University rating
Tell us about your overall university experience so far.
My overall university experience so far has been amazing! I transfrerred after studying my 1st year at a much larger institution and have found it much more enjoyable since joining and have gained a lot more. The support I have recieved from staff with academic work and the delivery style has defintely benefited myself. Regulalrly contributing and presenting in addition to becoming involved with wider aspects of student life such as Student Council Rep, ambassador and engagement with employability hub has futher increased my confidence and self-improvement. Consequently, my development as an individual has been huge, both academically and in my wider skills. Providing you choose to engage, in terms of your studies and student development, you would be hard pressed to find another organisation that provides the same level of support and opportunity for improvement as UCP. Highly recommended!
Facilities
How good are your university's facilities?
For the size of University, the facilities are great. There's a Costa coffee, in house for lunch and snacks or the main College canteen located a short walk away across campus. The sports course make use of the College and privately run gym, with various equipment located in the Sports Science lab for testing athletes. There is also access to the sports hall and football and rugby pitches on the fields where the College's Sports Academy teams can be tested.
Student support
How good is the support offered by the uni? Think both academic (tutors/feedback) and personal (counselling, etc).
The support offered is really good. For each module you will recieve personal written feedback sent via email or on a hard copy of work and sometimes verbal feeback for presentations and class discussions. Sometimes you will discuss strengths and weaknesses as a class to increase student engagement and provide peer or peer feedback/advice. Weekly tutor groups as a class are also really useful to go over work and through feedback with your tutor. They are also used to further learning such as planning & organisation, CPD (Continual Professional Development) planning for courses, careers advice/discussions and talks from employers.
Personally I can't really comment as I haven't used student support for counselling etc. However, I know they are very freindly and approachable.
Students' union
What do you think of your Students' Union in terms of student representation and facilities?
Strictly speaking, there isn't a Students Union in the form that most Uni's take, with lots of facilities. Here, students are represented by the student council, a student body comprising of the student reps. from all classes and from all courses. This is charied by the Higher Education Student Officer who is also a student. Some reps, are also invited to SELT (Student Engagement Learning & Teaching Committee) and even Academic board meetings to provide a student voice. Though there are no specific facilities, the Uni makes up for this with the inclusion of student voice and oppinion in meetings and the allocation of budget to providing new equipment for students (e.g. Ping Pong Table etc.)
Local life
Is your university in a good location in terms of distance to accommodation and local amenities?
The University is about a 20-30 min. walk to the city centre where the shopping centre, market, theatre, bars & clubs, other shops and train station are located. It is also roughly the same distance to the Peterborough Regional Swimming Pool, Lido and Posh football ground. There are also a few bus stops located near to the campus, with the shortest route taking 13 mins and buses every 12 mins. If travelling by car it will take you just under 10 mins. Accomodation which is private halls for the Uni, is a 15 min. walk from campus.
Societies and Sports
How would you rate the variety of societies/sports?
As the Uni is small, these are limited. However, due to the size of the institution and because there are few societites/sports, there is greater opportunity for you to start your own. Providing you can present your idea and case to the student council and show that you have enough student support and interest, they can help you to set it up and even provide you with funding to buy any kit/equipment you may need. In the past there have been football and netball teams. Recently, netball was re-established in the form of mixed netball. This was good for different courses to mix and inclusive of all students.
Lecturers and teaching quality
What do you like most and least about the way your course(s) are taught?
The course delivery is fantastic and there is little to fault. The class sizes are small, so all students feel more confident to contribute and it's a much more inclusive environment than larger organisations. The majority, if not all lectures are delivered in a classroom rather than a lecture hall, so are structured more like a seminar or lesson. This allows for much greater interactivity and engagement from students and between students and lecturers. Due to the class sizes and nature of delivery, this resluts in a much better and closer working relationship between staff and students. Meaning there is access to greater support when needed, you are known personally and as an individual and therefore learning and help can be tailored to improve your learning experience. The teaching approach also focuses on the whole individual rather than just simply talking at you and the academic work, helping to build students with a wider range of knowledge and skills; in turn preparing them for the workplace. Overall, these teaching methods and delivery create an interesting, enjoyable and amazing experience!
How many contact hours per week do you have?
13-15
Career prospects
How does your uni make efforts to increase your employability (careers department, work placements, transferable skills)?
The Employability Hub is very active in providing careers fairs with local employers attending, workshops to improve employability skills (CV writing, LinkedIn Profile, Workplace skills - Resilience, Team management, etc.) and events such as Practice Assessment Centre Days. There is also the opportunity to become an Employability Ambassador to support the hub in their work. In addition, they regularly send emails out regarding opportunities like work placements and upcoming events as well as talking to all classes at some point throughout their course.