How’s SUBU For You 2023 Results
2023
July
HS4U: A comparison with previous years
HS4U is an annual survey which is designed to track student satisfaction with SUBU. In the past decade, HS4U has taken place every academic year, with the exception of 2019 and 2020. The survey is held at the end of the academic year.
This year, HS4U engaged with over 900 student participants. Over 600 more than in 2022 and over 400 more than in 2021!
The growth of student engagement with HS4U back to pre-pandemic levels is extremely exciting and we look forward to the challenge of increasing our number of responses again in 2024!
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2021 2022 2023 467 903 896 1009 1063 443 311 919
NOVEMBER 2022 919 participants HS4U Faculty Level
• The full-time student officers designed the survey themes to explore: the costs of living, access to learning and life on campus
• The survey ran between 21st and 25th November 2022
(UG)
• 845 students took part - 824 responded to the online survey, and 21 completed a feedback card - this is the highest SPEAK WEEK participation on record!
Communication and reward assets:
UK, EU or International
22.5% 20.2% 28.0% 29.3% Business School Health & Social Sciences Media & Communication Science & Technology 84.2% 14.0% 1.7%
85.1% 4.2% 10.8% UK student EU student International student
Undergraduate
Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Postgraduate Research (PGR)
(non-EU)
77.3% 19.4% 3.3% Talbot Campus Lansdowne Campus Other Campus
Question 1: How involved are you in SUBU's services/ activities?
I am not aware of SUBU
SUBU is helping/has helped me to realise my potential
*
I am actively involved in one or more aspect of SUBU life
The overwhelming majority of students said that they were aware of SUBU. However, the number of students not aware of SUBU has increased by over 5% compared with last year.
I am a casual user of SUBU services
I am aware of SUBU but don't use any services
A factor which could partially explain this increase was that we were able to reach certain types of students with the survey which we previously had not reached.
*Note. The option “SUBU is helping/has helped me to realise my potential,” was removed this year.
2017 % (n=1,006) 2018 % (n=1,058) 2021 % (n=443) 2022 % (n=311) 2023 % (n=919) 22.93 25.5 41.4 29.4 33.9 50.25 50.9 41.7 40.7 41.9 20.84 17.9 10.5 22.3 18.6 5.38 5 4.1 6.8 0.6 0.8 2.3 1.0 5.6
Question 1: Qualitative comments
Clubs, Societies and Volunteering
98 out of 304 free text comments (32.2%) specified types of involvement
“I am a community warden for SUBU.”
“I am a student rep and I have been a part of SUBU clubs such as Anime and K-pop. I also participated in the Be a Buddy Scheme which has gained me some amazing friends!”
“I am a committee member of a club. I go to SUBU summits events.”
“I use it for the Chess Society and for the occasional coffee.”
“I use a lot of volunteering opportunities within SUBU.”
Question 1: Qualitative comments
Commercial Services
57 out of 304 free text comments (18.8%)
“I go to the Old Fire Station weekly. It is my favourite night out.”
“I work in Dylan’s kitchen.”
“I use the coffee shop a lot.”
“I love the options available in the cafe within the SUBU building, as well as the beach hut study spaces, I also attend summer ball, and love going to events held at the Old Fire Station.”
“I only know about it due to the Summer Ball!!”
Question 1: Qualitative comments
Student Reps
41 out of 304 free text comments (13.5%)
“I am a Student Rep and I participate in activities as often as I can.”
“I have been involved in the Student Rep scheme and attended some societies.”
“I am a student rep and active member of SUBU.”
“I have been a Rep, I have participated in focus groups and I am currently working with SUBU.”
“Currently a Rep and soon to be a President of a society. Mainly engaged with societies and some SUBU events.”
Question 2: What barriers, if any, prevent you from getting more involved with SUBU services/ activities? (Select all that apply)
More than one in three students stated that there were no barriers for them when getting involved with SUBU. Where barriers were stated, lack of time was by far the most frequent barrier.
More than one in five students also stated lack of information and/or communication as a barrier and just over 7% did not understand what SUBU does.
