English and Creative Writing - BA (Hons)

University of Plymouth

The best aspect has been the teaching and the course material. The worse aspect has been the student life, and the city itself

the best would be the general community of the university, and how there is plenty to participate take in with other students. the worst would maybe be the seating at university and how its no longer 24 hours, making studying difficult for those who work, have classes all day etc.

The campus is easy to navigate with everything relatively close compared with other campuses, and Plymouth is by the sea which is huge bonus. The library where you will spend time is cosy and staffed by people who are helpful and care. The lecturers are good and know their stuff and are dedicated and helpful. The Student Union offers considerable support and the onsite cafes between them provide tasty nutritious food at a reasonable price. In December 2023, the new Babbage Building for STEAM subjects (science, technology, arts, & mathematics) was opened. A visually exciting modern & spacious design, elegantly worked to be flexible for working in. It is much in demand and it is hard to book a room there already! I think my university tries hard to be a good university, and it is not perfect, but the overall feeling here is of students and staff working together to improve all our lots.

A good range of courses and good content covered in the course, good location. The funding is clearly not allocated equally with some courses better funded than others. Considering everyone is more or less expected to use a laptop for most sessions there is a distinct lack of power outlets. Considering the number of buildings there are a great number of empty classrooms at all times. Would be better to condense but seems like they are trying to pour funding into property rather than education.

The University of Plymouth has some of the most enthusiastic academic staff I have ever met while in education. At an individual level, it is evident that the University cares for its students, and wants the best for them. The services available to students are excellent, providing a range of peer-to-peer and expert advice networks, as well as having a number of opportunities available to students through the outstanding career’s service. The University as a collective, however, seems almost displaced. There are constant timetabling and communicative issues and, though it’s evident that the lecturers care deeply for their roles, it isn’t so evident that those higher up in University management care to the same effect. After all, there were multiple strikes last year that could have been avoided by simply paying the lecturers a fair wage. The University in this regard, then, is rather out of touch. Individually, it is a wonderful place to study. However, I would not be so sure that it’s a wonderful place to work.