TUN feedback - Students Union

 23/24 Semester 1

• REF: 66-2312-1502604 - Student Union Staff Emails

  Your comment: I'm aware the SU is a separate organization but SU staff accounts names should end with something like the (Staff) that all university staff get. For example, currently all emails that arrive from a university staff member have the person's name + (Staff) appended onto it. SU staff should have something similar (i.e: Union or SU)

  Our response:

  Thank you for your feedback to Information Services via Tell Us Now. The Students' Union have now agreed with adding UM/SU as a suffix to SU staff emails. This will be taken forward to be instated.

  Thank you again for your suggestion

• REF: 66-2311-9296915 - Student Account Issues

  Your comment: I'm not writing this to complain at all about the SU I just wanted to suggest if maybe another team such as the reception team (who are really friendly by the way!) be able to fix our student accounts on the website. They always tell us they've forwarded it to Comms but they're really busy which is understandable! I just thought it would be great for the receptionists to be able to fix it just by emailing them or going to reception directly. There's so much income the SU is missing out on due to the account not matched problems everyone is having.

  Our response:

  Thanks you for your feedback.

  The SU communications team have been working alongside our website providers and the University’s Information Services team for any login errors that needed further assistance.

  Although your suggestion would be helpful, unfortunately, we are unable to grant the website admin permissions to the student staff in reception as it would mean sharing access to student data screens which goes against GDPR rules.

  If any student is still experiencing issues please do contact union.marketing@aber.ac.uk. 

• REF: 66-2310-4419011 - Return of SU Bar Deals

  Your comment: Why have the SU bar removed their drink deals? They used to have good steins deals on a Wednesday which is why our club would come here to start a social, but we may as well just start in town now. Please bring back the deals, we're students - we love deals, an SU bar is meant to be a cheap fun place with loads of deals, not somewhere expensive and fancy. This puts me and my friends off coming .

  Our response:

  Thank you for your feedback regarding bar deals at the SU.

  We have taken on board your comments and are delighted to announce the return of the Steins deal with immediate effect – we will also look at other drinks deals we can offer and so watch this space and visit the SU bar to see more!

 22/23 Semester 2

• REF: 66-2304-6336627 - More Student Union Minibuses

  Your comment: The SU minibuses are great but I think they should invest in at least a couple more with maybe an automatic one and one with similar requirements to the 9 seater. Given that most activities take place outside of Aber it would really help a lot.  

  Our response:

  Good afternoon. Thank you for your feedback. We are so pleased that you find the SU minibuses useful for your activities. The minibuses have been extremely popular this year with student and community groups, more so than ever before and so there has unfortunately been several cases where groups haven’t been able to get hires for peak times (e.g. during weekends). We will be reviewing our minibus processes shortly and so will take your comment under consideration. Unfortunately, the vehicles are extremely expensive and timely to run and so there is a lot to consider in terms of budgeting etc.

  If you have any other questions or feedback please feel free to bring it up directly with the Opportunities team. 

 22/23 Semester 1

• REF: 66-2212-7103609 - Superteams Entry

  Your comment: For Superteams because it's so popular would it be possible to make the allocations a bit fairer? One suggestion would be to limit all clubs/socs to one team for the mens and one team for the womens, then open it up to having multiple teams per club/soc after a couple of hours or days? This way it would ensure more clubs/socs could have teams participating, thus making it more fun, rather than some clubs having 4 teams while others are unable to get a single team despite logging on for when registration opened. Thank you!

  Our response:

  We’ve considered several ways over the years to try and make Superteams entry fairer, but we believe the fairest option is complete luck of the draw through online registration. It’s an extremely popular event and we completely appreciate that due to this not all students will be able to participate, and that it can be frustrating when it appears that some groups of students have more teams than others. However Superteams is a student event and not a club or society specific event, therefore if we were to limit entries judging by the club or society they are a part of this would mean that we take the opportunity away from other students (not involved in student groups) to be able to compete. These student groups who’ve been fortunate to get more than one team could just enter as a group of friends and not as part of their club/society and so it would be impossible to manage.