Peer pressure Unapproachable Lack of communication Other (please specify) Don't understand what SUBU does Unable to attend campus regularly Lack of interest Lack of information Lack of time There are no barriers for me 2.1% 2.9% 5.6% 6.5% 7.4% 9.9% 10.4% 16.2% 36.6% 39.1%
All surveyed
Barriers to SUBU from different groups of students
For the students who said they were not aware of SUBU in Question 1.
33.3%
19.6% did not understand what SUBU does.
13.7% felt SUBU was unapproachable.
For international students (EU and non-EU).
33.3%
59.2% were
4.1% did not understand what SUBU does.
0% felt SUBU was unapproachable.
were impacted by a lack of information.
not impacted
by any barriers.
For students aged over 30.
by any barriers.
40.8% were not impacted
36.7% were impacted by a lack of time.
were impacted by a lack of information.
Peer pressure Unapproachable Lack of communication Other (please specify) Don't understand what SUBU does Unable to attend campus regularly Lack of interest Lack of information Lack of time There are no barriers for me 2.1% 2.9% 5.6% 6.5% 7.4% 9.9% 10.4% 16.2% 36.6% 39.1%
Question 2: A comparison with previous years
Lack of time
No barriers
Lack of information
Lack of interest
Lack of communication
Don't know what SUBU does
Unapproachable
This year, for the first time in over a decade, “No barriers” overtook “Lack of time” as the most selected option. Between 2017 and 2023, lack of time has been the largest barrier for students’ involvement with SUBU, with the exception of 2021 where it was pandemic related barriers.
Peer pressure
Pandemic related barriers
Other
In the same period, the percentage of students choosing lack of information and lack of interest have both decreased by 4%.
2017 % (n=1,006) 2018 % (n=1,058) 2021 % (n=443) 2022 % (n=311) 2023 % (n=919) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Student Reps
Question 3: Please rate the following SUBU services
Over 70% of students rated the Student Reps as good or very good.
Only 15% have not used or been involved with the Student Reps.
Around 60% rated both Democracy and Campaigns as good or very good.
Less than a quarter of students said they have not used or been involved with Campaigns.
Less than a fifth said they have not used or been involved with Democracy.
Democracy (e.g. elections) Campaigns (e.g. liberation) 15.0% 16.9% 22.4% 0.4% 0.9% 0.6% 1.5% 2.5% 2.0% 13.0% 16.1% 15.9% 39.9% 36.9% 33.9% 30.2% 26.7% 25.3% Very good Good Average Poor Very poor Not used/ been involved with
Question 3: Please rate the following SUBU services
Over half of students rated SUBU at Lansdowne as good or very good. However, over a third of students said they have not used SUBU at Lansdowne.
Over half of students also rated Nerve Media as good or very good.
Three quarters of students rated SUBU Reception as good or very good.
Over half of students rated The Summer Ball as very good.
Nerve Media The
Ball
Summer
SUBU Reception (1st floor, Student Centre, Talbot Campus)
25.0% 24.8% 13.8% 34.8% 0.7% 0.2% 0.2% 1.0% 0.9% 0.4% 0.8% 3.0% 16.3% 5.6% 10.3% 10.3% 30.1% 18.8% 37.9% 27.0% 27.1% 50.2% 37.0% 23.9% Very good Good Average Poor Very poor Not used/ been involved with
SUBU at Lansdowne (BG301, Bournemouth Gateway Building)
Question 3: Please rate the following SUBU services
Over three quarters of students rated all four of SUBU’s key commercial venues as good or very good.
Just over one in ten students said they had not used The Old Fire Station or the Student Centre Café. Just over one in twenty said they had not used Dylan’s or the Student Shop. Less than 4% of students rated any of SUBU’s four commercial venues as poor or very poor.
Dylan's Kitchen and Bar
The Student Shop (Talbot)
The Student Centre Cafe
6.0% 5.2% 10.6% 10.1% 0.2% 0.8% 0.4% 0.8% 2.1% 2.6% 1.3% 1.6% 9.1% 14.7% 11.7% 7.8% 33.6% 35.2% 38.0% 27.5% 49.0% 41.6% 38.0% 52.2% Very good Good Average Poor Very poor Not used/ been involved with
The Old Fire Station
Question 3: Please rate the following SUBU services
Over half of students rated SUBU Volunteering as good or very good.
However, a quarter said they had not been involved with Volunteering.
