Introduction - University of Nottingham Students' … · Web viewThe group study / meeting space (44.8%), the Café (42.8%), the ticket collections / purchase service (40.9%),and

University of Nottingham Students’ UnionInsight department Jan 2017

Community Officer supporting information

Report by Sarah Murray, Jan 2017

Table of ContentsIntroduction...........................................................................................................................................2

Additional references............................................................................................................................3

What facilities do students want to see on campus?............................................................................3

Halal meat provision..............................................................................................................................4

What our hall committees think............................................................................................................5

What successes have you had during your time on committee?.......................................................5

What challenges/difficulties have you encountered on committee?................................................5

Commuters............................................................................................................................................7

Ideas for engagement:.......................................................................................................................8

About our commuting students.........................................................................................................8

What services do students want from the council?...............................................................................8

Where do students currently access student living themed support?..............................................9

How to share NCC/CP service information with students.................................................................9

What is the current student perception and awareness of NCC/CP services?.................................10

What forms of support do students want?......................................................................................11

Needs...........................................................................................................................................11

The comparison website..............................................................................................................11

How can NCC/CP services be more accessible and desirable for students?....................................11

Main challenges experienced by students in Autumn term 2016/17..................................................12

How to improve satisfaction with the SU (June ‘15 & Jan ‘17)............................................................12

Events..........................................................................................................................................12

Publicity / Transparency..............................................................................................................13

Increase focus in specific areas....................................................................................................13

Connect the campuses................................................................................................................13

Working with the University to improve the services they coordinate.......................................13

Facilities.......................................................................................................................................13

What would students want in a Lenton hub?......................................................................................13

Accommodation types.........................................................................................................................14

How does SU satisfaction vary across the campuses...........................................................................14

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Emotional difficulty felt across the campuses.....................................................................................15

Awareness of SU services and remit across campuses........................................................................15

Sense of belonging across the campuses.............................................................................................16

Knowing your neighbours....................................................................................................................17

Accommodation / housing service support.........................................................................................18

Thought Forum findings......................................................................................................................19

Past requests from students (June 2015)............................................................................................20

Living, study, and travel issues:.......................................................................................................20

Facilities:..........................................................................................................................................20

Unify the campuses.........................................................................................................................20

Focus on other campuses:...............................................................................................................21

Hall life:............................................................................................................................................21

Housing Review of Nottingham...........................................................................................................21

Awareness of rights and services:....................................................................................................21

Accommodation type and community links:...................................................................................22

Condition and repair:.......................................................................................................................22

Availability of properties:................................................................................................................22

Finances:..........................................................................................................................................22

House hunting:................................................................................................................................22

Accreditation:..................................................................................................................................23

Student needs in relation to house hunting advice.............................................................................23

Awareness of SU accommodation support (June 15)..........................................................................23

IntroductionWhat follows below is a variety of information provided to you from a variety of sources (student surveys, membership databases, workshops, focus groups, online thought forum).

It’s important to recognise that while this data is hugely rich, it should be used with caution. The data provided is detailed and in general, reflective of the wider student population – HOWEVER, it can never be assumed to be what every single student needs / wants. This data is designed to give you a feel for student mood, issues and priorities.

Also worth acknowledging are the dates of the analysis. Some areas of discussion are more current than others, however in many cases, the mentioned student issues are still very relevant. The general themes below could be used to support you in developing your manifestos or campaign plans, but we would encourage you to talk to your student peers too for their up to date thoughts.

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If you are unsure of anything, the insight team are happy to explain this to you (contact [email protected]). What we can’t do is advise you what you should then do with this information – that’s up to you as part of your campaign strategy!

If you are successful in your campaigning and are elected in as an officer, then the Insight team would be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss further information we have available to support your role.

Many thanks for taking the time to look through and good luck in your adventure!

Additional referencesIn addition to the insight provided in this report, sources of information can be found at:

- There are 4 guides that provide detail on how students based across UoN campuses engage with the Union (http://www.studentleaderelections.co.uk/resources/)

- Additional insights relevant to student living and the community can be found here: https://www.su.nottingham.ac.uk/research-library/archive/student-living/

What facilities do students want to see on campus?2205 students provided their opinion to this topic in Oct 2016.

What facilities do students want to see more of on campus?

