The Student View 2020 by Cardiff Students

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Every year, Cardiff University Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union presents a document to the University outlining key themes and issues that we feel could be improved or introduced to benefit the student experience. Students are represented in numerous ways across the University and it is important to acknowledge that this document is not the only way in which change is enacted. However, this document is the final platform given to the Elected Officers that is presented to the University setting out aspirational priorities for the following 12 months. The Union takes enormous pride in presenting this report every year and we look forward to working with the institution on the topics outlined in the report. No one would have anticipated we would be facing a global pandemic this year and this report itself was written during an unprecedented time of self-isolation. The next year will be a very challenging time for the University and the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union. Returning to a new normal will a top priority for both organisations and we recognise that this report will be presented to the University during a time of challenge. Our thoughts and sympathies go to all the students and staff who have been impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak.

Although the Union is independent of the University, we are proud of the collaborative approach we take to benefit our students. This years Elected Officers have firmly believed that partnership and building bridges between the two institutions is the surest way to achieve positive and long-lasting change for our students. This approach continually strengthens as we see our collective outputs shared with students and staff. The real testament of our partnership stems not only from what is shared with the public but the conversations and decisions that are made behind closed doors. The relationship we have cultivated is one of mutual respect, where we have co-created environments for the Union to challenge and make decisions as equals around the table. This report cements this understanding between the organisations and helps set the agenda for collaborative working for the following year.

The data we gather from students is vital to this report and informs everything that we do. The biggest data exercise that is conducted by the Union is our annual Speak Week campaign. Every year since its inception, it has broken its record on the quantity of data that is collected and has subsequently grown bigger in scale every year. The concept is simple; we have branded cards that are given out to students across all campuses asking them what they would change if they ran the University. This year, we received over 3,858 cards and coded over 7,897 comments. Every card is handwritten by our students and individually coded online by our Student Voice Department. Once the comments are digitised, the team code the comments into themes and topics that are summarised in an annual Speak Week report. Every single comment is coded into this this. The Elected Officers then use this as a basis for this document.

THEME BREAKDOWN

735

817

935

2,239

3,171

Figure 1.

3 ACADEMIC

FACILITIES

SOCIAL LIFE AND THE SU

SERVICES AND STUDENT SUPPORT

OTHER

Above are some of the principal themes coming out of this year's data and the number of comments coded for each. On the other hand, it is not the only source of information that we use to inform our writing. To make our suggestions and statements reliable, we will, wherever we can, triangulate the data. This means drawing on feedback that we have accumulated throughout this years and previous years. This includes feedback we have received through the Academic Rep system, Officer Executive Committees, The Advice Department and other smaller campaigns that we run throughout the year.

To make this report as impactive as it can be, we have re-branded and created a standardised format. During the Quality Enhancement Review, the Union report was also called the Student Written Submission, which highlighted to us the importance of the name of this document. We wanted something simple that would resonate with students and although the report is entirely based on student feedback, it is not written by a typical student. The Student View better captures what the report is about and will be more accessible to our students. In terms of format, we recognise that every report has been different depending on the Officer team writing the report. We know that consistency is key and that a standard reporting format will be easier to understand for both the next Elected Officer team and University staff. This report is written in the new style which was co-created with University input and dubbed the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;flat-packâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; format. The intention is to allow Officers to easily use the same format every year where they will input themes into a set template which can then be presented to the University in a digestible and recognisable manner. Some of the key elements to the new format include dividing the report into two sections. Part A will focus on the data we have gathered concerning the academic experience whereas Part B will look at the wider student experience. We hope that dividing the sections will help the University assign appropriate staff and UEB members to the projects and ensure that the report is balanced between the two sides as they are both intrinsic to the student experience. Finally, we hope you enjoy reading our report as much as we have in writing it. The Elected Officers would like to extend our thanks to the Student Voice Department for supporting us in writing this submission.

In recent years, our written submissions have set the priorities of ‘Partnership Projects’. These projects bring together the minds of the University and Union to co-construct recommendations or solutions to issues that the submission recommends. Over the year, the group will meet, gather more stakeholder data, and consult external bodies to come to a final proposal. Outputs have included recommendations around the journey of international students to building prototype tools that students can use to better understand their assessment and feedback. In late 2019, the first showcase was developed where each group presented its findings and outputs to a group of key University stakeholders. It was a highly successful event where Union and University staff alike came to understand the importance of these projects and what they were seeking to achieve. We have concerns however that, in their current form, Partnership Projects do not adequately address long term issues. In the time frame these projects groups have, it can be difficult to drive through permanent change despite the best intentions of the group. In this paper, we hope to make it clear where we feel a partnership group is appropriate and where other methods might be necessary. Another concern we have about the Partnership Projects is whether they have sufficient influence within the University. We greatly value the staff who contribute to each group, neither the Union nor University members generally have the budget and authority to enact the necessary change within the timeframe they are allotted. In our QER Student Written Submission, we recommended that the University strengthen the Partnership Projects to better allow for tangible outcomes. Where possible we would encourage senior leaders within the institution to contribute to the work of the group. Where possible we would like the work of the group to be imbedded into relevant governance structures to create better traction and accountability. Lastly, we recommend that there is a formalised communication framework and communications lead for each group that can better document the progress of each group. We recognise that there is a Project Officer for the ‘Student Voice campaign’ to close feedback loops when output is produced. We recommend that this Officer also takes on the duties of sharing the progress of the groups.

These are groups that are formed between the Union and University that will conduct a deep dive into suggested issues raised in this report. 1. If the Placements Support Service Business Case is approved, we recommend close partnership working with the Union on its priorities.

2. A Partnership Group looking at the planning and implementation of the Sports Strategy

These are recommendations that do not require further scoping in the form of a partnership group and could be carried out with existing resources.

1. Continue the work of the 2018 1. Streamline and simplify wellbeing information online and consider a campus-wide campaign to publicise the services better.

2. Create online tracker and progress update pages on work relating to industrial action demands.

3. A Partnership Group to look at disability access needs across the University.

3. Provide transparent and more

4. A Partnership Group to look at ways to diversify our Student Support services.

4. Increase Panopto usage by sharing

5. A Partnership Group looking to better understand the nature of student complaints and enhance the complaints process.

Listed below are items that neither require the framework of a Partnership Group nor have the simplicity to be deemed a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;quick winâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

detailed information on where strike salary savings are being spent.

student usage stats to schools i.e. the total minutes streamed etc.

Partnership Group on assessment and feedback.

2. Substantiate position on PGR contracts and review Code of Practice for PGR Teaching.

3. Support course-based societies by providing staff support in academic schools. 4. Reduce the cost of tests surrounding disability and dyslexia as much as possible. Additionally, we recommend that the University work with us to improve the outreach of this service.

5. Review effectiveness of all 5. Move Panopto from seven-day auto release to five days.

6. Provide more training and instructions to lecturers on Panopto etiquette i.e. reminders about turning on microphones etc.

University communication channels and how messaging is shared.

6. Implement the 2018 Partnership Group looking at the Intranet, Learning Central and MyTimetable.

There were 2,239 comments coded for academic interests and assessment and feedback continue to be one of the major concerns among the student population. This is evident from both the current Speak Week data, National Student Survey (NSS) data, and from previous years. 468 comments relating to assessment and feedback were reported in Speak Week 2020 with general dissatisfaction in examinations (191) and feedback and marking (109), (see table. 1 for the subtheme breakdown). Sub-theme

Number of comments

Examinations Feedback and Marking Assessment

191 109 99

Support

Total

468

Table 1 Speak Week 2020 Assessment and Feedback Sub-themes.

Cardiff University NSS data also demonstrates a similar trend as 69.74% of students reported there were satisfied with the level assessment and feedback received in comparison to the 73.37% sector average, 75.19% average within Wales, and 80.63% top quartile. This data highlights that more work needs to be carried out to improve the area of assessment and feedback as a whole. Table 2 NSS 2019 Overall Results for Assessment and Feedback.

Assessment and Feedback Overall % Agree 2017

2018

2019

Cardiff

67.79%

71.10%

69.74%

Wales

73.89%

75.36%

75.19%

Top Quartile Sector

80.32% 73.39%

79.12% 73.28%

80.63% 73.37%

Whilst looking at the institution view highlights that the area of assessment and feedback needs addressing, looking at the results of individual schools, highlights inconsistencies within the University. Table 3 NSS 2019 School Results for Assessment and Feedback.

AHSS: CARBS: satisfaction WELSH: satisfaction

64.55% 91.67%

BLS: BIOSI: satisfaction PSYCH: satisfaction

56.78% 82.01%

PSE: CHEMY: satisfaction MATHS: satisfaction

58.46% 76.31%

There were 191 comments from Speak Week 2020 with students expressing general dissatisfaction with the exam process. Comments ranged from how late exam timetables were released, how closely exams were scheduled, the timings of exams, and feedback received during the period.

SPEAK WEEK 2020 EXAM SUB-THEMES Pressure Solutions 4% 2%

Exam Format 6%

Exam Scripts and Feedback 10%

Past Papers and Mock Exams 24% Exam Times 16%

Exam Venues 7% Exam Timetables 31% Figure 2.

The issue around past papers and mock exams were the 2nd most cited under this subtheme in Speak Week with 46 comments. Comments coded referenced better access to past exam papers and mock examinations to better prepare for the period. ‘Knowing exam dates earlier’ (CARBS, Year 2, UG, Business Management) ‘More past papers/ practice Qs for a course’ (MEDIC, Year 1, UG) ‘Exam timetables - non-consecutive exams. 30 creds in 3 days?!’ (MATHS, Year 4, UG) ‘Mock exams of our practical exams’ (HCARE, Year 2, UG) ‘We don't get our tests back, even if they are multiple-choice questions, I would like to see what I got wrong and correct’ (BIOSI, Year 1, UG)

109 comments from Speak Week 2020 highlighted feedback and marking as another recurrent issue among the student population. This has raised serious questions as to the quality of feedback received of marked assessments, the turnaround to receive this feedback, the consistency of marking and feedback, how marks are being capped, and lastly, the benefits/disadvantages of assessed work being peer marked.

