Disabled Students’ Officer Support
Document
Report by Sarah Melville, Customer Insight Manager, Jan 2016
Introduction
What follows below is a variety of information provided to you from a variety of sources (student
surveys, membership databases, workshops, focus groups, online thought forum).
It’s important to recognise that while this data is hugely rich, it should be used with caution. The
data provided is detailed and in general, reflective of the wider student population – HOWEVER, it
can never be assumed to be what every single student needs / wants. This data is designed to give
you a feel for student mood, issues and priorities.
Also worth acknowledging are the dates of the analysis. Some areas of discussion are more current
than others, however in many cases, the mentioned student issues are still very relevant. The
general themes below could be used to support you in developing your manifestos or campaign
plans, but we would encourage you to talk to your student peers too for their up to date thoughts.
If you are unsure what the graphs are telling you, the insight team are happy to explain this to you
(contact sarah.melville@nottingham.ac.uk). What we can’t do is advise you what you should then do
with this information – that’s up to you as part of your campaign strategy!
If you are successful in your campaigning and are elected in as an officer, then the Insight team
would be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss further information we have available
to support your role.
Many thanks for taking the time to look through and good luck in your adventure!
Who is our audience?
How do students with and without a disability differ?
Satisfaction
Sense of belonging with the University
Sense of belonging with the SU
SU’s Impact on University experience
SU’s impact on wellbeing
% that binge drink more than twice a week
% that have experienced emotional difficulty
in last 12 months
% who engage with the SU space physically
once a week or more
% who actively engage with a SU activity,
club, society etc once a week or more
% who engage with SU online media once a
week or more
% that participate in IMS
% who have a sport membership
% who have a society membership
Mental resilience where 7 is high (average
across 3 questions)
% who attended welcome festival
Students with a
disability
6.5/10
6.9/10
4.2/10
80%
80%
12%
74%
All students
25%
19%
6.4%
7.9%
34%
30%
10%
30%
67%
3.6/7
13%
27%
59%
4/7
47%
51%
Other information specific to students with a disability
Their campus, age, first language and where they are from….
6.9/10
7.3/10
4.8/10
86%
87%
8.7%
48%
Additional information that we only ask students with a disability
The ‘new’ student portal.
We worked with a group of students to explore what was needed in the new version of the Portal.
Students with a disability made the below requests and suggestions:
The 2015 version of the Portal:
UoN Portal current advantages
Exam timetables
Past exam papers
Apply for bursaries
Homepage showing new features, updates
and opportunities (e.g. focus groups)
Simple white background (not distracting)
Centralised info in one place – easy access
portal helps keeping track of past modules
taken & gives information on each modulehelpful for choosing new ones
UoN Portal current disadvantages
Many students unaware of its capacity
Hard to find some elements – hard to navigate.
Homepage is hidden
It has limited useful purposes
Index is long and dull
‘University’ and ‘Me’ tabs are vague
Can be quite slow
Very cluttered
It’s easier to find things using google search
Some sections don’t work properly
Would prefer Portal to be merged with other
information sources such as moodle, blue castle,
website etc
The layout of different sized boxes is distracting
Newsfeed videos are not always available, nor are
transcriptions
The portal is complex to follow (students with
dyslexia and dyspraxia request straightforward,
easy to follow steps that you don’t have to
remember – enable a prompt system)
PRIORITY: What must be on the redeveloped version of the Portal? (Would use at least termly, and
can’t live without)
Push notifications for
Daily timetable that
Reading lists (with an
Calendar option
daily tasks
you can add to
alert system)
Learning disability
entitlements &
support
Locations of `working`
loop systems(currently have to
check & email the
lecturer)
News (BBC, links to
surveys, focus groups,
opportunities to study
abroad)
Multiple text and font
options
Referencing support –
endnote principals
Option to add events
from news stream into
calendar
Maps and journey
planner around
campuses (directions,
distances, rest stop
locations, gradients of
hills)
Opening hours
(doctors, shops,
counselling)
Example past
coursework for each
class mark
Allow personalisation
– instructions on how
to personalise &
different widgets,
option to add page.
Personalise homepage
where you have the
option to decide
whether you want
careers, moodle, SU,
finance etc
Recently used
function (similar to
firefox)
Motivational texts –
reassurance, advice
on how to achieve a
particular class degree
Simple index for the
iHub
Search function
University version of
gumtree
MIDDLING PRIORTY
University email
LOW PRIORITY: Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have… (not urgent)
Hotmail link
Netflix
Wikipedia
Facebook (particularly
the event function)
Mobile banking
principles / money
dashboard to track
accommodation
money and view
overall spend across
Skype
Tesco shopping app
principles (e.g.
‘favourites’)
Snapchat
multiple bank
accounts
Whatsapp
Directory of
restaurants locally
(including vegan
options)
BBC Sport - ReaderRSS feed for blogs&
news
MyVodafone App
(perhaps something
similar for credits /
meal card – to track
useage, see deals)
Aim for simple, clear,
uncluttered format
Accommodation
information
online timetable, a
reminder function,
provide notifications
for useful things
Bandcamp –
download free music
& order CDs / find
new artists
Outlook Email – can
flag important things /
easy to read / create
folders
Alarm app
Youtube
Twitter feed
Google translate
List of which doors
need swiping in (only
card access)
S Health (pedometer)
– keep track of HR and
workouts
Imgur – find gifs &
memes
Amazon App
Dropbox
Medisafe – remind
times for medication
A ‘link pocket’ (can
save links & return to
them – cloud app so
accessible
everywhere)
Weather
Colourful
Lecture notes
A faster version of
Change It where you
can log a complaint
and track how it’s
being actioned
Events calendar –
highlight lectures and
meetings
Clubs and societies of interest, or already have memberships for: