You said, we did
At GCU we are always listening to your feedback; it’s a really useful way of ensuring that we are meeting your needs. Below are some examples of how our teams have taken your comments on board to develop their services.
| Team | You said... | We did... |
|---|---|---|
| Library | “I’m really struggling with my dissertation and don’t really know where to start. There’s so much different information on the website.” | We understand that your dissertation can be a daunting task, however we’ve tried to make the whole process as easy as possible by creating a dedicated Dissertation and Honours Project guide! |
| Student Events and Engagement | A bigger Graduation Ball | Large venue sourced and used for Graduation Ball |
| Induction | Specific postgraduate workshops/sessions | Employability sessions introduced |
Student Events and Engagement | Additional social events for Global Buddies | Additional face to face events introduced |
| Library | “Community members should have some sort of PC access, some of us do not have our own devices.” | Unfortunately all of our PCs are networked and require a University login. However we now have a bank of laptops available for all of our external members to borrow and use in the library. Just ask at the Library Desk if you need one! |
| Accommodation Support | Further accommodation options available | Partnered with a hostel to provide temporary to long-term accommodation |
| Induction | More international learning and visa support information | Learning Development Centre and visa workshops introduced as part of the international welcome programme |
Student Events and Engagement | Postgraduate taught student and postgraduate research student access to Peer Assisted Learning Support (PALS) | PALS offered to all students |
| Accommodation Support | Additional accommodation support requested | We implemented an Accommodation Support Team |
| Induction | Additional level to level induction support | Level to level transition support and workshops introduced |
| Student Funding | More information on financial wellbeing | A Financial Wellbeing Coordinator post introduced to support this |
| Campus Life Desk | We’d like easier access to transcripts | Transcripts now emailed to students |
| Induction | More welcome events to be provided for international students | Extended international welcome events to over a longer period of time and introduced additional larger scale events |
| Student Funding | Additional international student support is needed | Emergency international funding introduced |
| Campus Life Desk | We’d like easier access to information | QR codes introduced to access information quickly |
| Library | “I’m not working in Glasgow due to the pandemic. Is there any way I can use my GCU card to get into another uni?” | We’re all adapting to new methods of study and accessing alternative study space close to where you’re staying is vital. We have reinstated the SCONUL Access scheme which allows access to partnered institutions and borrowing of physical items for PhDs and postgraduate researchers. Our membership webpage has more information about SCONUL Access. |
| Careers (Common Good Award) | “I have completed all four areas but have not yet created a video as we have been in lockdown”. | We set up Digital Story workshops over Teams in collaboration with SHLS LDC. Workshops and materials are available as a resource for students on CGA web pages and Teams. |
| IT | Face-to-face support for some issues is preferred as help is immediate and can be talked through until resolved. | An IT service desk has been introduced on Level 0 of the library, 9am – 4pm, Monday to Friday during term time. |
| Library | “It would be great to get more support with referencing when the library is closed. I sometimes work on my assignments through the night.” | As much as we don’t condone working through the night on assignments, we appreciate it can be unavoidable! We have subscribed to a resource called ‘Cite Them Right’ which should answer any referencing question you have. You can access ‘Cite Them Right’ using Discover. |
| Careers (mentoring programme) | We asked for feedback on your experience of our mentor programme: “Positive is that mentor was working at the construction industry, where I want to be at. Negative is that he was manager and I want to be engineer” “There are not enough nursing mentors available- also, the team don't have enough knowledge about the nursing profession and assume that a nursing student will become a nurse on a ward”. | The mentor targeting and matching process was refined this year to ensure as close a match as possible, plus specific mentor expertise was targeted during the recruitment phase. Also, a priority group of mentees was created to ensure matches for those unable to be matched last year. |
| Careers (Common Good Award) | You told us that it would help to have “a list of what other people did - the more various, distinguishable activities the better, so that students can know they have a broad range of activities they can undertake”. | We established the Common Good Award Recipients page. |
| Library | “I find the Inter-Library Loans process confusing. I’m doing my systematic review and I’m not sure what I can and can’t get access to, or who to contact for help.” | We’ve updated our Systematic Review help pages; now when you have your list of material that you’re unable to source, you can email it to our ILL team who will help you with obtaining the items. |
