We have listened to our users and implemented service improvements to help remove barriers and make it easier for you to access the help and information you need, when you need it.

You have told us many of the central support services can be difficult to access. 

We have launched the Student Life Centre.

We have extended our face-to-face presence for student access with a newly developed Student Life Centre and pop-up locations across campuses. As well as dedicated Support to Study and Safeguarding bookable drop-ins.  We have launched a new Student Life brand in collaboration with our students and we have invested in the UK's first Cubbie space. 

You have told us you want timely and individualised access to mental health support. 

We have reconfigured the mental health and wellbeing team to ensure a consistent and timely response to registrations within a 48-hour period. Students can select a time and mode of assessment that suits their schedule. 

We have also invested in a dedicated University of Wolverhampton mental and social health support line, WLV Student Life Connect. This is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, along with free access to the My Possible Self app. 

We have launched a range of psycho-educational sessions (online wellbeing workshops) that students can access without registration.

Access mental health and wellbeing support here.

You have told us that you want consideration for adjustments and support for a wider range of issues including menopause and pregnancy. 

We have reduced thresholds to register with the Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion team to include offering adjustments to those students who are pregnant and navigating menopause. 

You tell us that navigating Student Finance England systems can be challenging in addition to overcoming unforeseen financial hardship 

We have expanded our dedicated Student Money and Hardship Team and remain on offer to support with advocacy, signposting, financial welfare advice as well as emergency loans and hardship payments. 

We remain one of the few universities that offer access to fully funded Dyslexia Assessments. 

What's more...

We understand that financial barriers can become study barriers and effect a student's ability to engage meaningfully. 

We continue to offer a £300 access bursary to all full-time home undergrad students, through WLV Wallet.

You tell us that feeling a sense of belonging on campus is important, but feeling safe is as, if not more, important to you. 

We have expanded our Student Safeguarding provision with a dedicated Head of operational safeguarding role who works closely with campus security colleagues, along with continued investment in our dedicated SafeZone app. 

You told us you need reliable PCs and laptops to study on campus 

We have upgraded student University PCs to Win 11 and are getting great feedback about them being much faster and more responsive.  And we have added more laptops to the loan scheme. 

You told us Wifi on campus is an issue

We have improved onboarding with the Geteduroam app, and have introduced better resources as well as pop-up sessions at enrolment hubs to help you get online quickly and easily.

You told us you want to get going with all things digital as soon as possible when you start Uni

We provide digital orientation resources through pre-arrival emails and the Get Set Badge. 

You told us you want to get help and advice with your IT and digital queries face to face

We now offer drop-in IT support in the Student Life Centre. This service is proving particularly popular! 

You told us you wanted to find topics more easily in Canvas 

We introduced a new search feature and course templates to standardise the layout. 

You told us you wanted to upskill in digital and cyber

We're pleased to be launching a new Digital Skills Badge. This bite-sized course covers the basics of cyber, data, and AI. You can complete it any time, at your own pace and share your badge on LinkedIn. We also provide training on accessibility software. 

You told us that Academic Skills support needs to be delivered at the right time and in the right ways to help you when you need it. 

Because you told us you want to attend Skills for Learning workshops but they sometimes clash with your lecture timetable, we also run evening and Saturday workshops throughout the semester. 

If you’d prefer not to wait, no problem, get in touch at skills@wlv.libanswers.com for further help.

Furthermore, we deliver academic skills workshops as part of module lectures. In the 23-24 academic year, we spent an additional 688 hours with students in these sessions, compared to the previous year!

You told us information on academic skills, referencing and using the Library needs to be made available at the start of your course.

The Library service – and particularly our Skills for Learning support – is now part of the new Get Set Digital Badge. This induction course is promoted to all students at the beginning of the year, and includes guidance on accessing our referencing, writing and research support. By December 2024, over 4,500 students had accessed this resource.

You told us Library opening hours need to be longer at the weekend.

We extended weekend opening during Semester One and Two at City and Walsall campuses. Harrison and Walsall libraries are now open 10am-10pm on both Saturday and Sunday, and continue to be 24/7 during peak demand periods.

You said Harrison Library was in need of updating, with a lack of variety of study spaces, IT facilities and tired old carpets and toilets. 

You said that the third floor IT Suite was particularly dated, with cramped and overcrowded study spaces.

We have now fully updated the IT Suite with a new spacious layout and a range of different PC study desks. Pods, booths, and new planters break up the space to make it feel more welcoming.

Now you've said: “The third floor feels fresh and spacious!”

You also said there was not enough power sockets and that those we did have were not accessible easily.

We have installed lots of additional plug sockets and our Estates & Facilities team have maximised the available power in the building. 96% of the study spaces on the third-floor silent area now have accessible power.

Now you've said: “The space is much more organised and the separate work spaces with plugs are really handy.”

We have also listened to your feedback about the need for the library to be cleaner, more welcoming, and with a greater variety of study spaces.

The ground floor layout has been completely updated with new booths, tables, planters, and an updated Skills for Learning area. New carpets and refreshed painting throughout the building make all floors cleaner and brighter. The toilets have also had a refresh.

Now you've said: 

“The space is more open, bright and accessible.”
“Feels more contemporary.”
“Welcoming and friendly.”
“The library appears much cleaner, it has better study spaces.”
“Looks welcoming, bright and spacious.”

You told us that processes, systems and policies at the University could be confusing, and that you don't always know where to go for help. Enrolment in particular can be overcomplicated and off-putting. 

This past year the University has focussed on improving your experience of administration during your time with us.

Starting with getting you re-enrolled as quickly and easily as possible, we introduced enrolment hubs as one-stop shops to resolve any issues you had and simplified the re-enrolment process.  

We have also updated a number of policies to make them clearer and fairer for our students. You will have seen that we have been using video shorts to help you understand our policies and the wide-range of services at the university that work to ensures you are able to achieve your goals. Find video guides here. 

For our students who had a difficult previous year and were required to repeat some of their study, we launched our ‘Back on Track’ initiative that provided support and encouragement for such students to re-enrol and get back on track to complete their qualification.

As you look towards the completion of your qualification, we have revised our graduation ceremonies (held within a magnificent new venue) to make them even more of a spectacle and celebration for you. 

Annual surveys, like the NSS, are an excellent way for universities to collate and analyse data on student satisfaction. But you don't need to wait for a survey to get your voice heard. You can have your say all year round in a variety of ways, including:

• talk to your Personal Tutor or Academic Coach         
• engage with your Course Rep or School Rep through the Students' Union
• visit or contact ASK@WLV

Student Voice is not just one-way communication; it's about enabling dialogue and creating space for collaboration. We work closely with the Student's Union to get a deeper understanding of your views. Key themes are also highlighted through your tutors and academic coaches, so regularly engaging with them can enhance your experience and the experience of future students.  

Both quantitative data (stats from surveys) and qualitative data (i.e. what you tell us) is collated, analysed and fed back to the relevant departments and areas. In particular, we're looking out for what's important to you, what's worked well, and what we can improve on.     

Your views are integral to the improvements we make to your course and to student services. We take on board what you say and ensure that the student voice is represented in key decision-making across the University. What you tell us can trigger a change in a process or system, help us develop our infrastructures and allow us to invest in areas that matter to you. What's more, engaging with our service users helps us to understand the impact of changes on your everyday experience.

Of course, it's no good to make improvements if you don't know about it! We'll communicate with you in various ways throughout your academic journey at the University and beyond.