- Drinking fountains: 29% - Seating: 24% - Microwaves: 19% - Campus map signs: 13% - Bike racks: 12% - None of the above: 3%

If drinking fountains ARE NOT put into place, 38% of students say this will have a negative impact on their University experience. Students would like to see drinking fountains in the following areas:

- Academic buildings- Exchange building- Portland Building- Main Building- Law and Social sciences- Cafes- Libraries- Foyers- Near bus stops- The Barn- Science Park

If additional seating isn’t installed, 27% of students say this will have a negative impact on their University experience. Students would like to see more seating in the following areas:

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https://www.su.nottingham.ac.uk/research-library/archive/student-living/

http://www.studentleaderelections.co.uk/resources/

mailto:[email protected]


- Cafes- Corridors- Communal areas- Medical school ‘library fills up – need an alternative’- Accommodation areas- Near computers- Around Trent- Around Portland building- Outdoor benches near engineering. Chemistry building, faculty of life sciences. Physics

building- Outside lecture theatres- SB in general- Covered outdoor seating- By the lake- On the Downs

Microwaves – if not provided, 39% of students say this will have a negative impact on their University experience. Students would like to see more microwaves in:

- Portland Building- Areas with seating- QMC- Halls- Barn- Library- Cafes

Halal meat provision

Priority place to sell Halal food

Portland food court: 18% Café within academic building: 13% Halls: 12% Library café: 12% Jubilee café: 8% Mooch: 8% Café medical school: 7% Lakeside: 7%

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SB café: 6% Trent café: 5% Baguette Bar: 5%

Facility wise, look to installing more water fountains around main teaching buildings, SU space, cafes, libraries and near the bus stops.

Only 12% of students eat halal meat – and we don’t know the % of students who would be offended by Halal meat. If we were to introduce this, the priority location would be Portland food court.

What our hall committees think43 committee members across a range of halls completed this survey (Jan 2017)

What successes have you had during your time on committee?- Development of organisational skills by successfully running and setting up events and also

communication skills by working with different members of the team.- Success of the formal social events and organising social opportunities for others

What challenges/difficulties have you encountered on committee?- Managing time for the role alongside degree. Also communication with other members was

mentioned by a few. Encouraging all committee members to put in equal effort was also difficult

How do you perceive the Pres Comm meeting?- Valuable ‘to establish whether issues in our hall is found in all of the others’.- Topics raised aren’t always resolved. There should be a follow up on the issues

Steps taken to include ‘hard to reach’ students- Limited steps taken, other than ensuring existing formals are open to all students- Some halls have arrange movie nights rather than purely clubbing.

Steps taken to broaden offer of the committee- Most focus was on alternative events e.g. mental health awareness events, charity events,

movie nights, workshops etc- Many also mentioned they have made sure they are available to the students and promoting

support for students. Stalls on mental health awareness and policy safety info.- Collaboration with LGBT+ events- Have hosted some polling across different issues such as divestment, student housing co-op,

and wage increases to encourage activism. - Vegetarian food on earth day- Clothes swap- Massages- Ice skating- Encouraging students to vote- Hosted workshops on lad culture and sexual consent (low attendance)- Open mic night (collaboration with another hall) relaxed atmosphere- Healthy U roadshow- Puppy day

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- Treasure hunt

Rating the advice provided to committees by SU staff:Quality Usefulness /

relevanceAvailability / access

Funding support 3.5/5 3.6/5 2.9/5Dealing with committee problems 3.3/5 4.1/5 3.8/5Event planning 4.1/5 4.2/5 4.1/5Day to day running of committee 3.5/5 3.6/5 3.8/5How to engage students 3.3/5 3.4/5 3.5/5Understanding of the SU’s role 3.7/5 4.1/5 3.6/5

Skill development of committee members

The following skill set of students has improved a lot- Forward planning and contingency- Decisiveness- Leadership- Fundraising and campaigning skills- Confidence

The following skill set of students has improved a little- Delegation- Organisational skills- Problem solving- Conflict resolution- Chairing meetings- Time management- Financial responsibility and awareness / budgeting- Public speaking- Initiative- Confidence- Diplomacy and negotiation- Administration and accountability tracking- Interpersonal skills- Team work- Analytical and research skills

The following skill set of students has not changed much- IT skills

Areas of additional support wanted:- Help us talk to wardens- Having a handover was essential- Would prefer no event form for small events- Event organisation could be more transparent – particularly for halls with no activities

officers in post. - Like that there is a finance app, but it’s not always correct. - JCRs want more regular meetings with finance about their budget- Send budget to President and VP – and make it clearer what funds are available for spend.

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Event problemsCommittee problems:

- Committees not agreeing on what to do. Indecisiveness led to missed opportunities. - Had trouble selling the tickets- Lack of communication within the committee (low meeting attendance, slow responses)- Unequal division of work

Promoter / sponsors:

- Promoters trying to unnecessarily charge (over charging)- Promoters focusing on selling their events at the same time as committee events without

agreement. - Students were able to host their own event far cheaper than student clubber- Not given accurate cost breakdowns

SU/Uni:

- Delays in replies makes planning difficult- Lack of budget- Would like more role clarity - Being overcharged when damage has occurred during an event- Hall managers not wanting to cooperate- £500 being taken for ‘welcome week’ at the start of the year – meant budget struggled in a

small hall.

CommutersFor 83% of students, it takes them less than 30mins to commute between their accommodation and their place of study.

We then focused on the 17% of students who travelled more than 30mins for each journey and asked how the Union could engage with them more effectively.