SPEAK WEEK 2020 FEEDBACK AND MARKING SUB-THEMES Capping 3%

Consistency 12%

Turnaround 31%

Peer Marking 3%

Quality 51% Figure 3.

‘All coursework or written/essay style submissions to receive formative feedback’ (MEDIC, Year 4, UG) ‘Better feedback on essays that are marked (summative). The marks don't actually tell you how to improve’ (HCARE, Year 3, UG) ‘Lecturers need to return marks in the 1-month period they promise before the course. If we are expected to adhere to our deadlines they should as well.’ (JOMEC, PGT – IPRGCM) ‘Marking each other work in post practical workshops seems pointless. I don't care what my peers think. There's no drive or motivation to put on any effort for the work assisted with it. I'd rather just be told how to do the work and left alone. No one wants to share their work with others either. It's awkward and gains nothing from it.’ (BIOSI, Year 1, UG). NSS supporting statistics:

Question about Timely Feedback and Marking 85.00% 80.00% 75.00% 70.00% 65.00% 60.00%

85.00% 80.00% 75.00% 70.00%

2017

Figure 4.

Clear Criteria Question

2018

Cardiff

Wales

Top Quartile

Sector

2019

65.00% 2017

2018

Cardiff

Wales

Top Quartile

Sector

2019

Figure 5.

In addition to this, students have continually raised concerns around the transparency around mark schemes, their quality, suitability, and fairness. The NSS report has also shown 69.53% in the level of satisfaction around fair marking, which is a drop when compared to 2018 (71.42%), is below average sector in the UK (72.9%), across Wales (74.99%) and is also below the top quartile (80.05%).

Fair Marking Question 85.00% 80.00%

75.00% 70.00% 65.00% 60.00% 2017 Cardiff

2018 Wales

Top Quartile

2019 Sector

Figure 6.

99 comments were on the topic of assessments in Speak Week 2020. These comments were based on just coursework and covered concerns around different aspects of assessments, such as; the format of assessments including dissertations and the weighting within each module, the number of assessments required, how far in advance deadlines are communicated to students and how close together the assessment deadlines are for different modules.

SPEAK WEEK 2020 ASSESSMENT SUBTHEMES Deadlines 13%

Bunching 26%

Quantity 6%

Format and Weighting 55%

Figure 7.

Students noted that dissertations which required a lot more work were weighted the same number of credits as smaller modules. There have also been reports that multiple assessment deadlines were due on the same day or very close together, which students felt did not allow them to focus equally on all assessments. Bunched deadlines also remain an issue especially in schools with a large number of students where lecturers are setting deadlines just before the Christmas and Easter breaks, or just before reading weeks to give themselves enough time to mark all the work.

‘There should be more preliminary assessment and practice. My course only requires coursework and unseen examination, I would like to have more practical opportunities to showcase my work and gain practice.’ (LAWPL, Year 1, UG – International Relations and Politics) ‘Have a bit of a break between finishing an exam and already having the next deadline in place: more time to catch up!’ (DENTL, Year 2, UG) ‘More support for joint honours students as assignments often don't align with each other nicely so I have many assignments at once’ (MLANG, Year 2, UG)

There was appetite concerning support for assessments with 69 comments recorded in Speak Week. These comments range from the type of support and information provided to complete assessed work, support during dissertations, support in improving academic writing, support concerning the referencing system, and extenuating circumstances.

SPEAK WEEK 2020 ACADEMIC SUPPORT SUBTHEMES Writing Support 9% Referencing 3%

Dissertation 29%

Extenuating Circumstances 4% General Info and Support 55% Figure 8.

‘More postgrad support for exams’ (LAWPL, Year 4, PGT – Law) ‘More help with essay writing + exams earlier in the year - just more acknowledgement + understanding from lecturers about the leap from A-levels to uni and that it's okay if you're struggling + that need help when you are struggling’ (SHARE, Year 1, UG) ‘Would appreciate a better/ clearer communication on what to do with extenuating circumstances, and how it would affect grades & marking’ (ARCHI, Year 3, UG)

1. There was some work earlier in 2019 that looked to continue the 2018 Partnership Group, which looked at assessment and feedback, into business as usual. There needs to be increased momentum on this project based on 2020 data to create a dedicated team that will carry the 2018 recommendations forward.

2. This group needs to be built into existing governance structures to support the development of tools and online applications for both staff and students that were created in the 2018 group. This includes videos that explained academic jargon, graphics to help lecturers set assessments and guidance for academics on first-year assessments. There was also a recommendation to enhance the prototype tool that was created by the group to help students better understand their feedback and improve their grades. 3. The outputs of existing work need to be appropriately disseminated to students.

Students have been active in broadening their experience by developing more focus on employability and extracurricular activities. Placements play a vital role in this, however, there were 71 comments in Speak Week 2020 coded that suggested that support in finding placements, and support whilst on placement has been limited. The University’s The Way Forward Strategy established the aim to allow all students to go on placements, with 50% of students expected to go on one for at least three weeks. There was also a group established to look into this with students represented in the room. The discussion around the support available for students who go on placement was present in the QER Student Submission and whilst the University has responded to this, it is important to raise questions about the experience of students on placements. We know that the University is looking at a business case to establish better support on placements for students and we hope that this section of the report highlights our desire to work closely with the University on these matters.

SPEAK WEEK 2020 COLLEGE BREAKDOWN OF PLACEMENT COMMENTS PSE 6%

xxx 6%

AHSS 6%

BLS 82% Figure 9.

‘More support with finding year in industry placement’ (Medical Engineering) ‘More opportunities for placements. Work experience relevant to the course and opportunity for BPS qualification very important to me’ (SOCSI) ‘More information about placement degree opportunities earlier on in the year – especially when it comes to finding placements outside the UK’ (UNKNOWN) As seen in the above chart, BLS students have a significantly higher number of comments about placements in Speak Week 2020. NSS data further expands on some of the feedback received from BLS students who undertake placements as part of their degree programmes. The issue arising from placements was further broken down into sub-themes to gain a better understanding of the problem.

Sub-themes Training/preparations before placements Grading/marking on placement Support (pastoral, financial, etc.), Fairness in the allocation of placements Attitude of clinical staff Better organisation and communication of timetables (inform early) Too many back-to-back placements

Table 4 Placements Sub-theme (BLS)

Students have suggested that there is insufficient general training and clinical practice before embarking on placement, this has made it more challenging to meet the expectations of the clinical supervisors and has made students less equipped to manage cases. The Cardiff University NSS reported 76.54% satisfaction which is marginally lower than the sector-wide percentage (77.49%) and significantly lower than the other questions asked about placements. Practice Placemen ts

I received sufficient preparatory information prior to my placement( s).

I was allocated placement (s) suitable for my course.

I received appropriate supervision on placement( s).

I was given opportunities to meet my required practice learning outcomes/competen ces.

My contributio n during placement (s) as part of the clinical team was valued.

My practice supervisor( s) understood how my placement( s) related to the broader requireme nts of my course.

86.5

76.54

89.88

86.73

91.05

87.67

87.1

86.58

77.49

90.69

85.34

91.46

88.57

85.91

The following are some examples of this issue as seen in Cardiff’s NSS 2019 results. ‘I would have liked more time in the simulation suite however, I am aware that the school are now holding drop-in clinical skill sessions regularly - I just wish this was available earlier on in my programme. However, this is brilliant for future student nurses’ ‘I feel like I would have benefited from some of the respiratory teaching before going on placement. There are quite a lot of specific clinical tests taught, in practice I found that there was a lot more movement with modification tests, which we hadn't covered.’

‘Continue to provide excellent OT training. Could potentially include more taught practical-based work (not just on placement).’

Students expressed their frustration at the lack of consistency in marking across placements and have highlighted the subjectivity of marking. Students questioned if the educators on various placements were given advanced training and demonstrations on how to effectively utilise the marking criteria and schemes etc. The following are some examples of this issue as fed back in Cardiff’s 2019 NSS. ‘Placement mark schemes were rather subjective; however, I understand that it is difficult to change the mark scheme to suit every student.’ ‘One practice educator marked me low on placement stating that, as I was a first year student that I would never have a distinction although I met the learning outcomes that would be equivalent to a distinction.’ ‘Lack of clarity and consistency between clinical educator's opinions on the mark schemes whilst on clinical placement.’

Transparency and fairness surrounding the allocation of placements has been continually questioned by students. Students have commented that they feel their circumstances such as financial challenges and means of transportation etc. are not considered before being allocated a placement. The following are some examples of this issue as reported from the NSS: ‘Placement areas don't seem to be allocated in a fair way, when making a request to change, it always seems like it was such a chore to the placement lead, even if the reasons were legitimate. There should be some sort of policy in place to deal with students that sustain an injury and have to take time off. Not being allowed on placement, even if it was not in a clinical area is really hard, especially when having to make up 4 weeks' worth of missed hours.’ ‘The placement allocation I feel are very unfair and some students are given amazing placements throughout and some students are given awful placements where they are not exposed to a range of situations and areas. I think this is something that really needs to be looked into.’

Students have expressed concern that the management and organisations of placements is not as effective as it could be. Students have expressed their disappointment and have been impacted by these limitations. The following are some examples of this issue as reported from the 2019 NSS. ‘The course is badly organised. With placements, being given in 3 days before and I called asking where it was and they hadn't realised that I did not have a placement. Or days it has been cancelled, as tutors haven't shown up.’ ‘Placements were a joke 2 of my placements was not told to me until 7 days before I was due to start sometimes later.’

