果冻影院

Shape 果冻影院 (formerly Unitu) is an online platform that helps 果冻影院 and student reps collect and analyse student feedback in real time, to enable faster improvements to the student experience.

果冻影院 has now centralised funding for听Unitu,听an award-winning online student voice platform, so departments can adopt the platform at no cost to themselves.听

Last updated: 1 November听2022.听

About Shape 果冻影院

Shape 果冻影院 is a space where students, academic representatives and staff can collectively raise, discuss and resolve both academic and more general experience issues. Shape 果冻影院 is powered by the Unitu platform.听

The Unitu platform allows students to discuss and vote on matters they鈥檇 like to escalate to departmental staff for attention. This enables the department to consider and, where appropriate, act promptly to address these concerns, and for students to see the decisions and action that has been taken.听

How Shape 果冻影院 can help your department听

Shape 果冻影院 can help 果冻影院鈥檚 academic departments in a number of ways:

• Transparency and time-saving 鈥� When staff respond to student feedback on one of Unitu鈥檚 boards, all students on the board can see the response. This saves staff time in instances where multiple students would have previously asked the same question via email.
• Student Academic Representative elections 鈥� When staff held their rep elections through Unitu they reported a significant reduction in time听and resources required to manage the process. This also creates more awareness, with students engaged with the platform from early on, and their reps from the start of term. 听听
• 鈥淐losing the Loop鈥� on student feedback 鈥� When staff respond to student feedback posts on Unitu, they have the opportunity to record the outcome in the 鈥楾ogether we Changed鈥� section of the Unitu board. This evidence of positive change reassures students that their feedback and views are being considered by their department. This can even help departments achieve higher Student Voice scores in surveys such as the NSS.
• Quicker access to student feedback 鈥� Some staff have previously been frustrated that they only seemed to receive student feedback at their termly Staff-Student Consultative Committee (SSCC) meetings, where some issues may have been 鈥渂ubbling under鈥� for several weeks. Unitu allows students and Student Reps to flag any issues promptly, so that they can be swiftly addressed, or discussed in greater depth.听
• Connection with students studying remotely 鈥� With more of 果冻影院鈥檚 teaching and enrichment activities being delivered digitally, Unitu enables students off-campus to give their feedback whenever it suits them. Students can submit their questions / ideas / praise / issues flexibly on Unitu.

Improving the student experience

As well as providing a forum for responding to student feedback and queries, Unitu can provide useful insights into student sentiments. These insights may be helpful in planning further student experience developments in your area of 果冻影院.

When submitting posts on Unitu, students are encouraged to include keywords and categorise their feedback according to segments that match those used in the National Student Survey (NSS), such as Learning Resources and Student Voice. A monthly report is sent to departments.

Shape 果冻影院听remains an opt-in service at 果冻影院: departments are not obliged to use it, and the institutional set up means that there is no cost to departments that choose to adopt it.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Shape 果冻影院 in use?

Existing users of the Unitu platform include Faculties and departments such as:听

• IOE, 果冻影院's Faculty of Education and Society
• Faculty of Laws
• Faculty of Engineering
• 果冻影院 Medical School
• 果冻影院 Queen Square Institute of Neurology
• Department of Mathematics
• Department of History
• Arts & Sciences (BASc)
• Department of Greek & Latin

The following 果冻影院 departments adopted Shape 果冻影院 recently:

• Bartlett School of Planning
• Bartlett School of Architecture
• Institute for Global Prosperity
• Natural Sciences degree (virtual department)
• Science and Technology Studies
• Department of Space & Climate Physics
• Institute of Americas
• History of Art Department
• Department of Geography
• Department of Anthropology
• School of Pharmacy
• Division of Biosciences
• Institute of Global Health
• Institute of Ophthalmology
• Division of Infection & Immunity
• Division of Medicine
• Division of Surgery & Interventional Sciences

You can find information on the various other universities that have adopted Unitu .

Is student feedback given anonymously on Shape 果冻影院?

Students鈥� posts on Unitu boards are anonymous by default, and Unitu鈥檚 anonymity is often influential in encouraging students to come forward with feedback.

鈥�鈥淭he Unitu interface with the anonymous posting option has made a huge difference. Students were able to share concerns, doubts and frustrations openly, which allowed them to be addressed and also to make other students feel like they were not alone in their frustrations.鈥�, PTES 2020 comment from MSc Clinical Neuroscience student

While historical data suggests that around 90% of Unitu posts are constructive, Unitu does discourage disrespectful or offensive posts in a number of ways. A 鈥渟entiment checker鈥� warns students before posting if their proposed message contains any rude or offensive language.

After a post is made to the private (i.e. Reps and students only) board, Reps can choose to remove any posts that do not meet Unitu or 果冻影院鈥檚 guidelines. There is also a three-strike policy (warning 鈥� removal of anonymity 鈥� ejection from Unitu) in place for repeat offenders, which either Reps or staff members can apply.听

What makes a successful Shape 果冻影院 board?

Departments that choose to adopt Shape 果冻影院 will receive guidance from both Unitu and 果冻影院 on setting up their Unitu board.

Some core principles for fostering an active and engaged community of Shape 果冻影院听users are:

Solicit feedback 鈥� Staff and Reps can both request feedback pro-actively, and this can be particularly useful in the run-up to an SSCC meeting, as it helps add detail to the meeting agenda. You could also considering asking for feedback after a large lecture, or after the first coursework deadline.听听

Engage the Reps 鈥� Encourage the Student Academic Representatives in your department to promote Shape 果冻影院 through their channels, including social media and Virtual Common Rooms. You can even invite them to speak about Unitu for five minutes at the end of a lecture or seminar, . Departments can even choose to hold their Rep elections on Unitu, which may boost early engagement with the service.

Build early momentum 鈥� It can sometimes be worth encouraging students to post a query on Shape 果冻影院, even if they initially express it in a different forum e.g. verbally or via email. Other students will see the response from a Rep or staff member on their Shape 果冻影院 board, which reduces the likelihood of duplicate queries and encourages them to use Unitu in future.

Will departmental staff have to respond to every query on Shape 果冻影院?

No. All student posts on Shape 果冻影院 are initially reviewed by a Student Academic Representative, who can respond to the post themselves, ask for more information / detail, or open the post for staff responses. A significant portion of posts, particularly simple questions, will be dealt with by Student Reps before they are escalated for staff attention.

Many departments appoint several staff members as Shape 果冻影院 board moderators, so that the most appropriate member of staff responds to specific questions.

How to adopt Shape 果冻影院 in your department

If you鈥檇 like to find out more about getting Shape 果冻影院 for your department, or arrange a demonstration,听contact Yusuf Ozkizil in the Office of the Vice-Provost (Education & Student Experience).

Requests to join for Term 1 this year are now closed, but departments are welcome to start discussions to join听next academic year. Yusuf and the rest of the Shape 果冻影院 project team will be happy to assist you with this.