The £100 million question

Students at Cardiff University have been given the chance to say where they would like to spend £100 million across the campus.

The participating students took part in a survey conducted by Red Brick Research. Whilst the survey discovered overall student satisfaction at Cardiff, students were asked specifically what they would do to improve the University with £100 million.

Many of the results discovered from the survey were encouraging. For instance, a total of 73 per cent of students said they were satisfied with the facilities at Cardiff University. Only 16 per cent disagreed. Across individual schools, however, there was a marked exception: only 44 per cent of students in the Architecture School were satisfied with the facilities at Cardiff University. This is reflected in the comments made by Architecture students. One student said ÔÇ£my main complaint is a severe lack of modern facilities in my school, as well as a general lack of funding.ÔÇØ Another studentÔÇÖs complaint was as simple as ÔÇ£not enough desk space for the type of activities required for the course.ÔÇØ

Also, whilst overall satisfaction with academic facilities on campus was encouraging, there were concerning results for specific facilities. For instance, only 35 per cent of students were happy with prayer and worship facilities across the campus. The results for satisfaction with sports facilities were also much lower than average. Only 51 per cent of students were happy with the sports facilities at the University, and only 52 per cent with their societies performance and practice space.

The most interesting results came from the proposed question of how and where students would spend ┬ú100 million across the University. Across the whole survey, 63 per cent of students said they would like to see new sports facilities. For instance, one student said ÔÇ£the Talybont astroturf has excessively deteriorated and is no longer up to standard. It is perhaps the worst pitch I have ever played on in all BUCS competitions.ÔÇØ In total, students agreed that 17 per cent of the money should be spent towards improving sports facilities and 9 per cent towards improving societies performance and practice space. The StudentsÔÇÖ Union President, Harry Newman, has said, ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve long known that CardiffÔÇÖs sports facilities badly let our University down but what the survey showed the UniversityÔÇÖs senior staff was that students really care about them and would attribute 17 per cent of capital investment to sport.ÔÇØ

Interestingly, aesthetic changes to the University was an area of concern for 42 per cent of students, who would like to see changes made to Halls of Residences and University Accommodation. As a result, students agreed 16 per cent of the £100 million should be spent on improving this area of the University. However the highest percentage of money, 35 per cent, would go towards improving academic facilities.

In terms of specific improvements around the University, it appears that lecture theatres are high concerns for students, totalling 42 per cent of the result. One student from JOMEC said, ÔÇ£Many of the lecture theatres do not have tables and therefore students have to write on their laps. This is uncomfortable.ÔÇØ There was also a wide population of students who expressed dissatisfaction with not having lectures in their specific school building, but being spread out across the campus, as a result of not enough lecture theatres. Students from the ENCAP school expressed dissatisfaction with the Humanities building, with one student calling it ÔÇ£grim inside.ÔÇØ

Another student expressed concern over the crossroads at Park Place, noting how busy the area can get at certain times of the day. Other areas commonly ranked as needing improvements were provisions of books and journals, 43 per cent, and computer rooms, 40 per cent. A Dentistry student responded, ÔÇ£During exam time, the quiet study area can be busy. I think more places like Cochrane building on the Heath Park campus and Julian Hodge should exist. One more building like this would make a huge difference during exam time.ÔÇØ Unsurprisingly, students from the BIOSCI school ranked ÔÇÿlabsÔÇÖ as a priority, with 89 per cent of students from the school wanting to see changes implemented to their working lab areas.

One of the questions posed to students involved the relationship between University buildings and the StudentsÔÇÖ Union. 58 per cent of students who took part in the questionnaire stated that they did not care whether University and Union building were separate or not as long as there is easy access to all buildings, however 22 per cent stressed that they would like to see separation in some instances. The StudentsÔÇÖ Union President, Harry Newman spoke on the matter: ÔÇ£We need to protect our independence in a few areas and separate buildings may go some way to achieving that. It is crucial that we are forever able to represent students and it is crucial that students remain able to run their own sports clubs and societies. For the most part, as long as the service a student receives is first class, it doesn’t matter who or in which building it is delivered.ÔÇØ

Many students expressed the need to improve the aesthetics of the StudentsÔÇÖ Union. One student said, ÔÇ£The Law school and StudentsÔÇÖ Union are two of the major buildings you see when arriving on Open Days, so making them look more appealing on the outside would be a huge boost.ÔÇØ Harry Newman agreed, saying ÔÇ£A new exterior to our building would boost satisfaction amongst current students, a metric which really matters to Universities now.ÔÇØ This is reflected in the percentage of money students agreed they would spend on ÔÇÿsocial and common room style areasÔÇÖ and ÔÇÿstudent support and careers buildingsÔÇÖ, which totalled to 21 per cent.

Students were also asked to reflect on their time deciding which university to go to, and what affected their decisions. Unsurprisingly, academic facilities were ranked most commonly, with 96 per cent of students vote, followed by accommodation, 69 per cent, and social and common room areas, 40 per cent. For part time students, interestingly student support services were highly ranked, totalling 73 per cent of students vote, as opposed to full- time students 33 per cent.

Whilst the ideas surrounding the ┬ú100 million is mostly hypothetical, the survey will give the University the opportunity to hear from students directly about what improvements they want to see. The StudentsÔÇÖ Union President, Harry Newman has concluded, ÔÇ£One of the most important things which we can do in light of the recent changes in the University is to demonstrate studentsÔÇÖ priorities for the spend. This is where this research project comes in and this is why I am so grateful to those who filled in the recent survey.ÔÇØ