  There is also the fact that we have over 120 clubs and societies and space for only 28 women’s teams and 28 men’s teams, therefore offering a team per club or society would be unmanageable as if all were to take up the offer we would be massively over capacity. We’re sorry to hear that you were unable to get a team. If we could logistically make it bigger we absolutely would! If you would like to get involved in the event through other means though we are looking for student volunteers to help at the event. If you are interested please get in touch with our Student Opportunities Officer on suopportunities@aber.ac.uk. 

 21/22 Semester 2

• REF:66-2205-2142929 - Uniform for SU staff

  Your comment: I think it would be great if the SU photographers wore either uniform, or just hoodies, so that they were recognisable at events, as sometimes its hard telling if they are doing photos on behalf of the SU or are just random people taking photos.

  Our response:

  Thank you for your comment.

  Great idea! We’ll look at getting them to wear a SU high-vis in the future.

• REF:66-2203-6149617 - Men's officer

  Your comment: I was voting in the SU elections for volunteering officers and after voting for the Women's officer I thought that it might be prudent to have a similar role, the Men's officer. Just as the Women's officer role exists so that women can talk about the issues of concerns they have that they might not be comfortable talking about with a man, there should be an officer allowing men to talk about issues they might not be comfortable discussing with women. Whether it be mental or physical, both genders face experiences unique to them which they may not feel comfortable discussing around friends or family, and as such, there should always be someone to accommodate that role, allowing them to open up.

  Our response:

  Can I ask that you submit your idea for Men’s Officer here: https://www.abersu.co.uk/changeaber/yourideas/

  Again thank you for your comment.

• REF:66-2202-6229007 - Sports in the SU

  Your comment: Having the 6 nations on in the SU is so good, I love watching live sport with a pint and the prices are much cheaper in the SU so I find myself being more likely to come here. I wish there was other sports such as football too as I'm a big fan of Liverpool and seeing them on a big screen is better than a TV in a pub, also a pizza and a pint is a great deal. Living on campus too with no TV in my accom it's better and I don't have to walk down the hill either

  Our response:
  Thank you for your feedback about showing live sport in the SU. The cost of having Sky Sports or BT sports in the bar was historically very expensive but we will check again

• REF:66-2201-733309 - Recycling crisp packets

  Your comment: Would it be possible to have a crisp packet recycling point in the SU building? The nearest one according to the Walkers crisp packet recycling scheme is the other side of Bow Street, so having one on campus would encourage people to recycle more which is better for the planet than the packets ending up in landfill.

  Our response:

  Thanks for your contact - we do actually have a crisp packet recycling point at the SU reception so if you’d like to drop any off there our green volunteering team ensure that they are recycled effectively.

Semester 1 21/22

• REF:66-2112-4084505 - Health and safety courses

  Your comment: Thank you to all of you at then su so much for organising the health and safety courses over the past few days, I've attended two sessions and they've both been excellent, and again thanks to Paul at Red Turtle training for doing them so brilliantly, he's been an excellent instructor, it's been very helpful, and also it's great to have these available to students at a discount and on campus.

  Our response:

  Many thanks for the positive feedback on our health and safety course provision. We are always looking for opportunities to support our students to build their skills and experiences and its great to know that these were useful to you!

• REF:66-2111-909227 - Show sports in the SU

  Your comment: I think the SU should play sports games such as football or rugby on the big screen. I know the football teams would deffo come watch! The alcohol is much cheaper here so definitely think that would attract people. Also, please can you play the 6 nations games?! I love the student atmosphere and would feel comfortable drinking and watching here!

  Our response:

  Thank you for your feedback regarding showing sport in the SU bar We will be showing the 6 nation games as usual as they are on terrestrial TV - we don’t currently have a subscription for Sky or BT so cannot show the football or other sports.

 20/21 Semester 2

• REF:66-2104-7552215 - Thank you SU

  Your comment: The SU team have been absolutely awesome throughout this whole COVID nightmare. The officers have really worked as a team and all staff have been approachable and very obviously working for the good of all students. I have heard positive comments form locals and the SU's efforts this year have been noticed in town. Just a shame we couldn't vote for them in the Aber celebrates awards as they deserve it.

  Our response:

  Thank you for your kind comments, I will share this with the Team.