Over 65% of students rated both Community and Sustainability and SUBU Advice as good or very good.
Over 80% of students rated Clubs and Societies as good or very good.
Less than one in ten said they had not been involved with Clubs and Societies.
Clubs & Societies Volunteering SUBU Advice Community and Sustainability 8.7% 24.9% 18.1% 18.2% 0.4% 0.6% 0.7% 0.3% 1.5% 1.3% 0.4% 1.6% 8.5% 17.4% 12.1% 13.1% 35.8% 32.7% 39.2% 38.4% 45.1% 23.1% 29.5% 28.4% Very good Good Average Poor Very poor Not used/ been involved with
Question 4: Did you know that profit from the Students' Union shop, Dylan's, The Old Fire Station, the Summer Ball and entertainment goes back into funding other 'free' SUBU services such as clubs and societies, SUBU Advice, Student Reps, campaigns, etc?
The percentage of students aware that SUBU’s profits go into its free services decreased by 23.4% between 2016 and 2021.
However, it has since increased by 14.7% in the past two years.
While this is an improvement, SUBU is still keen for this figure to increase far more.
2016 % (n=731) 2017 % (n=834) 2018 % (n=807) 2021 % (n=443) 2022 % (n=311) 2023 % (n=919) 58.0 55.6 51.1 34.6 43.2 49.3 42.0 44.4 48.9 65.4 56.8 50.7 No Yes
An overwhelming majority of students found SUBU had been helpful in a variety of aspects of their lives.
Developing your employability/ transferrable skills Making friends/ creating networks Supporting your sense of belonging/ student community Having fun Supporting your personal development in general Having a positive impact on the local/ wider community 21.1% 11.8% 11.5% 9.1% 12.7% 16.0% 3.0% 2.9% 1.5% 1.5% 2.1% 2.0% 7.2% 9.0% 6.8% 5.2% 9.1% 7.0% 24.0% 24.7% 27.5% 22.4% 27.1% 26.2% 22.2% 25.5% 27.3% 29.7% 27.2% 26.7% 22.6% 26.2% 25.4% 32.1% 21.7% 22.1% Extremely helpful
helpful Helpful
helpful
helpful at all
- not been involved in SUBU
Very
Slightly
Not
N/A
Over three quarters of students felt SUBU has been helpful in supporting their sense of belonging and student community and also in having fun!
This was also the case when it came to making friends and creating networks.
Question 5: How helpful has your involvement with SUBU been in relation to achieving the following things?
Question 5: A comparison with previous years
"How helpful has your involvement with SUBU been…" Average
*
N/A - Not been involved in SUBU
*Note. The option “N/A – Not been involved in SUBU,” has been added this year.
Not helpful
Slightly helpful
The proportion of students saying SUBU was at least helpful, with the factors on the previous slide, has increased by 7.8% since 2021.
Helpful
Very helpful
Extremely helpful
In the same period, those saying SUBU was either very or extremely helpful has increased by 15.5%!
2021 % (n=443) 2022 % (n=311) 2023 % (n=919) 10 12.7 25 25.9 27.8 26.4 33 31.7 25.3 19.2 17.6 7.4 11.8 10.1 2.2 13.7
Question 6: Please select your top 3 preferred ways to hear about SUBU's activities/ events (e.g. on-campus events, Speak Week, Elections, campaigns, volunteering, clubs and societies, Student Summit, etc)
Instagram was by far the most popular choice for students for how to stay updated on SUBU, with it being selected by over three quarters of students.
More than a third of students chose email and Tik Tok.
Just under a third chose on-campus promotions and posters.
YouTube Linked In Nerve Radio Twitter Digital screens on campus SUBU newspaper Flyers Facebook SUBU website Posters On-campus promotion and events Tik Tok Email Instagram 3.6% 4.7% 5.8% 7.8% 9.5% 9.5% 13.6% 14.4% 19.5% 31.4% 32.6% 34.8% 38.7% 77.8%
Question 7: In your opinion, how good is SUBU overall at communicating with students?
Between 2017 and 2021, the percentage of students who think SUBU communicates well or very well decreased by 9.6%.
However, this figure has increased by 20.8% since 2021 and is now 11.2% higher than in 2017!
Therefore, it is very positive that more students are now happy with how we communicate as an organisation.
