falling behind or have done something amazing, you will never be forgotton about. The thing i dislike most about the teaching of my course is the amount of essays, journals and reports we are expected to do in such a short amount of time. This shocked me when i first started uni because i was here because i was creative, not because i was good at english. Throughout my two years already at uni, i have always been offered support and help if i was lost, i just sometimes feel like this isnt going to help me in the future. Although the way the lessons are taught its still intresting to learn.
How many contact hours per week do you have?
18
Career prospects
How does your college make efforts to increase your employability (careers department, work placements, transferable skills)?
Ccad has great connections with people in the real industry, they set us up with live breifs or private tutorials with people who specialise in our subject to gain a greater knowledge. We are constantly posted about competions and oppertunitys of work experience and help is always given when struggling to find the right path. This course is not only based on your creative ability but our professionalism too. We have weekly professional study lessons with information on jobs, internships, work experince, trend websites, techniques, magazines and books, new artists and inspiration. We are encouraged to engage with the community throughout social media, galleries and trade fairs to make sure that before we leave uni, we already have our foot in the door.