   

 20/21 Semester 1

• REF:66-2011-9682027 - Studying in the SU building

  Your comment: because of covid restrictions, i find it really hard to get a space in the library to study, meaning i have to use the su to study as i live in penparcau and cant really leave the uni between lectures. today while i was trying to study, the music in the cafe was excessively loud so i went and politely asked the bar staff to turn it down a bit, their response was to turn it down for a min then turn it back up even louder. during this pandemic, doing uni work and research is hard enough without these kinds of incidents.

  Our response:

  Our apologies that you experienced this. I have spoken to the manager of the Students’ Union bar and the staff member in question and agreed that any future requests to turn down the music will be responded to.

• REF:66-2011-5192327 - Facilities in the Students' Union

  Your comment: I came to this university 5 years ago, all but different circumstances economically I agree, and with COVID as well, but having said that I have visited multiple universities up and down the country, universities with less student numbers than us and what they offer is just head and shoulders above what our SU provides. I don’t know a single university SU in this country that doesn’t show live football on Sky and BT, a massive draw for all manners of students, even in difficult times the SU closing times outside of lockdown and rules (10pm) are shocking. It seems there has been no innovation at all from the SU other than £2 for 2 pints, any SU has offers like that and not just for a  promotional period to get rid of dating stock but all the time. Cheap drinks need to stay. The SU practically has no social media presence at all, other than the President posting occasionally, usually not actually regarding the SU. The food quality is inconsistent and lacking any USP’s. the events at the SU regardless of COVID have been getting less and less. The money that needs pumping into the SU to turn it back into a place to come to and not a derelict looking hotspot for 5 people to play pool a night. The SU needs expanding, the large function room needs to be a space used all the time with ping pong tables and good music, invest in quality things like a better juke box system, people won’t come if the quality is poor. My best example of the SU being tight is getting rid of the best seller strong bow dark fruits and introducing magners dark fruits because it’s cheaper per unit. Come on SU you could compete with other establishments in town, you have the space and the draw but because of the lack of funding, imagination and want from who ever is In charge has turned the place into a clear dump!! 

  Our response:

  Thank you for your feedback. You raise a number of points and I hope to address them below:

  1. Obviously Covid-19 has impacted hugely on what we can and can’t do this year. Events are essentially outlawed at the moment – we had a great programme planned for Freshers 2020 and beyond but that had to be shelved with Welsh Government restrictions and replaced with an on-line programme. We don’t anticipate that changing during this academic year but will be reviewing our events provision once things become clearer.
  2. There are plans to invest in the SU building and spaces with a major refurbishment – I have copied in the SU chief Executive for further comment about this
  3. Regarding prices, we have listened to feedback and have introduced pricing offers in response. For January we plan to have a series of ‘Welcome Back’ drink promotions
  4. We will be looking again at Sky TV in 2021 but at the moment with the very restricted capacity of the SU bar, it is not viable nor can large groups gather to enjoy it
  5. I am surprised by your comments about the food offer as this is not consistent with the general feedback which has been very positive
  6. The main function room is required by student clubs and societies to meet for their activities and as such we can’t unfortunately give it over to your suggestions all the time

• REF:66-2011-3292112 - Therapy animals

  Your comment: You should get an animal room or rooms where students can go to play with animals and you could get therapy dogs or just general animals like hamsters, Rabbits, Guinea pigs etc. Where students could relieve stress and improve their mental well-being, and students could volunteer to clean them out and luck after them ( I'd happily do both), please can this be set up because of no animals being allowed in accommodation and all the stress related to exams and the pandemic and just life

  Our response:

  Thank you for your feedback, I’m delighted to say that the Students’ Union do traditionally organise dog calming days each year as part of key periods such as the lead up to exams in partnership with Guide Dogs Cymru. We have also explored alternative in the past cats or other animals such as those suggested, unfortunately our regional location has made it difficult to extend such events although we were in the process of developing a working relationship with Dyfi Donkey’s near Machynlleth. Unfortunately in line with government restrictions and in part to protect volunteers from such organisations who may be in the extremely vulnerable category with regards to Covid we are unable to organise such events at the current time, but we might be able to put something in the calendar soon. Our events are promoted via our website, social media and term-time weekly email sent to all students so please keep an eye out.

