At the University of Chester, your student voice is incredibly important to us.

Take a look at some of the changes our Student Services team have made in response to student feedback from the International Student Barometer 2024.

Student Experience:

Your feedback: We want a stronger sense of community

Our actions:

• The Student Experience Team have expanded Welcome Week offerings to ensure no matter what time of year students start, they have opportunities to get involved in activities, learn about service and meet their peers during their first weeks at the University.
• In April/May for the Faculty of Science, Business and Enterprise intake at Queen’s Park, a week of activity took place including activities and events to help students feel more connected and supported and scheduled welcome talks with information from Student Services and Academic colleagues.
• This week also included Chestival, run by Chester Students’ Union and the UniWell and Money Matters Fair where banks and support services were available and students had the opportunity to set up bank accounts, find out about managing money and register with Doctors/GPs.

Your feedback: More information about the University of Chester before students start

Our actions:

A pre-arrival International Student Success Moodle module has been developed in collaboration with departments from across the institution. Working with Student Race Advocates, this module has been developed to ensure the transition to studying at the University of Chester is as smooth as possible.

The Moodle is externally facing and therefore accessible before students receive their log in details, meaning as soon as they express an interest in studying with us they can start preparing for what to expect.

The Moodle is made up of four modules:

• ‘Essentials,’ which includes key information and resources to help students prepare for their journey with us, including visa and travel information.
• Section 2 is all about ‘Studying at the University of Chester’. This module covers study strategies and using the library and online resources to prepare for assessments. Students are also introduced to key academic skills such as time management, academic writing, and accessing academic support when needed.
• Sections 3 ‘Community and Culture’ and 4 ‘Support at the University of Chester’ will provide insights into the UK and Chester’s culture, with information on how students will connect with the university community and access a range of services during your time here.
• Current international students, Kaleka and Ravina have recorded introductions to guide students through each section of the module and we have produced an interactive map describing where key features are in the city that students might be interested in such as Storyhouse, Chester Cathedral and Blacon Mosque.

Wellbeing and Mental Health 

• We successfully continue to provide timely access to mental health support at a time that students want via our Student Assistance Programme.  

• We’ve listened to feedback and increased the in-person counselling offer. Now our students can access in-person therapy within five working days which will be within 30-minutes travel of their home or university site. Students will be matched with a counsellor within two working days and begin therapy within five working days.  

• We have been developing our links across the University, increasing visibility and understanding of our service by running campaigns and events at all sites, and linking in with key awareness weeks, such as University Mental Health Day and the CSU Wellbeing Week.  

• We have continued to develop our digital support offers, introducing the Wisdom app which provides students with Live Chat, wellbeing trackers, structured programmes and mini-health checkers.  

• Our regular Look After Your Mate sessions continue to help empower students with the skills, knowledge and confidence to support their friends experiencing mental health difficulties, whilst looking after their own wellbeing.  

• Our 24/7 Student Assistance Prorgamme, staffed by counsellors, has been well used, particularly by students who have appreciated the offer of a Language Line.  

• In response to student consultation, we have been hosting creative pop-ups to support students and are exploring how we can develop this offer further for more regular sessions.  

• Our Wellbeing and Mental Health team have enjoyed meeting with international students, especially during the welcome and induction events taking place during the year, providing them with the opportunity to share information on the wide range of support available.  

Disability and Inclusion  

• We’ve been linking in with the International Centre to ensure we can provide early advice and guidance to applicants to guarantee reasonable adjustments are in place when students start their course.  

• We recognise that engagement from our international students can be lower due to cultural and language differences in understanding the evidence needed to implement support for disabilities disclosed. We’re addressing this challenge by working with students and subject experts to review our information.  

• We are working hard to increase awareness of our services for international students. We successfully hosted information sessions as part of Disability Awareness Month, which has helped students to learn more about support on offer.  

• Our Standardised Inclusion Plans for students disclosing a Disability has ensured reasonable adjustments are in place quickly and feedback from this new process has been positive.  

• The introduction of a daily Duty appointment ensures that students are supported with urgent matters in a timely manner.  

• We offer face to face, MS Teams and telephone appointments, email guidance and extensive information on our University website, this ensures our students can access support information in their preferred format.  

• We remain committed to delivering inclusive, responsive support and value the contributions of all students in helping us evolve our services.