Report to Court of Governors | September 09 Student Satisfaction at UAL Introduction The National Student Survey 2009 results for University of the Arts London show little change from that of 2008 with overall student satisfaction at a static 63%. This result leaves UAL the lowest Higher Education Institution nationally. Consistent poor performance in the NSS highlights the frustrations that students have within UAL. 2009/10 could be a significant year of change for UAL. The identification of the unique selling points of the Colleges, the restructuring of courses and staffing at Colleges, the imminent move of the Student Hub are all big changes that may mark this coming year as a success but perhaps more importantly, the year of change should be the point at which the University acknowledge how these changes can be made even better for the benefit of the student experience. It is my intention that this report takes the opportunity to not only say what the Students’ Union has been saying for a number of years but will focus on 3 key aspects to improving the student experience here. Pace of change This report elaborates further the Students’ Union response to the NSS, in which we noted our frustration at the poor results. The frustration was wholly to do with the poor results rather the fact that while we repeatedly talk about what will improve the experience here we are faced with indifference at best and opposition to our views at worst. The surprised reaction of colleagues in the University to the continuing poor results remains puzzling given the pace of change in the institution. For a number of years the Students’ Union have been trying to affect change for students with minimal results. There have been a few advances and there is a considerable amount of discussion and agreement. It is entirely unfortunate that when we appear to reach agreements on improvements for students, there is little or no implementation. Previous years' NSS results have proved to be a catalyst for change and had a direct impact on the provision of teaching and learning across UAL. But we feel the pace of change is not quick enough, and crucially students do not recognise there has been any significant change from one year to the next. Together we need to do more to ensure that every student is aware of and can be involved in change at the University. University identity Over the last 4 years and during my time as a student here, there has been a steady move towards students recognising themselves as students of the University and not simply of their individual College. For a number of years, the Students’ Union has highlighted that firming this identity is critical in being able SUARTS REPORTS | Court of Governors | September 2009
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to establish a community and having students as partners in the University, this should lead to a positive association and relationship which will inevitably impact on the NSS results. Sense of Community Building a community is more than building an identity for the University. From the NSS results, it could be interpreted to show that the more the students identify with their institution and with being part of the learning community there, the more settled and happy they are in their course. A sense of ownership and partnership in this learning community is not achieved through accident and requires partnership working between the Students’ Union and the institution to deliberately construct initiatives and environments that, in time, will improve the sense of community in a practical and tangible manner. From the Students’ Union Annual Survey and Student Representative feedback, we recognise that students identify with smaller communities at the University with activities in the studio and student sports and societies being the deeply held community identities. The Pathfinding / Freshers activity has undoubtedly made an improvement in building a sense of community in the first few weeks of arrival but the issue remains that there is little more coordinated activity or opportunity for this to continue beyond week 2 . Based on the Students’ Union Survey’s, I would infer that it is specifically the creation of Pathfinding and the creation of the Student Hub concept that has seen the shift in student recognition of their part as a student at the University of the Arts London. Access to facilities, the provision of student led gallery space, flexible group space, and the need for increased communal areas are issues which students want action on. We know that creating a sense of a community across multiple sites in London is challenging, but we truly believe this will lead directly to increased student satisfaction and it should be a priority for staff at all levels within UAL. Neutral Student-Owned Space Whilst we recognise the absolute need for students to be able to identify and use resources across all colleges, there remains a need for a neutral space for students to be able to identify as their own. In the past, this has been articulated as a need for a University space that is easily identifiable and owned by all students but the issue is even more basic than this. The neutral space is wholly about student ownership. For most Universities and in particular, those universities that perform well in the NSS, there are significant student led resources available for students. These resources are normally provided through the Students’ Union but in our University, it would not particularly matter who runs these resources and spaces and we are certainly not advocating that we should. The issue is that there are very few spaces that are neutral and in the control of the main stakeholders of this University... the students. Students as Respected Members of the Community The University is a complex institution and more often than not, it is this complexity and lack of clarity in leadership that continually lets down the students as partners in this community. Whilst the University recognises the importance of students in allocating places for our representatives in committees, for most student representatives involved in any of these meetings from Course Meetings to the Board of Governors, there is little real debate and discussion that leads to any action or changes. The lack of true and genuine respect for the student voice is one aspect of why the University does not make the advances in the student experience that it should do. SUARTS REPORTS | Court of Governors | September 2009
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Student Experience on the Agenda Governors must be aware that the Student Reps and the Students’ Union have been advising on initiatives and activities to improve the experience here for some number of years – the issues and solutions have remained the same for at least the last 6 years. If the will of Governors is to progress from the bottom of the NSS table, as Governors, we must ensure that the student voice is firmly part of the University Community and recognise the ability of the Students’ Union, as the representative voice of students to help achieve this as soon as possible. In Conclusion Overall student satisfaction will only increase when students see facilities improve and there is high quality, standardised course organisation. It takes far too long for students to see the change they are demanding to see, so we must have positive, proactive changes they every student is able to shape and experience. There are some fantastic examples of good practice across University Arts London, but more needs to be done to ensure students are enabled to be working in partnership to shape and improve their experience. Over the next year we must see a significant shift across the University to fully embed our new Course Rep strategy, where students are recognised as co-producers and co-creators of their course, so that students are able to begin to own the direction of their course, college and of the University. The Students’ Union will continue to work in partnership with the University to take action on these results. UAL is a fantastic institution, the achievements of our students are incredible, but everyone involved at UAL needs to work together to improve the quality of the student experience for students.
Helen Gimber Students’ Union President
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