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Ideas for Online engagement: Utilise Facebook more; use facetime; use interactive aspects online; email a list of the different services the SU offer; establish subject chats; provide a place to contact the SU e.g. online chat; regular email contact; keep SU website updated; streamline online platforms such as portal, workspace, bluecastle, my careers and timetabling into one hub; unsure / don’t know; use youtube and twitter; room bookings online.

Ideas for offline engagement: Posters; drop-in sessions; more presence on Jubilee/Postgrad halls/City Hospital/City Centre/Lenton; send post to home address; host daytime events advertising the services offered by the SU; later hopper buses; more events in Mooch; text messages; Streamline the society event organisation process; longer opening hours.

Other ideas: More welcome events for off campus first years; increased contact with departments (assuming academic departments); better organisation and communication; more social events in halls that don’t involve clubbing; have an app; buses to Kegworth; larger bookshop; stop spending money on branding revamps; printing service and library book return in Lenton.

About our commuting studentsWe then proceeded to ask these students how they feel about their Students’ Union to see if their daily travel had any bearing on how they perceive their Union.

SatisfactionCommuting students are 6% less satisfied with the SU than non-commuting students

Sense of homeCommuting students feel 7% less at home at Uni of Nottingham and 12% less at home with the SU in comparison to non-commuting students

Academic representationCommuting students are 7% less likely to agree that the SU represents their academic needs than non-communting students

Students provided some context for their answers to these scale questions, explaining why they felt less involved with University life and offered some solutions to the problem:The website is confusing; felt difficult to get involved; some kind of welcome pack would be good; let students know what can be accessed and how; make things more accessible to nursing / postgrad students; more child friendly events for students with children; it can feel as though people are being too forceful trying to interest you in things; more inclusion of SB and jubilee; reduce bureaucracy in organising society events.

What services do students want from the council?Nottingham City Council commissioned the SU Insight team to conduct research that identified what students want the council to focus on, and how the council could better engage with students. The conclusions and recommendations emerging from the report are as follows:

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Where do students currently access student living themed support?- Students are more likely to google information about student living support, therefore it is

recommended that any Nottingham City Council & Community Protection (NCC/CP) online material goes through a search engine optimisation review.

- Students highly value the opinion of their friends and family when making student living orientated decisions.

- Alternative sources of information come from landlords, letting agents or student services at the union or university.

- The council is rarely contacted as a first port of call for student living support. It is rarely used for issue prevention, and rarely consulted when trying resolve matters. It’s often forgotten about as an option.

How to share NCC/CP service information with students

Which channels?- Website: Explore ways to develop a new student specific website that focuses on services

the council has to offer. Students recommend that this is embedded into the union’s existing student living pages, with interactive material such as bin collection day calendars labelled with ‘powered by Nottingham City Council’. This website should have a FAQ page that is continually added to, based on queries that reach NCC / SU from students.

- Messenger services: Introduce a live chat option through this website that links through to NCC. This live chat option should be available outside of normal office hours, and allow students to get fast, simple direction on how to progress their query. Social media messenger services should also be managed in a similar way allowing for instant feedback.

- Post: Reduce the use of leafleting student housing. Students explain that unless a letter is directly addressed to them, they treat it as spam and rarely read it.

- Printed or Digital media: Made available at bus stops, hall noticeboards, accommodation noticeboards, or positioned on bus digital screens.

- Fairs: Students suggest that the NCC has a presence at 2 fairs. 1). Welcome Festival (late September) and 2). A ‘housing’ fair that would provide lots of support information from the council, SU, police, pest control etc. This second fair should take place in November to coincide with house hunting and give enough time for first years to settle at University (prevent feeling overwhelmed). The Student Advice centre explains that a housing fair already does take place on campus, therefore more links are needed to this. This housing fair should avoid the presence of landlord or letting agencies in order to ensure key messages around renting rights are not diluted. The presence at fair 1 (Welcome) should be focused on raising awareness and distributing useful ‘freebies’ and a ‘student information directory’. The presence at fair 2 should focus on distributing key information and support.

- Directory : The student information directory is something that is very much desired by the students, particularly if it were to be updated with information that is specific to UoN students (i.e. Not Trent students too). The directory should be distributed in the following ways:

o Fresher’s fairo Hall welcome packs (that new students arrive to in their rooms)o Landlord / letting agent welcome packs (that students are given at the point of

signing a contract)o Working with the union to direct email it with clear subject lines such as ‘important

information’ Students request the following features to the document:

o Titled ‘keep me, I’m useful throughout your time at uni’

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o Info about Rogue Landlord scheme and Nottingham Standardo Key contactso Way to avoid fineso Voting registration (and the benefits to voting in terms of council services, and why

voter registration matters to the council)o A section for students that are not eligible to vote and alternative support availableo Key dates (bin collections, events, festivals, deadlines) – calendar pull out poster.o Worked examples of real life student scenarios and who can helpo A welcoming tone that celebrates the role students play in society, rather than dwell

on the negative associations with noise. - Emails: Work with existing communication channels that students respond to – for example,

send initial emails to students via the SU. This can help NCC/CP to build its own profile amongst students.