‘Perhaps organise the course timetable so that we would not have to be on clinical placement so close to our dissertation deadline. I think it would have been beneficial to do most of our placement hours in the first semester; however, I understand it is difficult to organise this when taking the other years into account, especially as there are only 3 departments available to us.’ ’Text messages to students as soon as there is a change in the timetable. The difficulty with BMid is that the lecturers don't often wish to make an official change to the timetable as it is preserved for forthcoming years, so they will just update us as and when they get an opportunity in university. But this can be too late! Knowing in advance, via text message or other notification, would be better.’

NSS comments from students who go on practice placements raise questions about the impact that back to back placements can have on students during their studies. This report recognises the value and importance of these placements but highlights that this is an area to be addressed. The following are some examples of this issue as reported from the NSS. ‘Too many placements back-to-back, with high expectations to complete other essay work and dissertation work. Placement marking very subjective; some educators state they 'don't give 10s' or higher marks, even if it is justified on the marking scheme. They don't have enough understanding of marking criteria. Lack of guidance in some topic areas, e.g., respiratory.’ ‘The only thing I would highlight is the back-to-back placements over summer and Christmas. They are hard work and I know with the constraints of the degree timetable it has to be like that. But I found backto-back placements difficult to stay motivated throughout the whole time, especially with dissertation work and assignments in the background. But there was support there for us if we were struggling.’

This section ranges from support from university staff, to clinical staff, and mentors. Support for students that have placements is an ongoing concern that is voiced by students. Students have raised concerns about the reimbursement process (for example, delays in payment) and expressed difficulty in being able to afford the costs of travel to and back from placements. This has led to stress, anxiety, and inability to perform effectively on placement. The following are some examples of this issue as reported from the NSS. ‘Lack of support for final year students in how much work they have given us alongside clinical placement. For example, 10 deadlines are expected during clinical placement from March till May when we had no submissions due from December to February. This leads to the students being overloaded and staff too which then snowballs in them not having time for helping us as third years.’ ‘To take into consideration that some students have to work over the weekend to afford to live, so becomes difficult when having padlets to complete which don't even get viewed. Also, placements being Monday-Friday was incredibly difficult when needing to work Saturday and Sunday, this was hard to have time with family and complete work’

1. If the Placements Support Service Business Case is approved, we recommend student membership to the group and close partnership working with the Union on its’ priorities.

2. The work should also include reviewing the BLS specific placement allocation policy to ensure it is robust, transparent, and fair. Equal attention should also be paid to bursary payments and exploring ways in which students can be reimbursed for placement expenses.

Learning resources are a crucial part of the academic experience for Cardiff students, where they play a role in every aspect of academic student life, from library opening hours to the availability of online journals. This is demonstrated by the number of comments submitted to Speak Week. Of the 2,239 comments relating to academic interest 390 relate to learning resources alone. There has been a move to improve the learning resources available to students through the introduction of more online journals, increased opening hours of libraries, and a change of policy for lecture capture from an opt-in policy to an opt-out. There has however been a significant increase in the number of comments regarding libraries and learning materials compared to 2019. This is also reflected in the NSS results for questions 18,19 and 20, the three questions that relate to learning resources. With all three taking drops in satisfaction with an average decrease from 88.47 to 87.66, which can be seen in figure 9. Comparison of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Learning Resourcesâ&#x20AC;? between 2018/19

Figure 10, A comparison of the satisfaction of students regarding Learning Resources between the academic year 17/18 and 18/19. This shows a consistent decrease in satisfaction across all three questions. Q18 from 84.48 to 83.38. Q19 from 91.64 to 90.60. Q20 from 89.37 to 89.12

Graph 1.

In recent years, lecture capture has played an integral role at Cardiff University, giving students the ability to pause, fast forward, any moment of capture, a lecturethere so that understand and absorb content at their own pace. In 17/18 Withinand thereplay comments on lecture arethey three clear priorities. the current opt-out policy for lecture capture was introduced where academics were automatically enrolled in having their More content to bechose recorded and greater consistency schools, lectures1.recorded unless they to opt-out. This was a positiveacross step that was well received by many students. This is 2. The recorded content should be made available sooner, evident in the gradual decrease in comments regarding Panopto as seen in figure 9. The right hand graph shows the 3. butAnd finally, for academics to be better on over how the to record content so that it is of good decrease also accounts for the increase in cardtrained received four years. quality.

Figure 11.

Increasing lecture recordings is the most prevalent comment within Lecture Capture making up 50% of the comments. It is clear to see how important it is for students to be able to revisit topics at their discretion however this data also highlights another concern, that being fairness. With many comments talking about the parity of experience between schools, ones who predominantly have their lectures recorded, and those who do not. ‘I would ensure that the School of Healthcare Sciences, especially Occupational Therapy, puts all their lectures onto Panopto because they don’t already! This is so important as other students get this when we don’t!’ (HCARE, Year 3, UG – Occupational Therapy) The delay between a lecture being recorded and uploaded is also an area that could be improved upon. Currently, if a lecture is recorded the recording will be automatically uploaded to Learning Central after seven days though the lecturer can release the recording sooner if they wish. With most students having similar timetables week to week, it is often the case that one would have reached the next lecture within a series before the previous recording was released and therefore not be able to use it as a preparatory tool. Many of the 42 comments on this refer to the immediate release of any recorded lectures. ‘Immediate release of lecture recordings would be useful along with improved audio both in lectures and on the recordings.’ (ENGIN, Year 2, PGT) The above comment touches on the third possible area for improvement: quality of the recording. There were 26 comments under this category. Though a smaller proportion of the total comments, it is none the less vital for learning. The majority of comments relate to better training of staff on microphone usage or writing things off-screen where the camera cannot record. ‘I like the use of Panopto – it's really helpful. It is annoying when some lecturers forget to turn their microphones on though because there is no audio.’ (CARBS, Year 1, UG) Undoubtedly students find lecture capture useful and often crucial. There is however also a sense of reluctance from some members of the staff. Potentially stemming from a lack of technological understanding or perhaps the notion that student attendance will drop. Whatever reason students are still very passionate that lecture capture should be compulsory and given the current dramatic shift to online teaching due to Covid-19 the Students’ Union feel that this is the opportunity to further increase the prevalence of good quality lecture capture.

A diverse and accessible set of learning materials are vital to every student’s education, be that books, e – journals, lecture slides, or in most cases a mix of all three. There were 68 comments relating to learning materials stemming from the resources themselves as well as an additional 42 commenting on libraries. The three main materials spoken about were physical collections, e–books and lecture slides often relating to the accessibility of the material whether that is due to price or lack of copies in libraries. Of the 42 comments arising about libraries, 28 were on physical collections with general comments on the number of books available and the need for an increase in loan period. There may also be a need to hold books for students with accessibility needs where e-books are not sufficient, as the majority of textbooks on reading lists are often withdrawn within the first weeks of term. There were also 14 comments on the availability of e-books and journals with the majority requesting a wider range of provision. Although the number of comments in this section is small, we felt it important to highlight that students are no longer able to study on campus due to Covid-19. The data that was initially collected would not reflect this current change in circumstance. Therefore, we felt it important that the University understands the importance of online teaching and learning resources. Now is an appropriate opportunity to identify weak spots in service and understanding how this provision can be improved and enhanced. In the 2018 Student Written Submission, we highlighted that the Libraries Division are an area of best practice when acting on student feedback.

‘We appreciate that these comments have come up for the last several years and the library team is already undertaking work to enhance the experience of our students. We consider the libraries team to be a best-practice in terms of working with students, the Students’ Union student voice team, and the officers and listening to the collective student voice.’ (SWS, 2018) Therefore, we do not feel this area requires a formal recommendation from the Students’ Union. Instead, we will continue to offer our support and help to library services where necessary to guide students moving forward including facilitating more data gathering exercises with them to share feedback.

1. Provide schools and academics granular details on Panopto usage such as minutes streamed, student usage, etc. This data would be extremely useful for the university to emphasise the importance of recorded contend, debunk “myths” on lecture capture as well as showcase the best practice there is. This will enthuse schools that have lower Panopto usage and help towards a gradual move to a compulsory recording. 2. Instead of pushing for the immediate auto-release of content, encourage a 5-day release from 7. 3. Provide simple guidance and training on lecture recording for lecturers using the system. This can also include print-out instructions in lecture theatres and rooms that remind lecturers to turn on microphones and write on boards that are visible to the camera, etc. To Note: similar recommendations were also made in the Student Written Submission 18/19. ‘Tighten up the Lecture Capture to bring in a timeframe for uploading lectures to Learning Central and initiate investigation into compulsory lecture capture.’ (Student Written Submission 2018/19)

2019 and 2020 saw an unprecedented level of industrial action take place at 74 universities across the UK, with the potential still on the table for more soon. Table 5 UCU 2019-2020 Industrial Action Ballot Results (Cardiff University UCU) - Data from www.UCU.org.uk

USS Pensions Ballot Pay and Working Conditions Ballot

Taking action consisting of Strike action Action short of strike Strike action Action short of strike

Voted ‘Yes’ 571 618 544 601

Result (%)

Turnout

81.92% 88.41% 76.73% 84.41%

51.70%.

UK Average ‘Yes’ Result (%) 79%

52.16%

74%

Table 6 Strike dates 2019/20:

First Round (8 Days) Second Round (14 Days)

25th November 2019 – 4th December 2019 Week 1: 20th and 21st February 2020 Week 2: 24th February 2020 – 26th February 2020 Week 3: 2nd March 2020 – 5th March 2020 Week 4: 9th March 2020 – 13th March 2020

The Sabbatical Officers are the political leadership of the Students’ Union, and as such can set its political position and direction. Being elected by a wide cross-campus ballot, their manifestos act as a mandate throughout their term in office. Students can mandate the Elected Officers and set SU Policy through the two policy-making bodies: Student Senate; and AGM. Passed Policy from either body lasts for 3 years. Student Senate is comprised of 25 elected Senators, the 10 Elected Campaign Officers, 10 randomly selected Academic Reps (per meeting), and 2 Sabbatical Officers.

