In Term One, we asked commuter students about their travel patterns and journey time, their academic experience and engagement with the Royal Holloway community while studying. Here is what we have learned.
In Term One, we asked commuter students about their travel patterns and journey time, their academic experience and engagement with the Royal Holloway community while studying. Here is what we have learned.
THE PROJECT
We at the Students’ Union are committed to making your time at Royal Holloway as fulfilling and enjoyable as possible. We also acknowledge that the academic and extracurricular experiences of commuter students are very different from students living locally or on campus. During Term One the Students’ Union launched a Policy Inquiry to into the commuter student experience to better understand the issues they face whilst studying at Royal Holloway.
Stage one of this Policy Inquiry involved a survey in Term One that asked commuter students a variety of questions about their commuter experience while studying at Royal Holloway. We have shared the full results of this survey with members of the University Senior Leadership Team, University professional and academic staff, and the Senior Leadership Team at the Students’ Union. The second stage began at the start of Term Two with a paid focus group, and a second paid opportunity for commuter students to journal for one week about their day-to-day experiences. A second survey with more cash prizes will be launched later in Term Two.
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED SO FAR
A total of 654 students participated in the first survey. The infographics below outline the types of commuters that took part and what they had to say about their experience at Royal Holloway.
We asked students in the survey how their commute impacts their social life, their physical and mental health, and feelings of loneliness. The results below present how students felt their commute has impacted these elements of their student experience.
Below we have shared the range of services, facilities, and events commuter students engaged with during their time on campus.
We sought to understand how integrated commuter students were within Royal Holloway by asking whether they felt part of an academic community or sense of belonging with the Royal Holloway community. We also asked if they have had opportunities to make new friends. The top five themes from the comments are listed below. Respondents also shared how satisfied they were with University support, academic contact time, and their overall student experience.
NEXT STEPS
There will be a second survey launched later this term, and we will share the results with students, the University and the Students’ Union Senior Leadership Team following analysis. A list of recommendations will also be shared with the University and Students at the end of Term Two.