- App: An app is something to consider in the future, but further research is needed to determine its purpose, extent of personalisation and how push notifications (E.g. bin reminders) would prevent students from deleting the app.

When?- Students would like to receive some information prior to their University arrival. This will

give them time to digest the information and locate their national insurance number to aid voter registration.

- Main contact points are requested in August (prior to arrival), September (Welcome festival), November (email about house hunting support, inviting students to attend a house hunting fair), Easter (email about deposit dispute support).

The human touch- With an increasing presence of ‘generation Z’ students at University (who prefer

personalised contact) it is unsurprising that students request a ‘council liaison officer’ or ‘tenancy relation officer’ to be based at the Students’ Union and/or in the Lenton area. This individual should have a regular presence amongst students, making it clear that they are approachable and able to point students in the right direction for dealing with ‘student living’ concerns, problems, or council processes. This staff member should focus on developing a social media following by providing regular relevant tips to students about how to avoid high energy bills, or what to do with pest problems etc.

- Students would like to make 1:1 appointments with this liaison officer, as well as attend Q&A sessions with them. This staff member should become a well-known supporter of student life, leading to students perceiving the council in a more positive light.

- Students suggest that this liaison officer is supported by a team of paid student ambassadors who can help promote key messages from the NCC/CP.

What is the current student perception and awareness of NCC/CP services?The majority of students at University of Nottingham are not aware of NCC/CP services, or how to find out more about them. Some students believe that the council is not actively supportive of student life, and in fact sees it as a nuisance. They attribute this perception to past interactions with the council that focus on noise complaints, inflexibility with parking permits or fine threats.

Group discussion highlighted that some students do not believe council staff members understood student life. A potential solution is to work with the SU to develop ‘day in the life of students’ videos to share with council staff members.

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What forms of support do students want?

NeedsStudents identify the below gaps in support provision. These areas present the council with new opportunities to increase their relevance to the student population.

- A complete list of landlord / letting agents - A website dedicated to ‘student living’ support that combines the work of several service

providers such as the SU, University and NCC/CP. - A ‘trip advisor’ housing review website to support student decision making when choosing

rented accommodation. Other specific requests that students would like the council to explore include 1) Introducing temporary parking permits to students whilst they are waiting for their ‘official’ permit to be granted, 2) Exploring the option for term-time only parking permits and 3) Providing tailored support for students who are not eligible to vote due to international status.

The comparison websiteThe concept of a ‘Trip Advisor’ type review website was explored in greater detail during the workshops given its popularity. In summary of the discussions (and possible flaws of the approach), the following recommendations are made:

- Ensure that the site is as objective as possible. Ensure students are rating specific property or service features (e.g. white goods, garden, and communication efficiency) rather than a specific person. By rating specific features, this would also allow future potential tenants to search the review site by ‘house feature’, rather than overall ratings.

- The website should allow a property to be associated with a letting agent, or a landlord, or both. Not all students get to know their landlord, or use an agency.

- Either 1). Allow students to comment on their ratings to explain their reasoning, but give landlords/agencies the chance to respond prior to the comment being published or 2). Do not allow comments, but instead only show an ‘average’ rating of a property’s features once more than 5 ratings have been collected. This latter point would avoid concerns regarding slander, but would take time to gather the data – delaying any fast launch of the website.

- Only allow one evaluation of a property per tenancy agreement. This would prevent a multiple tenancy agreement resulting in 5 ratings.

- Research existing review systems such as Unipol’s rate my landlord scheme to understand positives and negatives of the system. https://www.rateyourlandlord.org.uk/

How can NCC/CP services be more accessible and desirable for students?- Students highlight that any promotional messaging from NCC/CP needs to focus on two

things: 1). Reminding students that the council is an option of support and 2). Highlighting how to easily contact them.

- Students ask for reassurance that the council will respond, with empathy, through a range of avenues (including chat services and social media messaging) and their query will get passed to the correct department, who will deal with the matter quickly.

- Students also place high value on transparency. They would like to be kept up to date on their query’s progress, and whether this meets normal time scales (manage expectations).

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https://www.rateyourlandlord.org.uk/


Without this reassurance, students are choosing to either ‘sort matters themselves’ (and potentially losing out on their rights) or choosing alternative providers such as student advice centre.

- A solution may be to have a student/lenton council laison who can help direct enquiries to the right place. Students believe this face to face approach would overcome any hurdles they experience when trying to reach the correct department over the telephone.

- Students would like the option to register to vote during welcome week. A registration zone is desired where a student can register with the health centre, police, NCC and University all at the same time.

- Remarket ‘register to vote’ as ‘student service registration’ – and make it clear what students are missing out on by not registering.

- Students would like services that are linked to a house to not be connected to voter registration. At present, many students request services through their landlord– therefore any need to register to vote in order to access a service is overcome.

