Analysis of Results from Your Education Week Postcard

Questionnaires

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In 2012 the first Students’ Union led week of events called “Our Education Week”, dedicated

to student representation was held. During this week of events Programme Reps and

Presidents collected feedback from over 700 students on their student experience in

Loughborough. Following on from this success “Your Education Week” was held in December

2013. This week’s main aims were:

To highlight the various students’ opinions and ideas surrounding their educational experience

To highlight the work of and raise the profile of the Programme Reps, as they are the main point of contact for students who have problems, issue or ideas relating to their course.

The “Your Education Stall” was on tour throughout the University campus, and with the help

of Programme Presidents and Programme Reps we collected the views and opinions of 1,793

students, both undergraduate and postgraduate. Students remained anonymous but were

asked for their course and year of study, in order to identify any trends seen by year groups

or academic departments.

The postcard questionnaires posed the following questions:

If Reps could change one thing about your course for you, what would it be?

Do you receive sufficient advice and support with your studies from the University? If no, what more could be done?

Does the University provide you with all the resources you need to achieve your potential in your studies? If no, what more could be offered?

What is the best thing about your course?

The majority of questionnaires (1,000 approx.) were handed out by Programme Reps and

Programme Presidents, in order to raise their profiles with their class members. Electronic

questionnaires were also administered towards the end of “Your Education Week” in order to

target those students who may not necessarily use the facilities (sandwich/placement year) at

the stall locations where the questionnaires were handed out.

The week received responses from all Departments across the board and the response rate

(Figure 1) is generally in line with that of Department/School student registration numbers in

the 2013/2014 academic year.

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Figure 1: Number of Questionnaire Respondents by Department/School

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The ‘Your Education Week’ provided LSU with a much valued opportunity to raise awareness

of the Programme Rep system. Creating a chance to identify targeted areas for improvement

in relation to the work we do with Reps and Presidents and also to gather data from

Loughborough University students regarding their educational experience and improvements

that they would like to see.

Events throughout the week showed great engagement from both students and Programme

Reps/Presidents. Students clearly valued the opportunity to provide feedback on their

experience at Loughborough University and to play a part in highlighting areas for

improvement for the future.

Responses illustrated that students want to know more about who the Programme Reps and

Presidents are, along with the work they are doing. Responses collected throughout the week

show a clear need for further resources to support the work of the Programme Reps, at all

levels, as well as a need for further tailored support for postgraduate representatives.

Analysis of the 1,793 responses has re-affirmed the desire from students for improvements in

line with the Students Union’s 10 education priorities. Whilst we are pleased that some

progress has been made on all of the Education priorities the responses collected during the

week stress the importance of us continuing to work with the University to ensure sufficient

progress is made on all these priorities.

Students Union 10 Education Priorities (lsu.co.uk condensed version)

1 Work with the University to improve partnership

2 Students should be provided with more contact time, especially small group contact time

3 Lecturers should have minimum office hours and this should be published via Learn

4 Training and support should be provided for lectures who are identified as having difficulty

with communication skills

5 Feedback should be received within 3 term time weeks of submission deadlines. Marked

exam scripts should also be returned to students

6 There should be institution wide commitment to using technology in teaching

7 Students should be provided with the resources the need for their course and hidden costs

should be eliminated

8 Students should be involved in the recruitment of new lecturers

9 The Union and University should investigate peer assisted learning as a way of supporting

students

10 We should launch a new Student Lead Teaching Awards with a high profile awards night

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Question 1 asked students,” If Reps could change one thing about your course, what would it be?”, this attracted a response rate of 90.9%.

One Change

The majority of people who filled out the questionnaires focused on what changes they would like to see happen in their course (Figure 2).

Some of the desired changes students would like to be done are linked in with the current 10 Education Priorities. The most requested change, relating to these, falls into Priority 2: Students should be provided with more contact time, especially small group contact time (14%). This issue has seen some progress since the production of the ‘12/’13 Education Report, however, responses from the week clearly illustrate that there is a strong desire for more provision in this area.

“More contact time with lecturers in the form of tutorials as hour long lectures only cover the material and don't properly explain things (especially with maths/

science based modules)” 4th Year Wolfson Student

Out of the top 4 requested changes, 2 of them are issues that are currently not being tackled by the Education Priorities. These relate to module, coursework (16%), and timetabling issues (13.5%). People would ideally like to see more module options to take, and further information on their module options so that they are making the best informed decision for their studies.