The AGM requires over 500 students present to be quorate. The past 2 years has seen roughly 800 students in attendance.

In November 2019, in the lead up to the 2019/20 Industrial Action period, an AGM motion was submitted to mandate the SU to support the upcoming Industrial Action. This motion passed with an overwhelming majority. Between 2017 and 2020, the Vice President Postgraduate Students has worked to promote the free PGR membership offered by UCU for PGR students paid by the University to teach and demonstrate. These PGR UCU members, whilst still students in the eyes of the University, are members with access to the opportunities and benefits of Union membership, voting rights, and the ability to apply to the UCU strike hardship funds for lost teaching/demonstrating payment should they choose to strike ‘in sympathy’ with UCU during strike periods. The Students’ Union recognises the wide range of viewpoints on the recent and current industrial action its membership has, and our role is to support students no matter their view. We supported those students concerned about lost contact time and where their fees are going, to those PGRs who are UCU members who may have joined on the picket line themselves; the SU aims to facilitate the debate between the student body and empower them to pass policy.

Whilst the overwhelming support for the motion that was passed at AGM is a good indicator of student opinion, not all students will have felt that way, and not everyone engaged in AGM. Therefore, the Students’ Union helped to facilitate the debate and discussion via a number of communication methods. Speak Week also helped to gather students' opinions on industrial action. Face to Face Communication: Throughout the second 2020 strike period, students that supported the strike action ran Strike-Info stalls in the SU building. These were held on strike days to help to inform students of the reasons behind the strike action, and supported the SU’s strike-communications mandate from the passed AGM policy. Democracy From Day 1: Democracy from Day 1 is a campaign event that involves asking students a multiple-choice question and having them vote on their answer by placing a ball in a tube. In this scenario, different coloured balls were used to correspond to the students’ college and a further tube for free text comments was included. A ‘Democracy from Day 1’ feedback event was held to ask students the following question: “Did you feel informed/understand the recent industrial action/strike?” Table 8 DFD1 results

Yes and support

Yes and don’t support

More communication

Don’t care

Total

AHSS

BLS

PSE

Total

106

Democracy From Day 1 Results: (Location SU)

More Communication (by College) PSE 22%

34% 52%

AHSS 45%

3% 11% Yes and support

Yes and don’t support

Don’t care

More communication

BLS 33%

Figure 12.

Figure 13.

Free text comments included: “More information on impact for students would be helpful” “I'm not completely sure but striking is good actually – Good Luck” “Strikes good – shouldn’t effect lecturers” “what would be the status of PhD students? We’re not considered as staff not treated as a student” “They should as much as possible reduce the effect these strikes have on students. Students have done their part and paid fees. The lecturers shouldn’t have to resorting to the strikes”

Speak Week: Strikes was one of the biggest categories of comments from Speak Week 2020, at over 10% of the total number of Academic Interests comments, with 241 comments.

Catagorised Strike Comments (Speak Week 2020) 12

61 Communication

Compensation

General

Stop the Strikes

Support for Students

Support the Strikes

Impact

Figure 14.

Communication: Students discussing the communication from the University around strike action.

‘STRIKES. Create a proper interactive dialogue between staff, students and senior staff. This is VITAL.’ (SHARE, Year 3, UG) ‘Information about the strikes as soon as possible with a sensible plan in regards to lectures and general impact on studies.’ (LAWPL, UG) ii)

Compensation: Students who want compensation or refunds due to contact hours missed from the strikes.

‘I have heard something about strike from others. So if it is real, maybe it will waste time for students. I don’t want this to happen, it is better if school can return money from the strike.’ (CARBS, Year 1, PGT, International) ‘Refund tuition for the weeks that the strike happens. If we aren't paying to be taught then where is the money going?’ (SHARE, Year 1, PGT, International) iii) iv)

General: Comments about strikes that didn’t fit into any of the other sub-themes. Impact: Students who shared their experience of how the strikes have impacted them.

‘Strikes should not affect final year and dissertation students who need more support and structure. Topics that were not taught because of strikes were a part of my exams and that should not be a promised point if it is not acted upon by staff.’ (SOCSI, Year 3, UG) v)

Stop the Strikes: Comments on wanting the strikes to end. Some comments about bringing an end to the strikes also explain how the strikes should be ended. ‘Ensure there are no strikes’ (ENCAP, Year 3, UG) ‘Pay lecturers more so they stop striking!!!’ (GEOPL, UG)

vi)

Support for Students: Comments from students who would like to see better support for them whilst industrial action is ongoing.

‘Better strike action support - students often feel in the dark about how it will affect assessment and learning outcomes’ (MLANG, Year 4, UG) vii)

Support the Strikes: Comments from students explicitly supporting strike action. ‘(support the strikes hope y'all get what you want -pensions are important).’ (Year 2, UG) ‘Support the UCU strikers.’ (PHYSX, Year 2, UG)

Speak Week Strike Comments Comparison By School 60 40 20 0

2018

2020

Figure 15.

NOTE: Schools with no strike comments from 2018 or 2020 excluded. JOINT refers to joint honours. Speak Week 2020 saw a rise in strike comments, 271 in 2020 vs 135 in 2018. The increase number of comments was spread amongst the majority of schools compared with 2018 (the previous strike affected year). The College of AHSS is traditionally harder hit by industrial action, and this is reflected by the highest numbers of strike comments collected in the schools of ENCAP, SHARE, and GEOPL.

2018 Speak Week Strike Comments

2020 Speak Week Strike Comments

Support of Academic Staff

Support the Strikes

Stop the Strikes

Don't Want Strikes

Compensation

Impact

Refund Missed Time

Support for Students

Communication

Disruption to Learning

General

Amount that Students Pay

Requests More Information

6% 5%

General Comments

7% 15%

5% 11% 7% 32%

9% 10%

25% 12% Total Comments: 135

Figure 16.

31%

25% Total Comments: 241

Figure 17.

The grouping of Speak Week comments has changed slightly, but the above shows a rough comparison for each category. Most notably there was an increase in calls for compensation and increase to comments relating to the strike impacts on students in 2020 compared to 2018. The percentage of comments calling on support for the strikes/staff members decreased between the two years, and the percentage of comments requesting more information/communications remained the same. Town Halls: The Students Union invited the University to deliver two Town Hall events surrounding the 2020 industrial action. The first event taking place on 10/01/2020 and the second on 19/02/2020. These events were hugely welcomed, and despite low physical turnout, several questions were submitted in advance and panopto/audio was made available after the event. Questions submitted in advance focused on similar themes as the 2020 Speak Week categories above, with Compensation, Value for Money, and Impact on Education being the most prominent.

Contracts for PGRs who are paid to teach and demonstrate in the University have been called for by UCU in the 2020 industrial action dispute, under its Precarity branch of its ‘Four Fights’; the Students’ Union; and PGR students themselves. Speak Week: A total of 23 comments were collected in Speak Week 2020 that were categorised under PGR Teaching. These covered topics like teaching support; contracts; and rate of pay. Out of these 23 comments, 3 were made by PGT students, 1 by a UG student, and 19 by PGR students. 9 comments related to contracts, employment rights of PGRs, or PGRs as staff. “More clearly defined contracts for PGRs who teach, and more care when estimating workload; current models are not accurate.” (PHYSX, Year 3, PGR) “Provide postgrad tutorial leaders with more job security.” (LAWPL, Year 4, PGT) “Do not have a work contract for demonstrating therefore I do not have any worker rights.” (PHYSX, Year 4, PGR) Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES): PRES is usually conducted every 2 years, but the survey was conducted in both 2018 and 2019. Comments left are usually much larger free text comments than Speak Week, 39 comments from PRES were related to PGR teaching. “Pay Postgraduate Researchers a Living Wage, including sick pay, maternity leave, annual leave, and other statutory rights afforded to people in the employ of public sector institutions…” – GEOPL “stop hot desking and provide adequate office space. Pay us properly for our work (teaching and research). Give us real contacts.” – SHARE Comment: Because of the nature of this survey, free text comments are also captioned on positive questions about the course. Within these 39 PRES comments, there were some comments classed as positive including: “Induction was excellent. Teaching experience has been very useful. Support of department has been very good.” – PSYCH “The opportunity to develop my professional skills in teaching, research assistance and general administration.” – MUSIC Case Studies: The administration of PGR Teaching and Demonstrating pay is handled by each School, and there have been a number of cases over the past 2 years whereby cohorts of PGRs have not been paid due to illness or maternity of the staff member responsible. One specific case raised at the Postgraduate Researchers Representatives (PGRR) Forum on the 15th January 2020, was that PGRs within the School of Music were not receiving pay for teaching for up to a year. Whilst this is now resolved as noted in the minutes from that meeting, it still highlights the broader issue. Up until the end of the Academic year 2018/19, the School of EARTH did not pay the first 10 hours of teaching/demonstrating that each PGR conducted – classing it as personal development. This issue was

raised through the academic rep system at the SSP (Student Staff Forum) as unfair, and subsequently changed, but substantiated the ill-feeling towards ‘the University taking advantage of PGR labour’ thought by some students. Vice Chancellor’s PGR Contracts Mention and Ongoing Work: The Vice Chancellor’s mention of looking at implementing PGR contracts within the second Strike Town Hall was welcomed, and the initial scoping of the issue by University HR in Winter 2019, whilst promising, is something that was requested by the Students’ Union in the 17/18 academic year. The University drew up potential contract types and asked PGR reps for feedback in the 18/19 academic year, before merging the work with the University’s wider HR precarity project in the 19/20 academic year. Estimates of this work taking 12-18 months (from Nov 2019), with PGR contracts being the final stage of the precarity work project, has led to a lack in confidence in the University on this subject by PGRs – especially those that engaged with the project in the 18/19 academic year. Sector Best Practice: University of Sheffield: The Sheffield Graduate Training Contract (SGTC) “A variable hours contract of employment for the engagement of postgraduate students as Graduate Teaching Assistants (G6) or Graduate Teaching Associates (G7) (GTAs) where they carry out grade 6 or grade 7 duties, indicatively with a minimum commitment of 10 hours per semester.” https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/guidance/contracts/sgtc This outlines formal employment status giving PGR students, that are paid to teach, protections and benefits in-line with those available to University staff. Within the SGTC terms, Graduate Tutors are eligible for:   

