University rating
Tell us about your overall university experience so far.
University has been an amazing experience. The style of the university has made living away from home so much easier than I anticipated and has helped shaped me into a new, better version of myself.
Sport clubs on campus have given me a fantastic frame work and ueasport as an organisation has offered me amazing oppurunities to progress as part of the Volunteer Academy.
The campus, surrounding area and city centre provide a comfortable and largely safe environment.
Facilities
How good are your university's facilities?
The uni facilities are above what I expected. Buildings are kept clean and tidy and regularly updated. Labs are high tech and professional. Lecture theatres are well designed and easy to pay attention in. The sportspark facilites are simply excellent; there’s so much on offer there. The range of cafes across campus makes it easy to grab a bite between lectures. On the whole, very nice.
Student support
How good is the support offered by the uni? Think both academic (tutors/feedback) and personal (counselling, etc).
At first I thought the academic advisor system flawed, but it has been very easy to change academic advisor and get support there. Most lecturerers are eager to answer questions either by email or in person. Also, formative and summative assignments often are returned with in depth feedback.
Though I’ve not used it, I hear the student support service is very good.
Students' union
What do you think of your Students' Union in terms of student representation and facilities?
I don’t really get involved with the SU, but they always seem to be holding events and awareness campaigns and asking for student representatives and members to get involved. They’ve actually managed to bring about a level of change at the uni, which is nice to see.
Local life
Is your university in a good location in terms of distance to accommodation and local amenities?
The uni has plenty of accommodation on campus for 1st years and is surrounded by housing for older students. It also has a really good bus service to get to other housing areas. The campus itself has plenty of amenities; shops, cafes, the bar, sports park, gym, library, art gallery, laundrette, GP, pharmacy, post office, bank etc. But again, the bus service is very good if you need to reach anything else.
Societies and Sports
How would you rate the variety of societies/sports?
There are 58 sports clubs and I can only imagine hundreds of societies; there’s so much on offer with such good organisation that I wonder what to join on occasion.
Lecturers and teaching quality
What do you like most and least about the way your course(s) are taught?
I like the style of lectures, the fact that they’re recorded and the balance between labs, seminars and lectures. I also like the support from the blackboard site.
I would prefer a little more support when it comes to highlighting what we may need to know for assessment. Or even just more warning of when assessments are happening, instead of the reliance on us finding out ourselves.
How many contact hours per week do you have?
20
Career prospects
How does your uni make efforts to increase your employability (careers department, work placements, transferable skills)?
There is a service called Careers Central that provide lectures, seminars, meetings and events to help with employability, CV writing and applications. From my experience they’re quite good. Certain degree also have placements and years in industry etc, which the uni help students apply for.
University halls
What do you think about the safety, condition, location and cost of your accommodation?
The cost is manageable- it’d be nice if it was cheaper but it’s certainly reasonable (and this year my maintenance loan JUST covers it). It’s in a good condition for a student property. The location is good for daylight, but whilst I know it’s relativley safe, walking home alone at night can be worrisome.