At the University of Chester, your Student Voice is extremely important to us.
Thank you to any students who completed last year’s International Student Barometer Survey. Take a look at some of the changes and actions we’ve made in response to your feedback:
- Our Catering team is working with our Student Race Advocates to ensure menus are more diverse and cater for all students.
- Our Estates team are working hard to offer new additional university-owned accommodation in 2025. This should benefit international students who start outside of the main September induction window and sometimes struggle to find accommodation in the local area.
- All programmes now publish an Assessment Schedule at the start of the programme to set expectations and reduce assessment stress. This should allow students to plan their time better and visualise the deadline timeline for their programme.
- New for this year, our Student Experience/Induction team have introduced new International Welcome events which allow you to complete essential tasks, including collecting your BRP, setting up finance, completing your enrolment and visa checks all on one day. These events also feature Information Hubs, so you can find out more about key aspects of university life, including sport, Chester Students’ Union (CSU) and academic support in one place. These events are designed to save you time and act as an official welcome, no matter what time of year you start at the University.
- Our Student Experience/Induction team have expanded our online Pre-arrival Programme and developed new Welcome to UoC pages on the external website, giving students access to essential information prior to receiving login credentials. This now includes arrivals checklists and links to online sessions for students to get involved in before they arrive in the UK. Based on your feedback, we added a dedicated session to explain university systems, such as Moodle, to help ease the transition and familiarise students with key platforms in advance.
- We have created an enhanced arrival experience for new students by introducing Student Ambassadors who actively welcome, guide, and assist new arrivals throughout the enrolment process. Additionally, both professional services and academic staff are now present at key welcome events to provide guidance and answer any questions, creating a more supportive and welcoming environment from day one.
- Our Careers and Employability team has introduced monthly Careers webinars just for international students. The series will cover topics including crafting a UK CV, how to effectively search for part-time jobs and placements and advice on interviewing in the UK. These sessions have been created specifically to help international students find part time work and graduate jobs while they’re in the UK.
- We have simplified the application form for student jobs on campus (UniJob) to better support international students and provide weekly CV café style drop-ins for added support.
- This year, Chester Students’ Union (CSU) has focused on running inclusive events which encourages students to make connections, regardless of their fee status. This proved very successful during Welcome Week with 17 events including Speed Friending, a Board Game Café and two Cinema Nights.