   

Maternity, Adoption, and Paternity leave available for eligible staff; Sick Pay; Disciplinary Procedure and Grievous Procedure in accordance with the University Disciplinary and Grievous Procedures for all University (currently in Cardiff these go through the relevant student procedures, so a student complaining about their Graduate Tutor would be dealt under the same procedure as a student complaining about a classmate) Payment for work received monthly in arrears; The requirement to attend such recognised training as appropriate; Annual Leave entitlement; And the opportunity to become a member of the Pension Scheme

Many of these changes would cover issues that PGRs currently face – such as late payment, as well as providing recognition of their value within the University. PGR Tutors and Demonstrators are integral to the delivery of teaching in many Schools.

1. Create a centralised page providing a University position and online trackers for the progress of work relating to each of the recent UCU demands. For example, the gender and equality pay gap is a recognised problem within the institution, and the progress of ongoing work to address it should be shared and updated openly for the benefit of students and staff. A lack of available information can easily be interpreted as no work being done to tackle these by the University. 2. In 2019, the academic year after the 2018 industrial action, questions were raised as to where the savings from staff that took strike action’s wages had gone. The University should be proactive in being transparent around strike savings for 2020 and any future years of industrial action. Students impacted with the lost contact time, but not receiving compensation, have a right to be able to see a breakdown of where the money saved has been redistributed to.

3. The University should substantiate its position on PGR contracts, and recognise the protection this would offer in mitigating School-based issues that students find themselves facing. The University should also work with both the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union and UCU to review the success of the Code of Practice for PGR Teaching across the University and work on any shortcomings in its implementation against the UCU and NUS (National Union of Students) Postgraduate Employment Charter.

As well as championing sport, the Students’ Union is home to close to 250 Societies. Included in affiliated societies are thirty-seven Course-Based Societies that span twenty-two of the twenty-four Academic Schools. NB: The two schools without a Union-affiliated Course-Based Society are the School of Dentistry (where a Society exists within the School rather than the Students’ Union), and the School of Welsh (where no such Society exists). Societies and student groups provide communities for students to engage in throughout their time at University, bringing together groups of like-minded individuals that facilitate the creation of strong friendships and networks for support. 'Great variety of societies to join, helps people get involved and make friends' (Speak Week 2019: PSYCH, Year 1, UG) A 2019 study commissioned by WONKHE, entitled ‘Opportunity blocked’, includes a detailed analysis on how opportunities, such as Societies, Sports Clubs, and other enrichment activities, directly related to a sense of belonging and community on campus and, eventually, student outcomes (attainment and employability). Course-Based Societies provide an opportunity for students to not only socialise, but to socialise with their academic peers, engage in consolidation activities outside of timetabled sessions, and fully become part of a community within their Academic Schools. This also links to WONKHE’s study that highlights the following: ‘Students report that their course is a key place to find friendships – ensuring that academic schools/departments/faculties facilitate meaningful opportunities to build friendships is key. Ensure that there are regular opportunities throughout an academic year to build friendships.’ Arguably, this shows that Academic Schools have a valuable role to play in supporting course-based societies. Comments received through Speak Week 2020 suggest that students would benefit from a heightened effort to build a community within their Academic Schools. ‘More of a community within their school – I do not feel part of a community AT ALL within my school’ (Joint Honours: ENCAP/SHARE, Year 3, UG) ‘More integration with the rest of the student body – I don’t feel like part of the student community’ (MEDIC, Year 4, UG) ‘There seems to be a lack of community spirit, many students feel marginalised and alone’ (Year 1, PG) The overall impact of community-building and the sentiment delivered to students is reflected in the results of the National Student Survey, in particular, Question 21; “I feel part of a community of staff and students”

Figure 18.

Figure 18 (above) displays a moderate positive correlation (Pearson Correlation Coefficient R=0.567) between the proportion of a School's enrolment participating in a Course-Based Society and their sense of community within the Academic School. All figures are taken from the Academic Year 2018-19. From this, it can be argued that the championing of a Course-Based Society within an Academic School can actively promote an increased sense of community within that school. The Students’ Union provides a basic package of support to Societies through the Guild of Societies, which includes (but is not limited to):  Non-specific support and advice for running events  Grant funding (limited; in accordance with the Grant Funding Policy)  Access to available Union and University pool rooms  A society-specific email address  Support with democratic procedures  A page on the Students’ Union Website (with an ability to sell memberships and event tickets)  Promotional opportunities (e.g. the Freshers’ Fair)  Storage (space-permitting)  A bank account through which all transactions must pass Comments raised in specific Course-Based Society forums this Academic Year outlined that a small number of Societies are grateful to receive a huge amount of support from their relevant Schools, however, the vast majority receive little to no support. ‘Teaching staff support [Midwifery] Society already, making sure information about the Society’s events are announced in class for all three cohorts.’ (HCARE, March 2020) ‘The School could help with advertising socials (this was one of the key issues we had), as well as advertising the Society at the start of the year’ (SOCSI, March 2020) Particular success has been seen in the School of Optometry, where one of the highest scores on Question 21 of the National Student Survey (84.13%) was seen; ‘The Academic School have fully supported us as a Society and are very engaged in every event we do, which reflects well on the Society and the direction it is going in.’ (OPTOM, March 2020)

Other successes can be seen in the Societies who work closely with the School of Modern Languages, and MedSoc, the ‘MEDIC’ Course-Based Society, both of whom receive exceptional levels of support from their Schools; ‘I believe our Society is very well supported by the school […]. With a range of meetings held between us throughout the year, our voice is often heard well. They are largely receptive and responsive to much of the feedback we provide and do offer mostly invaluable advice and support.’ (MEDIC, April 2020) ‘Our introductory events were included in the induction timetable by the Academic School, which made it easier for us to reach out to and engage with first-year students from the very first week.’ (MLANG, March 2020) Academic Schools should work with Course-Based Societies to ensure all students have access to their Course-Based Society, specifically that students are signposted towards it during Induction Week. Making Course-Based Societies an integral part of life in Academic Schools will enable students to engage with others in the school, creating a sense of community from day one. Maintaining regular contact and communication with these groups throughout the year will ensure the Society can continue to work alongside the School effectively, and that any issues can be resolved quickly and effectively, with specific guidance and specialist knowledge of the subject area and student demographic.

Academic Schools should be more involved with their Course-Based Societies to build communities of students and increase student satisfaction: 1. The University should provide the Students’ Union with at least one point of contact for CourseBased Societies in each Academic School, such that communication channels can be established during the Society handover period in August. 2. Academic Schools should work with representatives of Course-Based Societies to ensure both the groups and their events are appropriately promoted throughout the year, with particular emphasis on induction week. 3. Academic Schools should regularly meet with representatives from Course-Based Societies, setting out mutual expectations at the start of each Academic Session.

Sporting opportunities at Cardiff University are provided in partnership between Cardiff University and Cardiff University Students’ Union. Cardiff University Sport control and maintain facilities across four sites, including the Cardiff Uni Gym which has over 3,000 members. They also run both the IMG programme for 1,000 students across 3 sports and the High-performance Program which provides support to the top 60 performing athletes to continue performing whilst at Cardiff University. The Athletic Union, within the Students’ Union, administers the 67 sports clubs and has over 4,900 members using the university facilities where they are available. Sports brings many benefits that are wide ranging, from enhancing and maintaining physical and mental health, enhancing academic achievement, student recruitment, retention to increasing employability prospects. This is not just fiction, it is fact. But increasingly, the facilities are becoming unfit for purpose and over capacity, meaning that some students will be denied the opportunity to take part. The request from the students to invest in sports facilities and develop an appropriate sports strategy has been reported on in every Student Written Submission since at least 2012. Whilst work has been undertaken on recommendations made, we do not feel that enough has been done. This is apparent from the recurrence of comments on the quality and quality of facilities.

Green

Requested priority be given to the Athletic Union Principles in compiling Sports Strategy 2013-18

Green

Request for the University to open the new 3G pitch before the start of the 2013/14 Academic Session, as agreed in July 2012

Red

The University should seek to provide at least one womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-only gym hour in at least one of their gyms

N/A

The University and Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union Sports Strategy Working Group should complete the Sports Strategy 2013-2018 action plan as soon as possible to shape the future of the sporting officer here at Cardiff University

Red

The University should strive to provide first-class sporting facilities, developing the sites we already have but making use of available locations as close to the Park Place and Heath Park Campus as possible

Red

University Sport should introduce flexible gym membership options, preferably 1-month rolling contracts to become more accessible to all students

Red

The University should strive to provide first-class sporting facilities that cater to the needs of our diverse student body. Consideration should be given to both developing the sites we already have and acquiring new sites that are close to academic buildings as well as residential sites

Green

To resurface the hockey pitch at Talybont Sports Village by September 2017 ready for the new cohort of students, and the start of the BUCS and sporting season

Green

Relocation of the Strength and Conditioning centre to Fitness and Squash centre on the main Park Place campus by September 2017 ready for the new cohort of students and the start of the BUCS and sporting season

2015-16

2014-15

2013-14

2012-13

Figure 19 is a collection of all the comments from the Student Written Submission that mentions sport and the progress is tracked.

