An email was sent on 23 November by Professor Kate O'Riordan, Dean of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, to all students in the School following up on the Student Pulse Survey carried out in October.

Dear students,
 
I’m writing to follow up on the short survey that was open from 12-21 October, which focused on your educational experience so far this term. Thank you to those of you who took part and shared your views in this listening exercise.
 
As part of our commitment to collaborating with students in Media, Arts and Humanities, we want to acknowledge where we are taking action, what is going well, and where improvements can be made, in our School and as an institution.
 
Within our School, you told us that:

• You wanted more drop-in contact time with staff. As a result, we now have a member of faculty who can speak to your course and module questions available in A181 every hour of every working day, easily bookable here: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/schools/media-arts-humanities/internal/students/academic-meeting
• You wanted clearer Canvas sites. We are using a template to make sure that sites are set out in similar ways. In addition, the MAH Student Advisory Board have taken on a project to ensure consistency in the way this template is used. We have also asked faculty to address this and so many canvas sites are now much better organised. We will continue to monitor and improve sites in response to your feedback.
• You wanted a better sense of community. We are working on a collaborative MAH Festival in June to bring together all the fantastic staff and student work across the school, and to build an exciting shared project. We are asking for student input into our regular news and events. We are working with the Student Advisory Group, the Student Connectors and the Student Reps to explore what works for you with you, and the Student Advisory Board are working on specific communication projects and events to build an even greater sense of community in the School. They are also working on wellbeing strategies to build collegiality across the School.

We are discussing all the survey findings and will keep you updated on the actions we are taking.
 
If you have questions, you can contact our MAH Student Experience Team – MAH-StudentExperience@sussex.ac.uk
 
For general enquiries, you can email the School Office on media-arts-humanities@sussex.ac.uk
 
Across the University, we heard that students really value face-to-face teaching and there was also understanding of the vast amount of work put in by staff to create meaningful online learning experiences. Delivering blended teaching, learning and assessment in a global pandemic is complex and evolving – which is why we are gathering your feedback as the situation continues.
 
Key results

• A majority of students were very positive about their course and tutors: they found tutors good at explaining things within the new ways of teaching, available when you need academic support, and that their course continues to be well-organised. The many positive comments for tutors, recognising the challenging circumstances, were very much appreciated.
• There were mixed findings on experiences of technology in online teaching, with use of Zoom receiving both positive and negative comments.
• Recording of lectures and use of Canvas have largely been received very positively.
• A significant majority said they value face-to-face teaching in addition to online, but the experiences of students being taught face-to-face and online at the same time have been mixed (some very positive, some finding it not working well). This is invaluable feedback that is helping us to plan ahead for Semester 2.
• A majority also said they were finding it a challenge to connect with other students this semester.

We are already moving forward in response to student feedback: 
The University is running additional training for staff on using Zoom and other online teaching tools, as well as sharing existing good practice between staff as we all learn to adapt to the new teaching and learning environment. We are also working to share practices for organising Canvas and links to Zoom, to make this as accessible as we can.
In addition, we will be providing further guidance and support for you around online assessments soon.
 
We are continuously working to improve the sound quality of online teaching, which was raised as an issue; some of you will have experienced the benefits of this already as we roll out improvements for Zoom recording in teaching spaces.
 
A number of you asked for more spaces to study on campus. We have created a streamlined Click and Study service for booking spaces and this has now been expanded, allowing you to book a space for up to 20 hours per week. 
 
Finally, and crucially, it was very clear that connection is incredibly important to you, and to maintaining our sense of community. Schools and societies are working hard to help bring people together over this semester and beyond. We have also started a new Student Focus Connectors project, with student teams working with Schools to co-create activities that help people connect, whether through their course or outside it – if you have ideas, these are gratefully received (FocusConnectors@sussex.ac.uk). 
 
Thanks again and best wishes,
 
Kate  
 
Kate O'Riordan
Professor of Digital Culture (she, her)
Dean of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities