Illustration PgCert

University of Gloucestershire

It’s a lovely location with very welcoming people but sometimes the student life aspect feels a bit distant. Students bars are closed and don’t show signs of re opening and societies are hard to access if you aren’t at the Gloucester.

I really love the feels of my current campus it looks great and not like any of the other blocky white buildings that are always present for nearly every uni. The walls in my course area are lined with old students' work and posters, which makes it feel really welcoming. Although our building roof does leak and despite numerous complaints form our lecturors is still not fixed. The campus next year looks like a glorified car park with minimal personality. Where we have to sign petitions to keep our personal desks because there isn't enough room for us, which is not great. The student help area was brilliant in helping me get screened fairly rapidly, but I know it has taken longer for others. Only one of the campuses (in Cheltenham) has hot food/nice selection of made on site food, which would be nice for all the campuses, but I know there may not be space. The library staff are really helpful in showing how things work and where to find books. The lectures are all really great and ready to answer any question you might have. They are also easy to talk to. I personally don't go clubbing but ther are plenty of pubs and a couple of nightclubs in the area. As well as the race course and a couple of galleries if you fancy going out. There is also a fairly reliable bus service for getting to different campuses or to get to back to halls on a night out.

Best aspects: the location. Cheltenham is amazing & everything is accessible for a student with no car. My course gives opportunities for work experience in my field, and has a module dedicated to designing a portfolio and website which helps me feel more prepared for the working world Worst aspects: the student support/safeguarding needs major improvement. In first year I got stuck with awful flatmates who bullied & harassed me for months. I reported it to the residential support advisor, who didn’t do anything and framed it as me just finding it hard to get along because I’m autistic & therefore there was no actual problem. I asked repeatedly for a room transfer - I was promised results within two weeks, but heard nothing after two months which allowed the harassment to continue. It took my flatmates severely harassing me in the middle of the night, forcing me to flee and stay elsewhere for 3 days with little access to food, before they finally agreed to give me an emergency room transfer to a studio without flatmates & punished those involved. Whilst I’m glad this eventually happened, it shouldn’t have had to get to that point in the first place & staff should have intervened when I first reported it.

Everyone is really helpful and interested in helping you grow. The amount of support you get is insane. But because the university is split into 4 campuses in different locations, it's not so easy to socialize with everyone.

I feel the My Glos application which is something we use daily for everything and anything in the university , from UI/UX point of view , the experience and structure of the whole app can really be improved. I am so grateful to be able to study here ! Culturally i get to learn so much , approach to learning and understanding is quite different and i quite like it. Amazing and most helpful Staff as well !. Coming from an an art and design background i love how i get a chance to express my views freely and with no judgements , the environment i have had here around me is quite encouraging and healthy which feels quite liberating. I’ve been able to focus on my art and explore as much as i ever could now .Art is understood here , people appreciate the existence of it , and i find that quite fascinating. Im having the best time here !

The campus is beautiful and the facilities are great. Staff are friendly and helpful. Student support is great. I'd recommend it if you're looking for something that's not in a crazy busy city but still has good nightlife. The canteen could have a bit more seating and wider options for food though. But overall it's a lovely campus and I'd recommend it.