Main challenges experienced by students in Autumn term 2016/17We asked 2,673 students whether they were experiencing challenges or issues around a number of areas. 15% of students experience challenges around their accommodation and their travel arrangements. These issues are listed below:

Hopper bus availability at night and early mornings Quality of food at catered halls Landlord and letting agent difficulties (false promises, poor quality housing, poor

communication) Noisy Neighbours Missing out on events by living at home Falling out with housemates during the academic year (housemates not as expected) Expenses Having to move out of catered halls over holidays or having to pay to stay Finding new flatmates Rent too expensive Reliance on public transport (unreliable hopper bus, too full, infrequent) Stressful securing second year accommodation would like more advice from SU Difficult moving out of halls/ moving things into storage difficult in holidays with no support Struggle to travel for placement / claiming expenses is difficult Struggling to find a replacement tenant for a semester abroad Poor quality of food and lack of vegetarian options in catered halls

How to improve satisfaction with the SU (June ‘15 & Jan ‘17)Students suggested that the following actions may help to increase their satisfaction with the Students’ Union (and more specifically in the area of community and student living):

Events More “Off-campus” events for those living out Inter-hall activities

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Publicity / Transparency Reaching out further to halls ‘tell students about the challenges that the SU faces – don’t pretend they don’t exist’. ‘Run a QA and forum with officers each term’, ‘do presidential vlogging’. Drop-in sessions in

Portland Atrium every month for all officers to attend and have questions addressed towards them.

Increase focus in specific areas Offer an online society/societies for distance learners

Connect the campuses Holding events that everyone can go to e.g. nurses- ‘nurses have different term times and

working hours. We’re often older, so we’re looking for a different kind of social activity’. Further connections with satellite campuses Hopper buses to Kegworth Explore ways to develop more University spirit SU presence and visibility on all student campuses Have regular Students’ Union representation across all sites and campuses, which may

require a staff rota. Even during Student Leader Elections, QMC students felt neglected, as no one came to visit.

Working with the University to improve the services they coordinate Review of catered hall food Better facilities at Derby Campus Increased number of water fountains Assist with students going on placement with travel and accommodation support Allow rooms to be kept over the holidays More facilities & equipment (e.g. library space and computers)

Facilities Offer an SU bar that rivals the one at Trent (and offer a larger bar at SB campus and a bar at

Jubilee campus) Develop an off campus student hub. A space for students, but also a space to share ideas

and off-campus issues, and access Union services.

What would students want in a Lenton hub? In May 2016, we asked students what they would want to see in a student hub if one were to be located in Lenton. We asked this question specifically to students based in Lenton at the time, or those who would be based in Lenton in the 16/17 academic year.

The question included options for how often the students would use a range of services. A Lenton Hub should include things students will use regularly thus then proportion of students saying they would use services at least once a week is evaluated.

The most popular service in terms of frequent use was the quiet study zone. 61.1% of students said they would use a quiet study zone in a Lenton Hub more than once a week and thus one should be included in a Lenton Hub.

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The next most popular services were the small shop selling lunch (52.8%) or snacks, the computers and printers service (52.8%) and the printing service (51.3%) all showing a slight majority of students that would use them more them at least once a week.

The group study / meeting space (44.8%), the Café (42.8%), the ticket collections / purchase service (40.9%),and parcel delivery or collection point services (41.7%), all had slightly less students that would use them each week. A good number of students still want to use these services so their inclusion in the Hub should be considered but they should be given less priority than the services mentioned earlier.

Less than a third of students said they would use the bookable activity / meeting space and short loan library book returns services (29.8% and 28.2% respectively) at least once a week and only 16.4% wanted to use an access to Students' Union support services / departmental contacts service at least once a week. This suggests these services should be left out of the Hub or given a much lesser priority than the preceding services.

Accommodation typesIn May 2016, we asked all students about their current accommodation arrangement and where they would be moving to during the following academic year.

How does SU satisfaction vary across the campusesThe below statistics were collected in May 2016 (when satisfaction is typically at its lowest point when we see trends in our termly student surveys, satisfaction tends to peak in the month of

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December). Whilst satisfaction tends to fluctuate at different points in the year, the difference in score provided per campus tends to be relatively stable.

The lower rating from Derby is likely to be due to the fact that some students feel that the SU only focuses on certain campuses. This evaluation of comments concerning the SU’s performance was made: Some students felt that the SU hasn’t done anything on campuses other than the University Park Campus. Mentions were made of the Jubilee Campus, Sutton Bonington and the UNAD Campus. The Jubilee and Sutton Bonington ratings are actually rather high despite this evaluation. Nevertheless the lower SU rating from Derby is possibly due to that fact.