Feedback from the week on timetabling issues illustrate that despite the roll out of centralised timetabling, problems still exist with lectures being held at the other end of the campus in back to back sessions and this continues to cause problems.

On the practical side of their studies people have raised issues with their coursework, on areas such as clustered submission times, unbalanced weighting of the different sections in the coursework, and in some cases lowering the amount of coursework during the exam period to allow for sufficient study. Students have also requested more communication as to what is expected of them for their coursework.

“More coordination between Module Leaders regarding coursework deadlines and in class tests”

3rd Year SSEHS Student

An increased and improved use of technology in teaching (3.7%) has been highlighted as an ideal change that people would like to see. Suggestions made include the use of Lecture Capture across the University, discussions are currently occurring across the University regarding implementing measures on this. Standardisation on the use of the LEARN database has also been mentioned with most requesting that more resources be available online through LEARN.

“Not all resources are uploaded to learn. For one module it was weeks before we received week 1's notes on learn”

2nd Year Business Student

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Figure 2: One Change Students Would Like To See On Their Course

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Another ideal change that people would to see happen to help improve their course is an increase in the general resources available to them (7%). As with the increased use of technology in teaching (Learn, Lecture Capture, etc.), it is also requested that more lecture notes should be made available, with increased access to past exam papers and worked solutions to help aid revision.

“More worked solutions to past papers/tutorial questions” 3rd Year Aero & Auto Student

Even though there is a small number of responses from students on joint honours courses, it is important to note that issues do exist for these people, such as the level of communication between their two departments, this is clearly a commonly experienced problem.

“Bring more attention to the problem that we are last to be considered timetable-wise. This semester, I had no way to do a non-clashing timetable for a course that is

50/50 Physics and Maths or nearly that” 3rd Year Physics & Maths Student

Some progress has been made during the academic year to date to improve upon the Education Priorities, and the proposed changes brought up in questionnaires will help further development of these issues. The new themes that are seen (Figure 2) allow further opportunities for the University and the Students Union to work in partnership and tackle these areas, ultimately further enhancing the student experience here at Loughborough.

Academic Representatives

It has been noted from some of the responses that there is some confusion in relation to Programme Reps. It is evident from these that Programme Reps need to better advertise who they are and what their role is and to provide updates on their department to their class members. We are hopeful we can work with the University to further support Programme Reps in fulfilling their duties.

“What are Programme Reps?” 4th Year Computer Science Student

Responses collected from the week highlight a gap in academic representation for Postgraduate students, in particular PhD students/research postgraduate students, where the general feeling was that they “don’t have Reps”. This particular trend in academic representation needs further investigation and work must be done to ensure all students at Loughborough have equal chance to shape and enhance their education.

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The second question on the postcard questionnaires asked “Do you receive sufficient advice and support with your studies from the University? If no, what more could be done?” This question attracted a response rate of 98.88%. Results showed that whilst 85% of people are satisfied with the level of advice and support provided a concerning number (15%) feel they are not provided with sufficient advice and support with their studies (Figure 3). The same issues that were highlighted in Question 1 appear but in different trends. The largest perceived weakness is communication, information, guidance that people receive from Department Staff (21%).

“More guidance and communication with lecturers. I often feel that members of the department are unapproachable”

3rd Year Drama Student

Students would like to further improve this communication by increasing quality contact hours with their lecturers and personal tutors. It was noted that an increase in open office hours (4.8% of those who said they were unhappy) and a faster turnaround with email replies from staff would be of benefit, and enhance communication.

“More regular tutorials/professor replies to emails in under 3 days” 1st Year Civil & Building Student

Feedback has also come across as a strong trend in two ways: feedback for students on their work from lecturers (9.5%); and feedback from students on their learning experience. People would like to receive more detailed personalised feedback on assignments and coursework, coupled with an improvement with the ease of access to view their past exam scripts. People would also like the chance to give feedback on the performance of lecturers and the success of modules mid-term in order to improve the experience before the assignment and exam period.

“Constant feedback, maybe via small groups in Facebook” 3rd Year EESE Student

People from lower years have said that they would like to have more contact with returning students (18.7%). This contact would help support students in their studies and module selections, and shows an opening for the integration of Peer Assisted Learning, where returning students can informally tutor people on the modules they had previously sat.