| IT | We received feedback from teaching staff that, during busy times, when they experienced an issue during a class they weren’t getting support quickly enough. | To resolve this we have dedicated two staff to the teaching support telephone line (while keeping the service desk agents on overflow) so that we can get support to their location faster. |
| Careers | You told us that making an appointment as a graduate was too complicated. | We purchased a new system where you can do this online in minutes. |
| Library | You moved all the computers from the ground floor. It makes it much harder for those of us who quickly want to print something before class. | We understand the importance of those last minute print jobs! To save you the jaunt up to Level 2, we are pleased to say we have re-instated PCs back onto Level 0. |
| Library | The compact shelving keeps breaking! Is there any way this can be fixed please? | We can go one better – we’ve gotten rid of it altogether! We understood that the compact shelving wasn’t the easiest thing to operate and could often be unreliable. We have now consolidated all of our books onto open shelving across the floors so it’s easier for you to access what you need. |
| IT | Staff advised that students were unable to access software for their courses which normally they would access on campus through the labs that are set up around the university. | Information Services created a service where the labs on campus could be accessed remotely. Students log into a website which then provides a list of the available systems on campus. Students simply connect to the machine of their choosing and then have access, either by software installed on the machines, or through AppsAnywhere, to the programmes then need. |
| Careers | I believe you don't have a social media channel, it would be great to have you on Instagram as students are very connected there. | In addition to Facebook and Twitter, we are now also on Instagram. |
| Student Funding | Introduce online applications. | Online application process introduced. |
| Library | I’ve thought before that it would be good if there was a designated place on each floor that you could find a librarian so you can go and tell them that people are talking and then the librarian can deal with it, because as far as I know there’s nowhere I can easily go to find a librarian to help with this. | Our library staff try their best to keep noise to a minimum on the silent floors, but we understand sometimes people wait till they’re away! We now have dedicated Information Points on levels 2, 3 and 4; our Library Assistants will check here for anyone needing assistance. |
| Library | We are happy to see the celebration of Sir Alex Ferguson and his archive, but bring back some of the seating – it was a great study spot on Level 0. | We’re really grateful to all of the students who gave us feedback regarding the new Archives space on Level 0. As such we have ordered new desks to go into this area to increase the number of study spaces. We are also going to increase the number of desk spaces on Levels 2 and 3 as per your feedback. |
| Library | Please, more computers! For those who can’t afford a laptop, peak times of computer unavailability puts them at a big disadvantage. What about putting some in 4? | We would never discriminate against someone being unable to afford a laptop – which is why we have our fabulous LapSafe machine located by the café on Level 0. You can use this to borrow a laptop for three hours at a time to use anywhere on campus. We are regularly praised on our flexible study spaces catering for all study tastes and as such we want to keep Level 4 free of computers to reduce noise and increase desk study space. We hope you understand! |
| Induction | Provide additional opportunities to meet classmates. | PALS scheme introduced. |
| Library | At peak times, space in the library is in high demand. The library should securely remove property that has been left for long periods to free up space / PC for other library users. | We understand that space is limited in the library so our Library Assistants will conduct regular patrols of the floors and if any property has been left for 45 minutes it will be taken to Campus Security and we’ll leave a note for the student. |
| Library | I’m not a student at GCU but I would really like to borrow books for personal study. Is there any way to do this? | We’re so pleased to hear you have an interest in using our library! To support you we have created a free Community Membership that will allow you to borrow up to 3 books and a 3-hour loan laptop to use in the building. |
| Library | People are always talking on Level 3. I thought it was a silent floor? | Level 3 was designated as ‘quiet’ study which we appreciate sends mixed messages! We have now made it silent study only. |
| IT | Students advised us in large numbers that they were having issues accessing the SPSS software across a variety of different systems. Normally this would be completed in class but with the pandemic this was not possible. | Guides were created to show step by step instructions on how to install the software across various operating systems. Students were also given guides on how to access the software even if their devices could not run the software on their own systems. |