172,760 university reviews

best - based on real company challenges.

I think the overall learning experience is good, with modules that aligns with the course and the demand in the working market. The lecturers and staff are reachable and always hear and help students.

Lots of support from tutors and lecturers, I feel like I can go to any member of staff when I have problems.

Quite expensive for what the rooms give you, and it is very expensive to do any laundry.

I consider my course to have been a disappointing and demoralising experience full of constant issues and problems at Aston, I’ve been left apathetic towards my area of study as a whole. I feel that my time has been spent ticking boxes and navigating constant disorganised messes of modules, rather than developing the mindset and skills required to pursue a successful career. Learning style: (Subjective) Online lectures are now rare compared to a few years ago, I prefer this; however lectures are not recorded, which due to the difficulty of the course, they really should be. Course content: (Poor) Overall the course content lacks essential standardisation between modules, assessment criteria, and expectations, which drastically change between lecturers, terms, and academic years, leading to immense confusion and frustration when trying to meet these ever-changing standards. This was especially apparent in the first term of my 3rd year, but it has been the case for every year of my studies. Its important for me to state that this isn't the case for every module, as a minority of modules are taught to an exceptional standard, far above the overall course average, however, this comes down to the quality of the lecture running said module. Lectures and teaching quality: (Poor) As previously stated there are some lecturers who run their modules to a high quality, far above my expectations, unfortunately this is counteracted by some incredibly poor lecturers who are abrasive and or are poorly versed in their own module's contents, to the point where they will give out conflicting statements on assessments or will make significant errors in their own workings without issuing corrections. My biggest gripe in this area is the liberal use of collective punishment by a significant number of lecturers, I've noticed that lecturers have intentionally withheld access to mock tests, assessment information, and other critical information to students, either to encourage better attendance or in response to poor attendance by the cohort. Being a student who has near perfect attendance, being told I will be disadvantaged or refused access to materials that would be critical to or aid in my studies, such as lecture recordings, mock tests and revision sessions, due to others not attending those or other sessions, is simply unacceptable; given the money that I've paid into my course I expect access to all materials at all times, irregardless of other students conduct or attendance. Punishment should be given to those who are responsible, not to those who follow the university's policy, i'm severely disappointed that this isn't the case. Tutor contact time: (Poor) Simply put there isn't enough. I'm told by my colleagues on other courses that mine has one of the lowest contact hour of all courses on offer at Aston; Ideally there should be far more contact hours, focused on the teaching of essential software packages which is currently severely lacking. Important to note however, is that the vast majority of my Lecturers had good office hours to discus problems and clarify their instructions. Work placements and internships: Overall good, staff are friendly and their is a specialised department to help in this area; my only concern is more comprehensive support could be offered but this is by no means a deal breaker. career prospects: (Uncertain, likely bad) Uncertain, current economic issues are making it difficult to gauge the current career prospects I have, however, due to my view of the poor teaching at Aston, I don't feel at all prepared for the transition to a career in my area of study, and as such I'm not planning on pursuing one at this time, instead focusing on an unrelated sector closer to home. subject facilities: (Good) Overall specialised subject facilities are good, excluding computer access and power as previously mentioned; the Civil Lab is good and has access to a lot of equipment for a variety of specialities.

Cost of living (Slightly poor) Above average costs, but there's a lot of competition amongst small stores, so a good deal is possible. Public transport (Excellent) Good access to local and regional transport Grad employment opportunities (Good) Plenty of employers of all types in the City, but its a very competitive market Safety (Very Poor) Constant issues of attacks, incidents and assaults, not a good place to live permanently, and I intentionally left halls to avoid these issues. Part-time work opportunities (Good) Plenty of employers and part-time roles.

As I previously mentioned the accommodation I lived for my foundation year in was poor. Location: (Excellent) There is sufficient accommodation on campus, less than 2 minutes from all facilities on site, as well as within 15 minutes of the city centre, providing great access to all services the city has to offer. Room Allocation (Fair) I have no issues with how rooms were allocated, I requested a room on the ground floor for ease of access; which in hindsight was a poor chose given the noise of other students outside, but that is not the fault of the university/accommodation management. Value for money: (Poor) Simply put the rooms are soulless and in my case damaged, for the amount I paid, I certainly didn't get my moneys worth; which is primary why I began commuting over an hour each day I have lecturers, the cost of a rail card is much less than the cost of onsite accommodation. Safety: (Very poor) As I've mentioned in the previous sections I have personally experienced some very concerning incidents including being stalked which put my safety at risk; fortunately there are security gates around the accommodation blocks so the rooms are secure. However as Aston is an open campus there are still significant issues when moving between the accommodation blocks and the facility buildings at night. Once again following the incident where a person was left with life-changing injuries after a stabbing on campus last November, security presence on campus has increased but in my opinion this isn't enough to mitigate all of the risks that are currently present. Internet/wifi: (Good) Overall good, some outages here and there but they never lasted more than 10 minutes. Property management: (poor) Rubbish was frequently left out far too long, allowing it to build up, this lead to rodents and other bests getting into the refuse and spilling it, leading to strong smells. Noise complaints usually went unheard or didn't result in any meaningful action. Repairs were done, but usually took a few days to process.

Supervisors in EBRI going above and beyond to create the best research environment. Excellent Laboratory technicians

Mainly in person, mainly afew hours 4 days a week including 1 9-5 session a week

The LIAC and LSS module was quite useless and I didn’t really know anyone who felt like there was value in them

Days can be very long and tiring with 9-5s. Lectures can be rushed sometimes. But lots of support is given during practicals and blackboard is very organised

There is plenty of opportunities to communicate with lecturers and tutors for support. The balance of lectures could perhaps be split across the days more evenly as 3 in 1 day can be a bit much but due to them being recorded online it’s easily accessible to go over on a later date.

Lectures and practical sessions