Green Red Red Red Amber

2016-17

The University should continue to seek to invest in sport and ensure that the sports strategy and sports facility strategy is sent to Council and signed off by the end of 2017, ensuring that the student opinion, through the VP Sports is included in this process.

2017-18

To continue attracting athletes, the University should aim to conduct an audit of sports facilities, to ensure they are in line with the standard of other Universities

2018 - 19

Ensure that during the temporary move during 2016-17 and the Strength and Conditioning Centre to Talybont, sports provision is maintained to our sports clubs with regards to training, Strength and Conditioning Centre coaching, and match space -

The request for better sports facilities continues to be a frequent request from students. We are aware that the University is currently working on a ‘Sport’s Strategy’. However, sports investment does not appear within the University’s capital expenditure priorities. We believe that the University needs to invest in new facilities as a priority as sport continues to be a fundamental part of a student’s university experience. The new Sports Strategy document will commit the University to investing in new, improved and expanded health and fitness provision, and the upgrade of our facilities to all-weather facilities, such as another 3G and astro-turf pitch

Formation of a governance structure with oversight of Sport Strategy to see the implementation of the sports strategy to excel Cardiff’s sporting provision to enhance the student experience.

Figure 18. Comments from the Student Written Submission that mentions sport and the progress tracked.

As you can see from the above, there has been no investment in growing the sports provision that the university has since 2013 where there was an additional 3G pitch created at Llanrumney. This had led to dissatisfaction from the student population and a growth in the number of Speak Week comments about the sports facilities since 2016.

No. of Sports Facilities Comments 350

300 250 200 150 100 50 0 2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Figure 20.

This year, Sports Facilities, and the availability of Sports Facilities to students, covered 344 comments received during Speak Week earlier this Academic Year, an increase from last year. 35 of these comments related to the need for more 3G artificial pitches, seventeen requested improvements to existing Squash Courts, and sixty-two related to the need for more gym equipment, or ensuring on-campus gym facilities are more accessible to students across the University. ‘Extend the sports facilities: particularly need another hockey pitch to allow club expansion’ (MEDIC, Year 4, UG, AU) ‘Increase the number of 3G pitches at Llanrumney sports complex. This will allow the university to rival other universities' facilities and improve the development of sporting students at the university.’ (CHEMY, YEAR 3, UG, AU) ‘We need to fix the squash courts in Talybont sports centre. The floor is so slippery and dangerous, and there isn't proper heating, leading to low quality of gameplay.’ (MATHS, YEAR 2, UG, AU) ‘Have a university swimming pool. If this isn't realistic, at least a subsidy to pool hire so we can hire a coach to improve our performance’ (Year 1, UG, AU Member) Throughout the year, we ran several sports focus groups asking the students: What Does Sport Mean to You? These are just some of the responses that were received and comments are transcribed below:

Friendships, fitness & FUN Social De-stressing Fun

Friends! Competition (represent uni) Structure (to uni life) Work-life balance, get to do a hobby Represent the uni Get to compete in BUCS + local league Get to meet other people & know people in different years and courses

Made friends Saved mental health Stress Relief What does sport mean to me? Acceptance. Belonging. Discipline.

It is clear that for these students, sport at university is an essential activity. Sport and sports clubs are a catalyst for enabling student communities to grow and continue to provide essential support networks giving students a sense of belonging.

The Vice President Sports & Athletic Union President has worked with CU Sport on a long-term ‘Sports Strategy’ for the last few years. This project has however been subject to multiple delays and is still without a fixed long-term goal. It is clear that developing the ‘Sports Strategy’ is reliant on a commitment to investment in both sports facilities and resources which will enable a clear and concise vision for sport at Cardiff University. This will improve the dissatisfaction of students and address capacity issues that the facilities currently face. All students and staff at Cardiff University deserve to have access to good quality sporting experiences at an affordable price. This is set out in the University’s Student Charter “Our inspiring and enriching environment offers you a wide range of educational, social, cultural, and sporting experiences to motivate, challenge, and support you to succeed.” Without investment, the University Sports Department will continue to work in partnership with the Athletic Union to try and provide the best sporting experience that they can to students. But satisfaction will continue to decline due to having to use facilities that are not fit for propose and in desperate need of regeneration and investment. Sport needs to be protected and celebrated, as it represents a huge part of so many student’s university experiences. Therefore, we need the university to commit to both short-term and long-term projects which will transform sport at Cardiff University.

We recommend that a partnership group is established and embedded into existing governance structures to review and build on the strategy, looking at the following: 1. Develop and implement the Sports Strategy which must include a commitment to monetary investment so that we can build a 2nd hockey pitch and re-do Llanrumney Pavilion. The strategy also needs to see growth in budgets for hiring external facilities which will reflect increases in rates across the city. 2. Review indoor facilities to redevelop and expand current facilities and to address ongoing maintenance concerns at indoor facilities including heating the squash courts. 3. Approve the Facilities Paper which will see three new 3Gs built at Llanrumney all from external investment.

Poor mental health, and a lack of access to effective support, has become a ubiquitous part of the modern student experience for an ever increasing number of students. The mental health and wellbeing of students at Cardiff University, as in every other institution, has been declining for the past decade. To understand the scale of the problem and the suffering of our students you should first look to increasing number of students reporting depression and anxiety, the administrative burden on school offices of processing a rising number of extenuating circumstances submissions, the number of students asking for help from University support services and constant spectre of student self-harm and suicide. University is a fundamentally high-pressured, stressful time of transition, loaded with expectation and the constant fear of failure. The mass-produced, industrialised nature of the university business machine, rising student numbers, and the pressure on well-meaning university staff to balance supporting students with their everyday workload, means there is very little one-to-one personalised support for students of the kind they had previously been accustomed to in their education so far.

In the Speak Week 2020 data, as in all years previous, there continues to be a clear and increasing emphasis on Mental Health and the support offered to students. Speak Week 2020 analysis shows an increase in the number of comments on mental health from Speak Week 2019, from 179 to 216. We have outlined some of the prevalent themes from this area; explaining why we believe investing in the capacity and accessibility of these services is key to ensuring that every student feels at the centre of student life.

It is clear that effective intervention in and support for mental health difficulties remains a growing priority for our students. In this year’s Speak Week, over a quarter of all comments regarding services and student support (216/817) centred around student mental health, and the greatest proportion of these (140/216) related directly to resourcing and ensuring the accessibility of the service. ‘The waiting time for a Health and Wellbeing appointment with a therapist is ridiculously long. The service is not able to respond to current problems of students, as 3-4 months waiting time rather does not allow you to discuss your ongoing problems.’ (ARCHI, Year 3, UG) The number of students approaching the Counselling and Wellbeing service of Student Support has been increasing for some time – as have the average waiting times for students on the counselling waiting list.

Unique students accessing Counselling and Wellbeing 2001 - 2018. 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0

Figure 21. Counselling and Wellbeing ‘End of Year’ Data 2018

Counselling therapy is one type of intervention Student Support provides to support student mental health. It is not a ‘catch-all’ term for professional student support more generally. There are other professionally qualified mental health practitioners in other Student Support services who operate among other services Wellbeing, Disclosure Response Team, Student Intervention Team, Residence Life. As a mental health intervention however, the evidence suggests that Counselling continues to be the most effective individual intervention the University can make to help support students’ mental health.

Number of BOS applications by month 2017-2018 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

SepNovOct-16 16 16 Column1 207 261 244

DecMarMayJan-17 Feb-17 Apr-17 Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 16 17 17 63 290 281 230 111 154 71 63 89

Figure 22. Counselling and Wellbeing ‘End of Year’ Data 2018, Total Students applying via BOS for Counselling and Wellbeing Service by month.

As a result of a predictable and constant increase in student demand for counselling, and underinvestment in the Counselling service, the University now has a service capacity issue. According to Student Support themselves, there exists ‘a clear need for additional staffing resource in counselling and wellbeing to meet the growth in demand.’ The counselling service currently has 4.6 full time equivalent (FTE) Counsellors which equates to 3.8 FTE student facing time. This creates on average around 76 hours per week of client facing time (without allowing for annual leave or sickness absence) and is boosted by the relatively heavy use of sessional counsellors, who are more ‘cost effective’. In both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 academic years, the Counselling Service has closed online referrals from new students at times of intense stress in the university year. On the most recent occasion during the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak, this prompted a petition from some students, with associated press coverage. The Union believes the professional support staff in Student Support continue to work very hard in very challenging circumstances, but we have concerns as to the resilience of the counselling service’s ability in the future to remain open at peak times and remove barriers for our moderately to severely impaired students’ higher education experience. The Students’ Union is also concerned as to the transparency and accountability of service closure decisions; given the impact this has on secondary support services who are less equipped to handle students presenting with mental health difficulties.

To what extent would you say today's appointment has been helpful?

