What you said
You can find the results at www.Unistats.com to help prospective students decide where and what to study. St Mary’s and the Students’ Union also use the anonymised data to identify areas where the University College performed well and not so well in order to help effect change and improve the student experience for future generations of students.
CompleteThe National Student Surveyhere!
As a result of past surveys and student feedback, the following improvements have already!
What we did
In the LRC
Sixteen extra silent study places with power and data for laptops. LRC opens earlier at 8.15am Monday to Friday. Increased spending on books and introduced Windows Live email service. Sunday opening is to be introduced early in 2011. We will be launching a new student portal SIMMSpace in 2011; a personal space for all students and we will be upgrading St Mary’s Online to Moodle in time for next academic year. We are planning to install broadband internet access to the residencies in time for next academic year and we will be launching a laptop loan scheme.
Around the campus
Increased lecture space with the building of the new N-block theatre. The Registry has been relocated to new office space in N-block for improved accessibility. The front and back of the Student’s Union (SU) was made into a step-free environment with wheelchair ramps for access into and out of the SU and the bar. Future plans include fitting automated doors to the Shannon corridor, floodlighting at Teddington Lock, internal corridor and room lighting to incorporate motion detectors and low energy lighting units as part of the University College’s commitment to Carbon reduction.
Sports Facilities
A new £8million sports facility project is underway to create a single centre by linking the new facility to the existing sports bock, which will be refurbished at the same time. In addition to giving a huge boost to sport at the University College it will also facilitate the work of academic programmes in sport, health and physical education, as well as enabling St Mary’s to do even more for the external community though a number of partnerships.
Assessment
Regular meetings will be held throughout the year with students to review assessment feedback. We are reviewing the communication of course and timetable changes. A new Personal Development Plan scheme will be launched from September 2011.
Induction
More variety in induction activities for networking and settling in, current students helping new students move into halls, online fee payments, current students located around the campus to help with queries, all staff in the LRC are a central point of contact for any enquiries.
Your involvement
The Student Experience Committee is a dedicated committee for listening to students with participating Student Reps.
The Student Support and Facilities User Group is for students to meet with staff from schools and services to raise and discuss non-academic practical issues and resolve them. Annual surveys are carried out for a range of students, not just in your final year. Student Representatives receive training on how to give feedback on programme boards.
Students’ Union
New common room area with Wi-Fi and free laptop loan service, new office and hot desking facilities for SU Officers and members, expanded range of merchandise, careers service training in employability advantages of participation in SU activities and volunteering, improved social events in the Bar, new student contact database for your feedback and opinions, new terms and conditions of membership of our clubs and societies, new student newspaper, new look SMUC radio and redecoration of the Bar. The SU is launching a ‘Use it or lose it’ campaign in 2011 and is still looking for new ways to revamp the SU and keep the SU bar open. Students are encouraged to feedback and get involved (contact Siobhan Bellot, SU President).
Careers Service
More volunteering opportunities, better library and resources; more access to PCs, plasma screen and study area. More employers on campus to let you know about roles with their organisations, new school focussed Careers Handbooks to suit the needs of students for the beginning to the end of their degrees, specialist careers advice for postgraduates and international students, DLHE interactive to enable you to get a quick picture of what students have gone on to do from your degree, focussed careers seminars for Student Union Representatives, alumni career profiles on our website, increased communication via social networks, SMUC radio and SIMMSNews, research projects leading to improved employer contacts in niche occupational areas, higher numbers of job vacancies through JobOnline.
Get Involved and Win a Prize!
The survey can be completed online at www.thestudentsurvey.com and only takes about 10-15 minutes. The success of the NSS depends on your feedback so please set aside a few minutes to get involved.
During the week starting 17th January 2010 eligible students will be sent an invitation email to complete the survey online. Later, those students who haven’t yet completed the survey will be contacted by post or by phone.
Your responses will be anonymous – so you can be honest. No need to worry about your contact details being passed on because they will only be used for the purposes of the NSS and are destroyed shortly after. To find out more, visit www.thestudentsurvey.com or contact the National Student Survey team at Ipsos MORI directly at thestudentsurvey@ipsos.com.
Thanks for your feedback!
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