Emotional difficulty felt across the campuses

There was an almost even split of students who said they had experienced emotional difficulty in the last 12 months and students who said they had not experienced emotional difficulty in the last 12 months at University Park, QMC and Sutton Bonington. Over two times the amount of people who had not experience emotional difficulty in Derby had encountered some emotional problems (in the last 12 months). Although, many people (36.4%) from Derby answered ‘I’d rather not say’ so the figures may be more even than they appear. In the City Hospital or other healthcare site and distance learner locations a good majority of people said they had not experience emotional difficulty in the last 12 months (60% and 58.3% respectively) but it is worth bearing in mind that respondents to the survey from these smaller sites were far fewer than that collected for the other campuses – results for City Hospital and Distance Learners should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Awareness of SU services and remit across campuses

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The percentages shown in the graphic are the percentages of students who correctly guessed the SU as being the sole coordinator of the listed services. The majority of students from all locations aside from the distance learners correctly identified the SU as coordinators of the societies. Only a low percentage of distance learners were able to correctly identify each of the services as being provided by the SU. This is likely to be due to the fact they study away from university and would rarely encounter any of the services. It is also worth remembering the low validity of City Hospital and distance learner figures as mentioned above.

A much lower proportion of students recognised the Student Volunteer Centre as being coordinated by the SU especially in the Sutton Bonington and Derby campuses (as well as the distance learners). This is likely to be to the lack of SU presence at those locations.

The Course reps and Student Advice Centre had a generally low percentage of students who said that they were SU coordinated services. Derby, Sutton Bonington and the distance learners showed low percentages again for these services. The City Hospital and other healthcare sites also didn’t have many students that knew the SU managed course reps.

Sense of belonging across the campuses

Every location had a significantly lower sense of involvement with the SU than with the university except for the distance learners who had a very low sense of involvement with both the university and the SU. The City Hospital and other healthcare sites had the smallest difference in their sense of involvement with the university and their sense of involvement with the SU. The other locations had a fairly even difference in their feelings of involvement with the SU and with the university. However, Derby had a substantially lower sense of involvement for both the university and the SU. This is likely to be because of Derby’s distance from the rest of the other sites and the lack of SU activity there. This comment expressed that sentiment:

“Maybe recognise that Derby is a campus with students? The changes to the union email doesn't even feature it. There's no facilities, no outreach and it's left to its own devices which is pretty poor.” After analysing more of the comments the following suggestions to improve students’ feelings of involvement with the SU were devised.

Postgraduates and international students commented on how they felt that many activities and events did not appeal to them. Many students felt that all the publicised events were party oriented and instead wanted a wider array of events to be advertised: “Many of the announcements focus on the partying side of University life, and I would be more interested in the other events.” Promoting a varied catalogue of events would help more people to feel a greater sense of involvement with the

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SU. A number of students felt that the SU was only engaging with them at the start of the year: “Trying to engage students throughout the year, you don't have to join at just the start of the year.” Perhaps an effort needs to be made to make students aware of what is happening within the SU at regular intervals throughout the course of the academic year.

Knowing your neighbours

Fewer students than average at Derby and the City Hospital or other healthcare sites would ask for help from their neighbours if had not met them before at 7.1% and 7.7% respectively. Derby and the City Hospital or other healthcare sites also had a higher percentage of students that would only ask for help as a last resort at 50% and 46.2% respectively. This is likely to be partially due to the fact that many students from those areas have many non-students as neighbours. Students gave many reasons for being reluctant to ask neighbours for help: unfriendliness, intimidating pets, not knowing them, language barriers, shyness, neighbours who don’t like students and the fact that there are many other people to get help from first were all given as reasons for not asking neighbours for help.

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Accommodation / housing service support

Letting agents etc. gave more positive experiences to students than the SU in most cases, but also more negative experiences than the SU in most cases. Letting agents etc. support is the most mixed of all the housing supports. This will be because there a mixture of good and bad lettings agencies and landlords and it is difficult to know whether one is good or bad before engaging with them. The percentage of positive experiences was relatively high across all locations and the negative experiences were much less except in the case of Derby were the positive and negative experiences were both quite high and of even amounts.

Summary of accommodation / housing research collected May 2016The most recurring theme in the analysis was that the SU needs to focus more on campuses aside from University Park. Many students from Sutton Bonington and Derby in particular feel left out and excluded. Creation more activities and facilities at a wider range of locations and well as improving promotion all round will help to resolve this problem. More also needs to be done to prevent disabled students from feeling excluded by making university facilities more accessible to them and creating opportunities for them to try out enjoyable activities. Integration on all kinds of students should be a prevalent focus point for the SU; postgraduates and internationals also expressed feelings of being left out. Students also seem somewhat disconnected from their neighbours. This seems to be largely due to unfriendliness, shyness or disputes. It is unclear on whether students

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would like to improve their relationships with their neighbours or if they are content with the network of friends and acquaintance they have established at university. This could form a question point in further surveying. It may be worth explicitly asking students if they expect more from the SU for given areas. For example, some students may give a low score for their sense of belonging with the SU but have no desire to feel a greater sense of belonging and be happy with their activities within the university. Students seem to like the idea of a Lenton Hub and are most interested in the inclusion of study spaces, computers and printers and a small shop. Students also expressed wishes for the SU to improve transport and study facilities.

