26
Representatives of our cosmopolitan community of students who come from all over the UK and 119 other countries
The Student Experience
Most students at St Andrews rate the St Andrews experience very highly. For the past five years the National Student Survey has placed us consistently as one of the top mainstream universities in the UK, and in the Times Higher similarly for the category ‘student experience’. While all individual experience of St Andrews varies, clearly we provide an environment which suits the broadest spectrum of tastes.
We are told that students feel part of the life here; their connection with the place and the people lives on long after they have left. We know that this is a very special community and we do not take it for granted. Student Services staff have a target of helping to maintain the quality of the experience. The staff engage with students and student representatives, listening to their understanding of what life is really like. They gather feedback, monitor student opinion, disseminate thoughts on the service required and try to ensure that the experience itself is protected and enhanced, adapting it with each new tranche of students.
Articulating what that experience means is a complex task. It is idiosyncratic; it is varied, eccentric, and personal to each student. We have asked students why they chose this institution, and how they would describe the experience of being here to someone else. We have also asked what they would like to see different about the experience in ten years’ time, for we are determined not to lose our edge. One thing comes over clearly: life at this University is very different from any other in the UK.
At the core of the experience lies a fundamental teaching system of an excellent standard. That is a given requirement. But additional experiences offer an additional quality of life. Enjoying the sense of community in a hall of residence. Taking moonlit walks along the beach. The culture of ’Balls‘ which are diverse – everything from taffeta gowns and dressing like James Bond to bopping with the Pigeon Detectives and KT Tunstall live. We have around 110 student societies – more than any other university in Scotland – focusing around anything from Debating and Hillwalking to Tiddlywinks and the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers Appreciation Society! The Sports Experience is crucial and sees over 50 per cent of the students signed up to the Sports Centre with many of our performance athletes competing all over the UK.
Being a small university, students have a real chance to integrate and to feel a sense of belonging. They are active in politics, in volunteering locally and in playing a governance role in how their services are run. We celebrate our student diversity, with more international countries represented than any other Scottish institution.
We believe that if a student is happy in their living environment, if they feel integrated socially, if they have clear expectations which are met and feel supported throughout, then they will go on to expand their learning much further.
Our aim is straightforward – we want you to live the “Student Experience” here, taking away with you a time in which you have gained life skills, lifelong friends, social contacts, and confidence; with, critically, a love of learning which you will carry with you throughout your life. We also hope you will very quickly define yourself as an integral part of this university. As part of its ongoing history we need you to help us develop it into the sort of university you want to leave to the next generation of students.
www.st-andrews.ac.uk/studentexperience
“I always feel safe, happy and in the hub of a very special community. The overall experience has been amazing.”
Louise (Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
Mock rectorial drag, The Scores – 19 April 1950
Student Experience
John Glen
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195