2016 % (n=765) 2017 % (n=872) 2018 % (n=854) 2021 % (n=443) 2022 % (n=311) 2023 % (n=919) 22.2 25.6 20.3 18.9 20.5 33.5 46.3 45.8 50.2 42.9 50.0 49.1 27.8 24.9 25.2 31.6 23.5 14.6 3.3 3.1 3.2 5.9 4.5 2.0 0.4 0.7 1.2 0.6 1.5 0.8 Not well at all Not well Average Well Very well
Question 8: Have you heard of/ engaged with any of the following ways to influence SUBU’s work/ provide SUBU with feedback?
Over 40% of students said they have not heard of SimOn, Speak Week or the ‘Your Ideas’ Platform.
Over a third had not heard of Student Members’ Meetings or SUBU Summit.
Over 40% of students had engaged with Student Reps.
Less than 10% had not heard of Student Reps.
Less than 20% of students had not heard of the Full-Time or PartTime officers.
Student Reps for your course Full and Part Time Officers ‘SimOn’ feedback tool Speak Week ‘Your Ideas’ platform SUBU Summit meeting Student Members' Meeting 9.4% 18.8% 46.2% 40.5% 45.2% 37.2% 33.5% 47.3% 59.7% 33.9% 38.6% 37.6% 41.2% 47.9% 43.4% 21.5% 19.9% 20.8% 17.2% 21.6% 18.6% Heard of it and engaged with it Heard of it but not engaged with it Not heard of it
Question 9: How good is SUBU at updating students about the work it has done in response to student feedback?
Almost three quarters of students said that they believe SUBU is good or very good at updating students on the work it has done in response to feedback.
Only 5% said they believe SUBU is poor or very poor at updating students on how it responds to feedback.
25.5% 44.7% 24.8% 3.8% 1.3%
good Good Average Poor
poor
Very
Very
"I
Question 10: We would like to know how inclusive SUBU is for the diverse student population at BU:
"SUBU's involvement opportunities are of interest to me"
Approximately three quarters of students said they agree or strongly agree with all three statements, highlighting the inclusivity of SUBU.
"SUBU is inclusive for me personally"
Strongly disagree
Less than 5% said they disagree or strongly disagree with each of the three statements.
0.6% 0.8% 0.7% 2.3% 3.6% 2.0% 19.5% 22.7% 17.8% 41.0% 45.4% 46.9% 36.6% 27.5% 32.6%
agree Agree
think that SUBU supports students like me"
Strongly
Neither agree nor disagree Disagree
Question 11: We've noticed campus is sometimes quieter than expected. Please tell us whether the following things affected your ability to come onto campus this year:
A majority of students said the cost of food and drink and a part-time job affected their ability to come onto campus.
More than 40% also said that a lack of face-to-face activities, travel costs and it simply not seeming “worth it” were also factors.
It just doesn't seem 'worth it' for me to come onto campus
Lack of space on campus for personal study, group work, etc
Lack of staff available face-to-face on campus
These findings suggest that the cost of living and a lack of incentives are the most significant factors explaining why the number of students coming to campus has been lower than expected.
Travel costs Lack of face-to-face activities on campus A part-time job Cost of food and drink on campus 32.0% 36.8% 40.4% 41.3% 44.5% 50.9% 64.6% 68.0% 63.2% 59.6% 58.7% 55.5% 49.2% 35.4% Yes No
The Cost-of-Living impact on different groups of students
64.6% of students were impacted by the cost of food and drink of campus.
50.9% of students were impacted by having a part-time job.
41.3% of students were impacted by travel costs.
These proportions were higher for international students (EU and non-EU).
70.3%
were impacted by the cost of food and drink of campus.
60.0% were impacted by a part-time job.
53.8% were impacted by travel costs.
The impact is different for certain groups of students, for example, those aged over 30.
64.0% were impacted by the cost of food and drink of campus.
44.0% were impacted by a part-time job.
62.0% were impacted by travel costs.
Question
An overwhelming majority of students said their timetabled learning was either all or mostly face-to-face.
All face-to-face
Mostly face-to-face with some online
An even balance of face-to-face and online
Mostly online All online
Less one in ten students said that they had an even balance of face-to-face and online timetabled learning.