Thought Forum findingsThe Students’ Union has an online discussion forum known as the ‘Thought Forum’. This forum encourages students to discuss their concerns and share their ideas for solutions with up to 150 other students. Here are some of the conversation summaries…

Do you spend a lot of time at Jubilee campus?

Those who live at Jubilee felt that there aren’t many activities or events compared to University Park and they wish they could enjoy similar stuff to those who are studying at University Park. They also said they would be much happier participating in society activities if they didn't have to make an event of travelling over to University Park every time they wanted to do so. There were a variety of reasons given for not spending time at Jubilee, including being based at SB (although they noted that there were similarities between the two campuses as they both miss out on a lot of the activities that go on at UP), having no reason to visit, and it being difficult to get to.

If you change three things about the Students' Union - what would they be and why?

Things people wanted to change about the SU included more visibility from the elected officers; more variety – an alternative bar to mooch; lower prices in the SU Shop, and the Hub at Derby as it is not a very pleasant space.

If you live in a hall that is situated off campus - what are the pros and cons?

Pros of living in off-campus halls included; being able to choose what and when to eat; more freedom; more of a social aspect with small flats as opposed to long corridors; cheaper; not having to move out over breaks. Cons of living off campus included the noise levels; dealing with other people’s mess in the kitchen and being further away from university park.

Is there any information about your Students' Union in your hall?

One student said there was a poster about the guild in the hall and kitchen. One Student said that there was no information in SPC when they were in 1st year. Generally there doesn't seem to be a great deal of information in halls; a few posters in dining halls etc. There was a suggestion to put up posters near dining room queueing areas. A student from Newark said that their hall had 'next to nothing' in terms of SU related info- they said that this was not surprising as not much goes on at Jubilee.

What makes you feel like you belong in Nottingham -

Things that made students feel at home as residents of Nottingham included getting to know their way around the city, living in the centre of Beeston and meeting local residents and having a job.

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not just as a student, but as a resident?

What's it like living in halls?

Some of the more negative comments on halls were that other people are messy; the quality, taste and price of food; £125 storage fee over breaks; people getting drunk; not being able to cook your own food; the lack of washing machines; it can be more expensive living in halls; food timings can be a hassle; washing can be expensive; problems with heating and advertising of events. Some of the more positive aspects of living in halls included; feeling like part of a community; makes the transition of leaving home smooth; bills included; it’s very safe; conveniently located; don’t have to cook. It was also suggested that it would be good to do a questionnaire for people who have selected shared bathroom (where 1 bathroom between 2 people) accommodation and pair the up with similar people - sport interests, how often go out etc.

Past requests from students (June 2015)In addition to the above information, it is worth considering past insights we have collected from students and have passed on to previous Community Officers, although some of the issues discussed may have already been explored further/addressed. They are as follows:

Living, study, and travel issues: Provide drop-in sessions for information on housing. Greater travel and living support for medical (and healthcare) students during clinical years. More links between the SU and nursing courses.

Facilities: SU bar on Jubilee. Places for students to gather on non-UP campuses. Arrange nights out with transport included (especially for SB). Provide more SU services at healthcare sites.

Unify the campuses More events reaching out across the campuses. More interaction with those who don’t live on campus. Derby wants more connections (emotional and physical) with Nottingham, and to be

considered in timetabling events or society/ club meetings. SB wants more interaction and linking with Nottingham, to have greater event promotion, to

improve cross-campus communication and interaction, and to have more SU hosted nights out. However, there is a sense at SB lots of students here enjoy having a sense of belonging at SB as well as Nottingham, so “let SB be SB” as well.

Focus on other campuses: Offer SU services (including financial advice) at other campuses. Ensure that the SU has a strong presence on all sites. More engagement, presence, activities, and interaction wanted at Jubilee.

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Make the SU more available, active, interactive, engaging, and involving at Derby, as well as considering Derby Nottingham travel costs.

More SU presence is desired at healthcare sites. Increase promotion and information for QMC-based students, as well as more input and

activity at QMC. Include SB students in more events, increase engagement, interaction, publicity, transport

links, and support on SB, as well as stopping the disconnect from main campus. Improve transport links between campuses when big events are taking place.

Hall life: Improvement in catering quality. Reductions in price for bar drinks. More access to cashpoints/ cashback facilities. Stronger internet connection. Access low-cost storage for belongings outside of term time. Third party halls report having worse attendance at events and less interest in committee

positions. Summary of what each hall is like is wanted for applicants (pictures, walking distances). Improve security in halls.

Housing Review of NottinghamThis analysis emerged in June 2014 from the reviewing of 32 documents from sources including SU, NUS, Unipol, NCC, and Savill Documents. Again, it is important to consider that much has changed since June 2014 (in particular, the Union’s links with Unipol), but it is likely that many of the following concerns for student living still remain relevant.

Awareness of rights and services: Only one fifth of students are getting contracts checked through the SU. Over 50% of students feel confident that they know their deposit legal rights (less so for

repair and eviction rights). One fifth challenge deposit deductions, but end up paying anyway. Unaware of deposit resolution service.

