We seek and value the views of our student community. We listen to these and build them into the continual improvement of our programmes, processes and activities. Here are some of the ways we have responded to the views of our community of learners, gathered either via our Staff-Student Liaison Committees, or though annual student surveys.
Academic support
Preparing you for the Graduate Course Selection process
We have heard your SSLC feedback about Graduate Course Selection and we’ve introduced a series of pre-arrival webinars to guide offer holders through the process in the summer. These have helped offer holders prepare for their course selection early. The webinars are very popular and students have benefitted from the opportunities to ask us questions before the selection period begins.
Programme structure
We have reviewed the MSc programme surveys on teaching and learning experience extensively and as a result, we have now reformed our core course offerings for the MSc programmes. The new semi-core courses give more flexibility to students to study IR from different perspectives, and the new methodology course has been designed to tailor specifically to our students to study research design in the IR context.
The majority of our MSc IPE students have also been able to choose and get onto their preferred IPE courses as a result of better availability overall.
Assessment diversification and guidance
We have continued to review your evaluations of the assessment patterns and we have diversified the assessment formats at both undergraduate and postgraduate (taught) level. We now offer a range of different take-home assessments, such as week-long essays and timed online exams within a set duration, which allows you to manage your revision and writing with more flexibility at your own pace.
Community
Student Partnership Committees
At both the undergraduate and postgraduate (taught) levels of study, we work closely with a committee of student partners. This is a new initiative, designed to devise community activities and support which are student-led. Last year, activities included a karaoke night, summer parties, an art workshop, and peer-to-peer dissertation workshops.
Student communications
We constantly review our student communications. Based on community feedback we have created MSc and BSc Whatsapp groups to share important information. As requested, we have also provided more advanced notice of all confirmed events and added these events to students’ StudentHub calendars.
Contact with alumni
We received feedback that our current students would like to hear from recent graduates about their experience of entering the job market with a degree from the Department of International Relations. We built on this, running additional networking events with recent graduates in conjunction with ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Careers.