Wellbeing not at all

walk in slightly

moderately

counselling very much

extremely

Figure 23. Counselling and Wellbeing ‘End of Year’ Data 2018

Many students have called for additional support for specific groups of students in particular; ‘I no longer recommend postgraduate research study to friends, colleagues, and potential PGR students. I do not feel that there is adequate understanding or awareness of the mental strain caused by PGR study.’ (PRES2018: ENCAP, PGR) ‘More for men's mental health - need to reduce male suicide rate!’ (SW2020: 5th Year Student) ‘More international student support.’ (SW2020: OPTOM, 1st Year, UG) | ‘More support to international students’ (SW2020: ENGIN, 3rd Year, UG) ‘More support for mature and commuting students to make them feel part of a community’ (SW2020: 2nd Year, UG) ‘Better help for student carers. I have had no support and lecturers have no idea what to do when explaining complications’ (SW2020: BIOSI, Year 4, PGT) This data clearly shows that there is a desire for support and activity that is aimed at specific groups of students. This is not necessarily a case of hiring a counsellor or campaign-organiser from each of the demographics that require tailored support, but involves speaking to these students and understanding the gaps in our current provision. Once we are able to understand this, all (wellbeing) staff can be trained to bridge these gaps and improve the service offered. As well as ensuring that the support offered is relevant to the individual’s student experience, it is also important that the service is able to tackle the immediate issue. Currently, there is a strong focus on low mood, anxiety, and depression in Student Support. However, the Higher Education Landscape is constantly changing, and so too are the challenges it creates for students. As these problems become more and more complex, so should their solutions. Students are calling for changes to this as they feel that the lack of specialism means that not everyone is able to get the help they need. For example; ‘Mental health services need more funding and need to be specialised in more than just anxiety and depression' (SW2020: ENCAP, Year 3, UG) ‘We need more people giving counselling and specialised in areas/ techniques. Stuff like trauma requires specialised professionals, it would be good if the uni offered more CBT, EMDR.’ (SW2020: MEDIC, Year 3 PGR) The University begin training Counselling and Wellbeing staff to deal with a more diverse range of conditions and when hiring new staff, make this a priority in their recruitment. Whilst we understand that the priority of

Student Support and Wellbeing is to help as many students get the best degree that they can, not to offer long-term therapy, we believe that investing in this specialism is not moving away from this aim. Instead, it is ensuring that the service is able to meet its aim by helping as many students as possible in the same capacity it always has.

Many students have called for an increased number of appointments for the Counselling and Wellbeing services, as well as the number of out of hours appointments available outside office hours in order to approve accessibility. This is especially important for those students that are on placement or in satellite campuses further from support services. For example, HCARE students and other schools in BLS are regularly identified as groups of students that struggle to access support. In Speak Week 2020, an undergraduate student from the School of Healthcare stated that the University should ‘ensure healthcare students have easier access to mental health services whilst on placement’, representing the views of many students from this school as well as others. Similarly, for three years running, the elected Mental Health Officers have had out-of-hours consultations as integral parts of their manifestos, showing that this has been in the student interest for some time and has been raised at various levels of the University as such, for some time as well. The Students’ Union therefore reiterates the need to sustainably increase the resources in Student Support and Wellbeing to accommodate further appointments, outside of typical working hours.

Another area in which students can find a barrier to support is when dealing with a long-term disability or dyslexia. For example; ‘Better dyslexia support. The whole process is way too slow, I had to get through an entire semester of trying to get help even though I came to uni with an extensive report & evidence of what was needed. Also its extremely confusing seeing multiple people. I have 6 different support people (over both learning support & mental health) and I can't keep track of who does what.’ (SW2019: ENCAP, 1st Year, UG) ‘University to fund dyslexia assessments, as students are put off due to cost.’ (SW2019: HCARE, 3rd Year, UG) ‘Make dyslexia/dyspraxia tests free’ (SW2020: 3 rd Year, UG) It is clear that students with disabilities feel that support for them could be more accessible, especially concerning cost. The Students’ with Disabilities Officer for 2020/21 has it in their manifesto to achieve ‘free dyslexia training for all’, showing that there is appetite for this. These difficulties are especially concerning when you consider that the service itself is already facing funding risks due to the need to compete with private providers.

As well as this, University Campuses are complex systems of buildings, and Cardiff’s two main campuses are no exception. Navigating them, particularly at speed between teaching, can be challenging for the vast

majority of students. The challenge is only exacerbated for those of the student body with accessibility requirements, where, at times, their needs are not taken into account appropriately. Fourteen comments were made surrounding accessibility during Speak Week 2020, and many more have been received anecdotally throughout the year, especially on social media. Thirteen more comments were made regarding the availability of lifts and escalators around Campus; ‘Lift in the SU for disabled students’ (SW2020: ENCAP, 1st Year, PGT) ‘The lifts can be updated, as they are really small and old and always make weird noises’ (SW2020: PSYCH, 2nd Year, UG) As well as this, the Students’ Union has received many different anecdotal accounts of the difficulties that students with disabilities face on our campus, most notably via social media. Below is one of the most notable.

The Students with Disabilities Officer for 2020/21, who was elected in the 2020 Spring Elections, also has accessibility as one of their manifesto points. The manifesto pledges to ‘Lobby the university to improve accessibility in University buildings and residences’ and with students having voted for this manifesto, it shows that there is a student interest in this being achieved. It is clear that improving the physical accessibility of the campus will massively impact the lives of many students, by enabling them to have the same experience as any other student. This is key to ensuring that all students feel that they are included and at the centre for student life.

1. Invest in the Counselling service and establish a long term strategy to enhance capacity and resilience at key pressured times in the academic year. Provide remote-counselling training to Counselling staff to ensure the viability of the service during the Coronavirus Covid-19 social distancing measures. 2. Create a Partnership Project to enhance and diversify access to our support services. This should focus on planning for the future increases in demand, understanding the gaps in the service, and collecting/analysing student feedback. This could lead to better understanding of the challenges of long term planning, training packages for staff in understanding issues faced by different types of student and would enable both organisations to investigate the need for specialised support (i.e. PTSD-trained counsellors within the University support context). Our hope would be that this partnership group encompass all support services across the University. 3. Create a Partnership Project working with the Students’ Union and the Disabled Staff Network to bring about quick wins as well as long term investments in accessibility across the campus. This group can also look at better ways to communicate accessibility information to students, staff and visitors. An example of this can be found at accessable.co.uk, whom the University could work with to create an accessibility guide. The group should also review the procurement approaches for lifts in consultation with students and staff to ensure that the issues with the temporary CSL lift are not repeated.

4. Update wellbeing information on the intranet and streamline access to these pages, i.e. make it easier to access the online referral form and begin a campaign showcasing each of the services offered by Student Support which can be echoed in Students’ Union communications. This will create an initial increase in the awareness of the services which will begin bridging the existing gap in communications. 5. The University should investigate reducing the cost of tests surrounding disability and dyslexia as much as possible, ideally to zero, by investing further resources into this service. Additionally, we recommend that the University work with us to improve the outreach of this service to ensure that as many students who need it can access it as possible, whilst investigating any possible gaps in service provision

In a large and successful University, things sometimes go wrong. Over 300 students approached our Student Advice service in the 2018 – 2019 academic year wanting to make a complaint about some part of their University experience. Where possible our team of Student Advisers work to restore the relationship between aggrieved students and their University, but it is right that in some cases those students’ experiences are understood through the University complaints process. Students who complain are often vulnerable and may have struggled to manage perceived injustice at the hands of a large and seemingly powerful institution. We think the hallmark of a progressive and successful institution is not how it treats its most successful people, but in that, it listens to and reconciles itself with its most unhappy and dissatisfied members.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Students’ Union in 2019 explained that the University was ‘unable to confirm how many complaints were received in total by the University under the Student Complaint Procedure’ and that further information was ‘not routinely collated centrally’. The University has however confirmed that the number of ‘formal complaints’ received under the Student Complaint Procedure had increased exponentially in the last six years. Figure 24. No. of formal complaints to Cardiff University under formal complaints process

Total

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

117

129

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education’s Good Practice Framework says Universities should aim to conclude formal complaints within 90 days. The Quality Assurance Agency UK Quality Code for Higher Education holds as a guiding principle that ‘providers operate reasonable timeframes and allow identification of concerns, complaints, and appeals that require swift action. Staff are encouraged to deal with matters informally where appropriate. Students are informed if any delays occur.’ Regarding the same FOI request submitted by the Students’ Union in 2019, the University would not tell us its average processing time for a complaint. But did confirm that of 31 formal complaints progressed to an investigation, 26 were not concluded within the 90-day OIA timescale. In other words, over 80% of formally investigated complaints are not compliant with the Good Practice Framework procedural expectations for timeliness.

Of the 129 Formal Complaints that were received under the Student Complaints Procedure, 58 were rejected at the ‘initial consideration stage’ for such reasons as being ‘out of time’. It is unfortunate that though the University has very strict deadlines for the late submission of coursework, the engaging of academic procedures, and the submission of formal complaints for students, it does not hold itself to the same high standards of timeliness. “I submitted a formal complaint with the help of the Students’ Union when a member of staff in my school dishonestly tampered with evidence in my appeal. My complaint was upheld, but I had to wait 439 days for the matter to be concluded. It’s hard to describe the range of emotions the process caused. I didn’t ask to be the victim of those circumstances, I didn’t want to complain and I certainly didn’t want to wait 439 days for the University to say they were sorry”. (BA Journalism and Politics Student 2016 – 2019) Formal complaints are only generally made and considered where things have gone seriously wrong. It cannot be acceptable that the University is compounding its failings of these students at this point in their academic experience.

No student comes to University with the expectation of having to make a complaint about it. Students are generally loathed to engage in formal complaint procedures and where they do so, are generally motivated by a fervent wish for someone to listen to them and acknowledge the difficulty of their experience. Where the relationship between the University and its students has broken down, the University should invest resources in healing conflict and division. Despite a positive initial push towards ‘restorative justice’, progress and attention towards progressive cultural improvements seem to have stalled and subscription to the values of ‘restorative justice’ should be maintained. A successfully administered complaints process is a huge opportunity for the University to reflect and, to learn lessons, and to improve operations and the experience of future students. The Quality Assurance Agency UK Quality Code for Higher Education holds its first guiding principle for appeals and complaints as ‘concerns, complaints, and appeals are used to improve the student experience’. Students and staff who regularly engage with the procedure do not report confidence that the University sufficiently reflects on failings.