One third saw Love Your Home material (these students said they were more likely to negotiate discounts, use contract checking service, choose accredited housing, and felt better versed in their rights).

o 81% of those who used Love Your Home material felt that they made an informed decision, as opposed to 74% who did not use this material.

o Those who need better targeting of Love Your Home information: Non-freshers living outside of UP, those already living out, and international students.

Students want emailed to them: Concise booklet of legal rights, checklist/ timeline of what needs to be done, information about contract checking service, guidance on locations, guide on negotiation, information on standards, guidance on what is reasonable, and guidance on setting up bills.

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Accommodation type and community links: As students get older, they are less likely to be interested in purpose-build halls, but parents

like the pastoral elements of purpose build housing. In the community, there are areas becoming very student-oriented (Lenton and Dunkirk

being two thirds students), because locals move away, and investors outbid families when buying houses. This leads to isolated student communities, and a sense of not knowing one’s neighbours. These areas then gain a negative image from others.

93% of students believe that it is unfair that the NCC is able to dictate the type of accommodation that they can live in.

Condition and repair: Two thirds of students seem to be happy with the management of their accommodation, but

there is more concern around the condition of the property. Landlords are often difficult to contact, do not complete repairs on time, and will enter

properties without notice/ consent. Properties lack functioning burglar alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Damp, condensation, and mould are experienced by 50% of students (especially so I Lenton

and Dunkirk). And 50% of students do not feel warm in their own properties.

Availability of properties: More demand than supply in some areas of Nottingham (Lenton and Dunkirk in particular). 1,2 and 5+ bedrooms are popular, whilst 4 bedroom properties are underlet.

Finances: 20% of all students use overdraft facility to finance housing payments. Deposits have increased by 21% in recent years. Only a third of students negotiated housing fee discounts. 16% of students have had to pay a holding fee before seeing a contract (plus high admin fees

etc.). Rent has increased since 2009 at a rate higher than inflation.

House hunting: 75% of students do not experience any issues, and 46% say that their accommodation feels

like home. Students who have spent longer searching for a property reported being happier with it and

its value in the long-term. 1/5 start in November, 1/5 in December, 1/3 in January, and 1/5 in February. Issues for international students when asked to provide a UK homeowner as a guarantor.

These students also find it difficult to arrange viewings, and landlords have been reported to charge these students more upfront as they are reluctant to sign a property to them.

Accreditation: One third of students live in accredited accommodation, and about half were unsure. Students want an independent review site where they can review and submit statements

about their landlords, agency, or property. One sixth of students sign for a property through Unipol.

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Student needs in relation to house hunting adviceStudents would like advice on the following things when they are house hunting: Average rental prices and agency fees, checklist of documents to receive from landlord, list of questions to ask when viewing a property, accommodation ‘help desk’ at key times, extra support for international students when it comes to setting up bills, and helping to work out accommodation for those studying abroad/ returning from study abroad semester/ years. As of June 2015, students stated that they started house hunting in the following times:

28.92% of students did not have to house hunt for accommodation this academic year. September 2014: 4.08% October 2014: 4.95% November 2014: 15.67% December 2014: 13.63% January 2015: 16.73% February 2015: 5.73% March 2015: 2.86% April 2015: 1.89% May 2015: 1.07% 4.46% of students have not started looking yet (June 2015)

Awareness of SU accommodation support (June 15)

Some major themes in student responses regarding finding accommodation:

It is difficult for students arriving later at University (those wanting to live out in their first year, postgraduate students who don’t get accepted until later on in the year, those on placement, international students etc.).

Some students don’t want to live where they are going to, but have no choice (due to housemates, budgets etc.)

There have been issues with Unipol affiliated landlords. Issues with housemates (not signing contracts, fallouts disputes about accommodation/

rooms etc.). The SU should do more to reduce the stress of students when it comes to house-hunting. It is less stressful to live with fewer people. Many chose to stay in halls, some as reps.

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There are issues with noise reported at Lenton and at Jubilee campus. Many have chosen to live in the same accommodation, either because they are satisfied

where they are, or because they want to avoid the hassle of moving. Would like a forum for finding housemates/ spare rooms in houses. Information made available (November/ December time). However, it should be noted that

some students wanted to be less stressed about this process, and would therefore not like to receive messages in a way that stresses them into thinking that they need to apply for housing very soon.

A list/ registrar/ rating system of good and bad landlords, properties, and letting agencies (a student website/ app).

More information about transport links between accommodation and campuses/ areas of interest.

More personalised accommodation information from those on SB. More pictures of University rooms available. More information about SU contract checking. Provide average prices/ good deal examples. Sheet of paper detailing ‘do’s and don’ts’ (safe areas, what to look out for, contracts,

parking, bus and travel costs/ times, bills, TV, wifi etc.).- “A shame that no on-campus halls are self-catered”.- Want earlier confirmation of which room is provided when arriving at uni (when living in

halls).

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