   

• REF:66-2010-7396607 - Transport to Llanbadarn

  Your comment: I'd like to ask if there's any chance that there could be a shuttle going from the town to the Llanbadarn campus since my seminar takes place there. Of course, if I would be the only one going there from town, I'd deal with going on foot

  Our response:

  There is an Aberystwyth University organised shuttle bus from Penglais to Llanbardarn which has a regular timetable (details on this page) – this is free You can use the 301 from town to Llanbadarn or opt to get the 03 to campus and then the free shuttle, but both these are public bus services and therefore charge £1.20 per journey unless you opted to buy a bus pass from the union.

19/20 Semester 2 

• REF:66-2003-6706212 - Social opportunities for mature students

  Your comment: I'm not really sure who to present this to but I wanted to share my experience as a first year mature student (over 40). It's lonely! I am surrounded by groups of youngsters who know each other well and have very different priorities to me. I live off campus and am not interested in joining the groups and societies, or if I am interested I am unable to because of childcare. There is no mature student society anyway and I have considered starting one but again... Time! Were you able to wave a magic wand, what I would love is a 'mature student lounge' - a space where anyone is welcome but would perhaps only appeal to those of us who appreciate the quiet.. People who understand about juggling kids/mortgages with going back to school. Comfy chairs where you are just as likely to nap as read (and can snore without judgement) because you've been up since 5 for a reason other than alcohol. Discussions with people who are passionate and obsessed with their study. Please do not read this as a complaint against the typical student, rather a gap in the market for those of us who don't fit into the mould. I'm sure there are many ways to make my experiences here more sociable and I am working independently towards that, I just thought in the meantime it might be helpful to know how I feel (although I could be the only one!) 

  Our response:

  Thanks for your feedback, your comments are useful and welcomed. I accept and take on board your comments around a student-led society unfortunately Mature Student and Student Parent type groups as two examples have proved challenging to sustain. We have had individuals willing to lead these however availability and time are often a delicate balance and as result we’ve increasingly tried to find groups of students rather than rely on one person to initiate and drive interest in it but also attract other such students which can be a challenge. We continue to encourage students interested to come forward and will work with those students as much as possible to start and maintain a group – to drive this we do organise meet and greet sessions a couple of times a year to initially bring students who identify as mature or student parent to come forward and self-organise where willing with support. In relation to a specific space in terms of current spaces we have recently added to the Union Building additional seating in the Picturehouse designed to be a more intimate space for students and we’ve notably seen different types of students than would be found in other spaces taking advantage of this, particularly mature and postgraduate students. With regards to a specific space it would be interesting whether this is something that other students in similar circumstances would like, it’s not something that has been suggested as far as I am aware but I will feed it back to the relevant officers to consider and gather more feedback on. 

• REF:66-1911-2336221 - Accessibility in the Students' Union

  Your comment: I would like to ask if you could fix the majority of doors around the student union etc. Being disabled, I find the doors very very heavy and quite a few of the buttons to open the doors inside and out are not working. Thank you

  Our response:

  The Students’ Union has been concerned about the accessibility of our building for quite some time and each year the University have assigned money to develop the main front doors of the building, but unfortunately each year we have been told that this money has not been available at the time a project has been feasible to deliver in terms of estates work. Plans are currently being developed that explore the refurbishment/development of the Students’ Union building and the potential timescale for these works and the value of any door replacement meant that the plans for new doors were again postponed. We will continue to pursue the front door accessibility as a priority but would also be keen to hear about any other doors that have been an issue for you so that we might be able to also consider those further too.

19/20 Semester 1

• REF:66-1903-6469318 - Games room in the SU

  Your comment: Hi there, I really think the SU should be open 24/7, not necessarily the bar etc. But as a space to hang out and play pool at all hours. Or you should create a games room, just pool tables is a bit boring and it would be nice to have foosball, air hockey and other games, in a room open 24/7 for students to use. There's not much to do in the town centre let alone on campus and I think the uni would really benefit from a games room/open hours 24/7 in the students Union. Table tennis would also be another one of my ideas for things to be included in this proposal!

  Our response:

  Thank you for your comment about the SU being open 24 hours. Due to the nature of the SU building, it would have to be staffed to allow 24/7 access which could not currently be justified. However, there maybe spaces in campus more suited to this that could be accessed via student ID Aber cards and hence remove the need to be staffed. We will look into this.