1. A complaints Partnership Group should set up to better understand the nature of student complaints and improve the complaints process. This should include looking at University response times. 2. The group should explore the usefulness of the ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ stages of its complaints procedure and consider introducing an initial/alternative stage called ‘feedback’. This element of the complaints process should be available to students who are frustrated and want the university to listen to and understand their experience. It should be introduced with a commitment from the University to consider the feedback, even where it does not provide a practical response. 3. They should also review the application of the Student Complaints Procedure in light of the principles of ‘restorative justice’. The University should be more readily-prepared to talk to students in-person about their complaint – and should give students this option within the complaints procedure, on the University intranet, and the complaints form. 4. The group should look at how the University can regularly review the outcome of formal complaints and learn from and make improvements to the student’s experience based on those outcomes.

Communication is an essential aspect of the Student Experience, and the most valuable tool in continuing to improve levels of student engagement in University life. If done well, effective communication can enable students to make the most out of their time at University and deepen their sense of belonging at the institution. On the other hand, poor communication leaves students feeling separated from the University and feel as though they are not being consulted on changes that directly impact them. It can also lead to students not being able to access services vital to their wellbeing and development, through a lack of understanding of their availability. It is understood that a Partnership Project, ‘Communicating Effectively with our Students’ was undertaken between the University and the Students’ Union. While this explored methods of emergency communications well, we feel that this did not go far enough into solving the main issues of student communication. It is clear from current and historic Speak Week data, as well as the experience of multiple Sabbatical Officers when speaking to colleagues and students, that this continues to be a stumbling block, and this is reflected in recurring themes throughout feedback from Speak Week and beyond. The key areas for consideration here are: 1. The key methods used by Cardiff University to communicate information and signposting to its students, and; 2. The ways in which Cardiff University communicates its responses to student feedback and work being undertaken.

There is evidence to suggest that the current methods in use to communicate key information to students, such as the Student Intranet, is ineffective. In the 2018 Student Written Submission, this was a key area of work: ‘Student Intranet – personalise the student intranet to enable Schools to provide information relevant to their students (e.g. news, events, polices/key documents). This will positively impact the student experience as it will reduce the number of sources that students are required to engage with and enable students to feel part of a learning community within their School.’ (SWS, 2018) The Centre for Student Life is a huge undertaking of the University and will revolutionise the way it supports its students. It is however concerning to see within the Speak Week data that several students are still unaware of its purpose; “More money spent on Student Support, especially financial rather than useless new SU” (MEDIC, Year 4, UG) Communication holds particular importance when in relation to Student Support information and signposting, as it can be the difference between a student receiving vital care and support, and them slipping through the net. As a result, the Sabbatical Officer team was deeply concerned to see the below comment received during Speak Week 2020; “Easier access to Mental Health services (I don’t know where to go)” (MUSIC, PGT) Whilst there is, of course, much progress to be made in advancing the Student Support offering that is made to students (as discussed in prior sections), there is also more to be done in ensuring all students are aware of the support options currently available to them. In Speak Week 2019, there were 38 comments made regarding student awareness of Mental Health services offered by the University; “Promote Mental Health more! We have amazing facilities but they aren’t spoken about enough!” (PHYSX, Year 3, UG)

Predictably, similar comments appeared in Speak Week 2020; “Increased awareness of Mental Health Services and Campaigns - i.e. increase presence across other campuses, not just the SU” (PHRMY, Year 3, UG) “Better access to mental health services. Make people more aware that they’re available.” (MEDIC, Year 2, UG) It can be argued that such information is available on the Student Intranet; often the Intranet is used as the primary method of communicating with students. There is however a large volume of feedback to suggest that this is not the most effective way of communicating with our students, largely due to the overwhelming volume of information present, and difficulties in finding relevant information from searches and labelling. This was one of the findings from the 2018 Partnership Group as students did not use the internet as it was not school-specific enough – therefore not relevant. “...fed back that the labelling on the intranet has been found confusing…” - ENCAP SSP (English Literature); November 2018 “The University comes across as massively disorganised…”- CARBS SSP, January 2019 As mentioned in the Student Written Submission produced in 2018, the results of a Democracy from Day One campaign clearly demonstrated that students rely on a wide variety of communication mechanisms to get the full breadth of information on offer. There were also number of important recommendations in the 2018 report on top of the point about improving the Intranet: ‘Learning Central – review the notification/announcement facility and provide guidance for use.’ (SWS, 2018) ‘MyTimetable notifier – purchasing the notifier would improve the student experience by enabling timetable changes to be communicated automatically to students via an agreed channel (text, Student App, email etc.).’ (SWS, 2018) Feedback from students was that they received endless notifications on Learning Central and they wanted to review the platform and how it sent notifications. Whilst the MyTimetable notifer was one of the biggest cause for concern with students as they were not receiving timely notifications to changes in the timetable. We recommended they spent £10k on a timetable notify app so that real-time updates could be sent but we do not believe this was approved. Social Media: The Students’ Union regularly makes use of multiple communication platforms to pass information effectively to students, including:  Officer ‘Trackers’, to enable students to keep an eye on progress towards large projects and goals  Physical marketing  Facebook  Twitter  Instagram (grid and stories)  Snapchat  Students’ Union Website  Weekly emails Cardiff University’s main social media platforms appear to have an extremely strong following and receive high engagement on content that is distributed. Other accounts, such as ‘Student Life CU’ receive less engagement, despite being used to push information and updates to students. Work needs to be undertaken to make sure that the University is making use of the platforms available, and optimising content to reach the most students possible. To give an example, Cardiff University’s main Instagram account, @cardiffuni, has over 37,000 followers. Whilst the account makes regular use of Instagram Stories and the ‘Highlight’ feature to save important updates, its posts are not used to a similar effect.

The Cardiff University Students’ Union Instagram account, @cardiffstudents, has 8,295 followers, and uses Instagram Stories, the ‘Highlight’ feature and the grid/posts feature in order to communicate important messaging to students.

With a large following, the University’s Instagram has the potential to become a successful platform for communication of important information should it be used in more depth, taking advantage of the full range of functionality of the social media network. The University also need to make it clear which platforms current students need to be engaging in. @cardiffuni may be for the benefit of prospective and external audiences yet this is unclear to our students. Lastly, we feel it important that students feel listened to when they engage with the University on their social media platforms. Currently, there is no practise for the University to address or publicly acknowledge comments left by students on their media platforms:

The examples above are just the most recent examples of students commenting on significant communications released by the University. None of the students received any communication acknowledging the concerns they commented. We feel it is important that students feel heard at every level including situations where they communicate via these means. We realise that not every individual who comments is a student and this process could be become burdensome for staff members. We feel however, that there are some important issued raised by students and that the University should work to acknowledge them or contact the individuals privately to better understand their issues.

As well as making information available in a more accessible way, data suggests there is also a need for communication to students surrounding what is done concerning their feedback. In 2018, the Students’ Union launched its ‘Student Wins’ campaign, a new way of communicating progress and successes to students in a digestible manner. This campaign is an effective method of communication with students, with images displayed on central social media and the front page of the Students’ Union website.

There is demand from students to be regularly updated with actions that are being undertaken; this is seen from multiple comments over several years which suggests students don’t feel listened to, despite multiple opportunities to provide feedback to the University, whether directly or via the Students’ Union. “Listen to your students more - it feels like you don’t care about us at all” - NSS 2018 “Listen to the students more, because it’s very clear that people don’t think the student's voice is being heard” - NSS 2018 Discussions in an earlier section related to accessibility. There has been much feedback regarding several accessibility difficulties through social media this year, and, following this, comments were raised about a lack of communication from the University regarding developments in response.

Comments have also been received concerning this in an academic sense: “...students could be more informed on the changes that have been made to the modules” - CHEMY SSP; February 2019 A gap in the feedback loop is even more evident from queries and feedback received from students. Similar themes arise in Speak Week data time and time again, despite work being, or having been, undertaken by the University across many areas. For example, a significant amount of work has been done to increase and deepen support options available to students, particularly in the lead up to the opening of the Centre for Student Life. However, a large number of comments received are presumably from students who are unaware of the work being undertaken in the first place, again evidenced by the following comment that was referenced above:

“More money spent on Student Support, especially financial rather than useless new SU” (MEDIC, Year 4, UG) We are aware that the University has taken active steps in closing this loop by initiating ‘The Student Voice’ Campaign and creating job roles that specifically look at this issue. From the data we collected, it is important that the Union and University continue to work together on planning this campaign and that there are more tangible outputs in 2020/21. If social media and the intranet pages are appropriately reviewed, these mechanisms would make an effective channel for closing feedback loops.

1. It is recommended that Cardiff University complete a full review of all student communications channels, including social media. Ensuring all platforms are being used to their full extent to communicate important information with students, and that vital student information is prioritised on platforms with large followings. 1. Implement the 2018 Partnership Group recommendation and set up a review of effectiveness for the Intranet platform and Learning Central, exploring whether it is the best mechanism for students to receive communication and how to make it easier to navigate.

We hope you enjoyed reading the 2020 Student View. We recognise that our recommendations will be more ambitious than ever and there are numerous obstacles and challenges to face in the next academic year. We hope that we continue to face them together, as partners on this journey to enhance the student experience. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to the University for supporting and receiving this report every year, especially to the members of Council who read our reports with such enthusiasm and to the senior leaders who work so hard to realise our recommendations. Thank you to the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union staff who do so much for students and offer irreplaceable guidance to the Elected Officers. We would be half a team without them and are ever grateful for the help and support they offer. A special thanks goes to Kathryn Cribbin, the QER and Student View Project Officer who developed, researched, and guided this report. Her help was invaluable during the writing process. Lastly, my thanks go to my team, the Elected Officers 2019/2020 for making our year working together so memorable and enjoyable.

Jackie Yip Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union President | Llywydd Yr Undeb Myfyrwyr 2019/2020