Best aspects: Being able to take part in student panels for screening new members of teaching staff, being able to have a real voice at the table and my insights being valued has been an amazing experience. The plethora of resources available for studying is incredible, having so much access to so many journals has provided me with an wealth of knowledge I've never had access to before. The subject administrators do an amazing job of reassuring students and directing us to who or what we may need and provide a lot of calm. The study tools and guidance are thorough, as is being able to access my lecture recordings online as a distance student, allowing me to go over materials as often as I need through the videos, not just the PowerPoint. The adjustments that can be made for students with a disability, especially for mental health, it makes pursuing higher education as a mature student a refreshing change of pace compared to 10+ years ago where support was lacking at best. I can speak up at Roehampton, there's an ease in being able to have important, challenging, and reflective conversations with lecturers, they teach in a manner that provides you with a lot of room to make thoughtful and original considerations to your assignments, I've been progressively taught how to think, not what to think, and it's open to evolving, there's an openness to knowing that all isn't known right now, and that we are layering our own and future learning and understanding. Worst bits, things that need to be improved & how: The admin side in terms of finance and enrolment is really challenging especially when things don't go right, it's a really time consuming and impractical experience as a distance learning student who relies on emails and the phonelines to get in touch, and the really friendly and committed staff end up taking the brunt of students frustration. Having my paperwork wrongly processed when interrupting for a year as a withdrawal from the course was pretty stressful to resolve How to improve: A larger pool of staff and a streamlined, updated administrative system that connects all departments could hopefully improve inter-departmental communication, and provide greater transparency between said departments and students alike.

The amount of info available to me is otherworldly, being able to access so many journals and databases has been amazing, as a distant and mature student, my time is limited, so being able to access more than I need from home is a huge help. The assignments are really supportive of real world skills such as data analysis, report writing, research, and succinct presentation of complex information The worst aspect of my course is the very early deep dive into complex subjects like stats and neuropsychology, there needs to be a more robust manner of introducing them to a conversion student who doesn't have previous experience. As a distant student, I don't feel as connected to the university as I would like to

No

The best part of my university experience has been the opportunity to learn in a diverse and supportive environment. I’ve been able to connect with people from diverse backgrounds which broaden my perspective and helped me develop personally and professionally. The academic support, engaging modules and hands on projects also gave me the confidence to apply my knowledge in real life situations. The worst aspect of my university experience was the initial adjustment period. Moving to a new environment, adapt to independent learning and getting used to a new academic system took time and effort.

One of the less enjoyable parts of my university experience was the limited number of contact hours each week. Sometimes I felt that the short lecture and seminar sessions weren’t enough to fully explore the topics or get detailed explanations.