Just over 3% of students said their timetabled learning was either mostly or all online.
47.3% 40.0% 9.3% 2.4% 1.0%
12: For this academic year, what proportion of your timetabled learning has been face-to-face and how much has been online?
Question 13: In your opinion, does SUBU influence positive change in the University for students?
The percentage of students who think SUBU influences positive change decreased by 11.3% between 2017 and 2021. This has since increased by 6.8% to just over three quarters of students.
However, this is still 3.5% lower than in 2017. SUBU is keen to see this figure increase even further in the future.
2016 % (n=730) 2017 % (n=834) 2018 % (n=807) 2021 % (n=443) 2022 % (n=311) 2023 % (n=919) 80.0 81.8 78.7 70.5 72.4 77.3 3.7 3.8 3.7 4.7 3.2 8.4 16.3 14.4 17.6 24.8 24.4 14.2 Unsure No Yes
77.3% of students said they felt SUBU did influence positive change in the University for students. This was the case for 82.9% of the students who said they were actively involved in one or more aspects of SUBU in Question 1. Therefore, those more involved in SUBU were more likely to see the positive change it provides for students.
The impact of SUBU from different groups
These proportions vary for student groups.
80.9% of female students.
78.2% of our LGBT+ students.
80.6%
of our transgender students.
78.9% of students aged under 21.
80.0% of students aged over 30.
74.4%
of international students (EU and non-EU).
82.2% of students with children or dependents.
Question 14: What should SUBU start doing (that we're not doing already) to be a better Students' Union for you?
Communication with students
66 out of 361 free text comments (18.3%)
“Separate emails for club/nightlife events or ability to turn these off in my regular emails, ability to filter the types of promotion I receive from the SUBU email.”
• Students wanted SUBU to have more presence on campus.
“Advertise more.”
“More involvement and presence on campus.”
• Students stated they wanted more awareness of the events that were taking place.
• Some students wanted to hear more about specific social events, such as nightlife events.
“More advertisement of what the plans are and how students can help.”
“More awareness of what they [SUBU] do/work on.”
Question 14: What should SUBU start doing (that we're not doing already) to be a better Students' Union for you?
Cost of living
54 out of 361 free text comments (15.0%)
“Make food cheaper. Bring back £1 breakfast.”
• Many of the comments related to students’ cost of living are similar to feedback received throughout the year.
“Lower costs, more paid jobs.”
“Reduce cost of food for students who are struggling because of the Cost of Living crisis.”
• Many of the comments addressed concerns over the price of food and drink on campus.
• Another theme raised was a desire for more paid jobs on campus.
“Organising free events where students can participate and have fun. Paying for every event is not optimal for students.”
“Have more help with students struggling with finance and Uni at the same time.”
“Make some food more affordable.”
Question 14: What should SUBU start doing (that we're not doing already) to be a better Students' Union for you?
Improve events
53 out of 361 free text comments (14.7%)
“More timetabled in social events so people have to the chance to meet AUB and BU students not just one or the other.”
• There were multiple comments from students saying that SUBU should provide more events for students.
“More activities for PGR/PhDs.”
• This included a wider variety of events.
• These events included more outdoor trips, less activities based around alcohol.
• Some students asked for more events for specific types of students.
“I would like more socials, fun activities, day trips that are NOT based around alcohol or apart of ResLife.”
“More small events which are advertised at accommodations.”
“More events on campus to help get a wider range of people involved.”
Question 15: "When I consider everything that SUBU does, (SUBU Advice, Student Reps, clubs and societies, campaigns, etc.) SUBU has a positive impact on my life as a student"?
The percentage of students who think SUBU has a positive impact decreased by 20.4% between 2017 and 2021.
This figure has increased by 17.8% since 2021, with over 80% of students now saying they think SUBU has a positive impact.
However, this is still 2.6% lower than in 2017. SUBU is keen to see this figure increase further in the next couple of years.
2016 % (n=729) 2017 % (n=836) 2018 % (n=801) 2021 % (n=443) 2022 % (n=311) 2023 % (n=919) 35.9 38.8 37.2 23.4 28.8 34.9 47.1 46.8 46.7 41.8 43.2 48.1 13.9 12.3 13.2 28.1 22.0 15.2 2.3 1.7 2.1 5.1 3.6 1.6 0.8 0.5 0.8 1.6 2.4 0.2 Definitely disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree
agree
Definitely
Question 16: "Overall, I am satisfied with my student experience at BU."