“More advice from 2nd students” 1st Year Business Student

Results from this question tie in strongly with the Students Union 10 Educating priorities, further illustrating a desire from students for enhancement in these areas. We will continue to work with the University to influence change and try to make progress on all of these 10 points

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Figure 3: Study Advice and Support—Areas for Improvement

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98.22% of the students who filled out the questionnaire answered Question 3: “Does the

University provide you with all the resources you need to achieve your potential in studies? If

no, what more could be offered?” In relation to the level of resources provided by the University

needed for the completion of studies 20% of students responded that they were not provided

with the resources needed to achieve their potential. This is particularly concerning when

considered in line with the cost of tuition fees. (Figure 4).

The largest trends seen with resources on offer referred to the library (19%) and textbooks

(22%). In relation to the library, several suggestions have been put forward, such as need for

an increase in the stock of key textbooks; an increase in both individual and group study space

in the library (and across the campus) (11%); an increase in the supply of power points and

computer space in the library (and across the campus); along with a proposed increase in the li-

brary’s subscriptions to journals/e-books.

“Some of the recommended reading is not available in the library. There could be more areas available for group work”

2nd Year Business Student

“More study space in library, the new layout is shocking, what happened to the group study tables on the 3rd floor”

4th Year Chemical Engineering Student

Students highlighted their frustration with the limited number of books in the library and that

there was a very low student:book ratio, believing that current stocking levels were not

sufficient. It was suggested that in order to solve issues of access to textbooks that further

investment could be made in electronic versions of key textbooks.

“More books available in the library or online” 1st Year Business Student

A number of responses from students referred to a need for more technology based resources such as an increased and standardised use of Learn, including the use of Lecture Capture; increased access to specialised computers/software/labs (students stated that the library computers do not have enough specialised software for people in order to complete their coursework, further limiting the access they have), coupled with increased subsidised access to specialised software for personal devices has also been suggested.

By highlighting these issues through the Your Education Week questionnaires students have been able to identify a clear targeted list of priorities that LSU can work on in partnership with the University.

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Figure 4: University Based Resources that Need to be Improved

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92.47% of students answered the final question, “What is the best thing about your course?” This final question asked people to focus on and highlight the best thing about their course and by doing so helped them reflect on the mainly high level of student experience they are getting in Loughborough (Figure 5).

The trends on this positive aspect of their student experience highlight the excellence of most departmental staff (16.3%) and the importance of the seminar/tutorial/lab teaching system in place in the University (9.6%). The strong community spirit (7%) and career prospects (4.5%) that the University provides have also been highlighted. An overall positive picture about the student experience in Loughborough can be seen from these answers.

Figure 5: Best Thing About Course in Loughborough

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As is illustrated by the results collected during the Your Education Week, most students at

Loughborough continue to be satisfied with their educational experience, results do however,

show concerning levels of students who are not.

With one in five students expressing that they are not provided with the resources they need to

complete their studies, 15% expressing a need for more advice and guidance on their studies

and a clear desire from students for both more contact time and more small group contact time,

it is evident that we must all continue to work together to put in place new and increased

provision for students.

We at the Students’ Union will continue to work with both our Programme Reps/Presidents and

the University to try and shape and influence change to ensure Loughborough University meets

the needs of all our students. We will continue our discussions with the University to ensure we

can acquire the resources we need to train, support, inform, disseminate and recognise

Programme Reps. This will enable us to ensure we have excellent student engagement systems,

empowering students to work in partnership with the University to shape their education and

enhance their experience at Loughborough University for years to come.

In order to do this we need help from you, we need students to continue to tell us what is great

about their course so we can recognise, praise and disseminate this information. We also need

you to continue to tell us about areas for improvement. We need you to continue to raise these

issues at Departmental level, through your SSLC’s and other channels.

Along with this University wide analysis, reports have also been written for each Department.

We will be emailing out links to these reports towards the start of the second semester. These

reports can be used to help you in your role to identify key areas for change, and will give you a

foundation to work on when you wish to table these issues with your Department. Student

Voice can help you to further improve your student experience by showing you how to gather

more research and evidence about the issues highlighted during Your Education Week, and put

you on the right path to implement change.

As always, we will continue to work in partnership with the University on matters raised through

this and other channels and will update you regarding changes that will be occurring.

Loughborough Students’ Union

Ashby Road

Loughborough

LE11 3TT