Definitely disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Definitely agree
The percentage of students satisfied with their BU experience decreased by 19.6% between 2017 and 2021. This figure has increased by 14% since 2021, with over 85% of students now saying they are satisfied with their BU experience. However, this is still 5.6% lower than in 2017. SUBU is keen to see this figure increase further in the next couple of years.
2016 % (n=896) 2017 % (n=1,006) 2018 % (n=1,063) 2021 % (n=443) 2022 % (n=311) 2023 % (n=919) 35.9 37.5 35.2 20.6 31.2 38.9 55.0 53.7 55.9 51.0 50.8 46.7 6.1 4.4 5.3 15.9 8.7 12.0 2.2 3.3 2.8 8.8 7.1 1.9 0.7 1.2 0.8 3.6 2.3 0.5
Question 17: When you graduate, what are the 3 most important things that will determine whether your time at BU has been successful for you?
Friends made, employability prospects and degree grade were the three most referenced themes when students were asked what was most important in determining whether they had a successful time at
3 2 1 Friends made 72 119 82 Employability prospects 55 60 138 Degree grade 28 42 120 Knowledge/skills 58 54 18 Academic/personal development 44 40 32 Happiness/fun 38 32 27 Overall experience 35 31 14 Social experience 29 34 17 Degree completion 20 19 39 Networking/contacts 30 24 12 Memories 34 20 8 Extra-curricular activities 21 11 13 Other 14 18 9 Financial benefit 13 8 13 Course/its content 6 11 17 Support received 13 11 9 Academic quality 14 7 5 Confidence 7 10 7 More opportunities 6 8 4 Health 10 2 2 Worth the time/effort 8 4 1 Worth the time/effort Health More opportunities Confidence Academic quality Support received Financial benefit Course/its content Other Extra-curricular activities Memories Networking/contacts Degree completion Overall experience Social experience Happiness/fun Academic/personal development Knowledge/skills Degree grade Employability prospects Friends made 13 14 18 24 26 33 34 34 41 45 62 66 78 80 80 97 116 130 190 253 273
BU.
Question
Friends made
273 out of 578 students who responded (47.2%)
“What friends I have made.”
• The most common theme that students said would determine if their time at BU was a success or not was the friends they had made.
“Making friends and sharing good experiences.”
“My relationships with people at the University.”
• This included both friends made during the experience but also if these friendships would last long after they left university.
• This is the first time friendship has been the most common theme from HS4U when a question like this has been asked.
“The friends I stay in contact with will determine how I made my time worth while.”
“Keeping in touch with the friends I’ve made.”
“How much I stay in contact with new friends.”
17: When you graduate, what are the 3 most important things that will determine whether your time at BU has been successful for you?
Question 17:
Employability prospects
253 out of 578 students who responded (43.8%)
“Accumulation of hard and soft skills not weighted in either direction but equally applicable to future careers.”
• Employability prospects was the second most popular theme raised by students.
• Many students said they wanted a job which was relevant to their degree.
“Good job opportunities/ career paths.”
“Getting into my dream job with a degree I’m proud of.”
• It was also common for students to say that they wanted their degree to give them access to a higher quality of job that they could not have gotten without it.
“Professional development and access to employment opportunities.”
“Getting a suitable job that fits my skills and experience.”
When you graduate, what are the 3 most important things that will determine whether your time at BU has been successful for you?
Question 17: When you
Degree grade
190 out of 578 students who responded (32.9%)
“Successful mark at end of course.”
“The level of my qualification I achieve.”
• The third most common theme raised by students was the grade they received for their degree.
• Some students simply stated they wanted to get a good grade in their degree.
“Good grades.”
“I get the grade I want.”
• Others were more specific, usually stating that they wanted to achieve either a 2:1 or a First.
“Acquired a 2:1 or 1st degree.”
“Achieving the best possible result from my degree.”
“How well I do in my degree.”
graduate, what are the 3 most important things that will determine whether your time at BU has been successful for you?
subu.org.uk/subuforyou @sububournemouth @sububournemouth /sububournemouth
