Change it

“I’m a postgraduate based at the Exton campus, so a microwave in the research center in the library would be an amazing addition. Or even potentially in the new student common area in the library! It would be great to be able to bring in our own food and have the option of heating it up!”

In the mean time, you can use the microwaves in the CSU building on Exton Park 🙂

Students at Warrington have asked for there to be a private space on campus for them to express milk.

A student has requested that there shouldn’t be mandatory AI use in degree assignments; it should be optional only.

“Members of staff should not be allowed to use generative AI in their delivery of teaching, including images on Moodle and slides, sample statistics/extracts/code, and ESPECIALLY in communication with students via email or assessment feedback. Never before have we had access to the amount of knowledge and resources we do at this point in history, so it makes no sense whatsoever for these to be ignored in favour of the hallucinations of AI. It may generate resources instantly, but the adverse effects on people and the planet are far too vast to justify this immediacy, especially when students are paying ~£10,000 per year to be guided by experts in their field. If members of staff aren’t able to fulfill their teaching obligations without generative AI, they are demonstrating a lack of volition and ignorance of their subject that should discredit them from a teaching position.”

“The uni to stop using and encouraging students to use ai or telling us that we can use it”

Kingsway students have requested for there to be some stationery and art supplies at Kingsway (perhaps for sale), so they can always access what they need on campus. Considering the location of Kingsway, which is quite far out of the way from the city centre or other shops, it would be convenient!

“As students at University Centre Warrington, we regularly commute between Sarah Parker Remond House and Time Square for lectures, skills sessions. Currently, the lack of organization at the SIP Arpley Road car park has escalated into a major problem for both students and local workers. Because it is an affordable local option (£2.50 cash / £3.40 via the app), it is heavily relied upon by everyone. However, the complete lack of painted bays has created a chaotic environment where vehicles routinely double-park and block each other in. As the university previously highlighted in their email, if a student, member of staff, or member of the public had an emergency and needed to leave urgently, they would be completely trapped. I am launching this petition to ask the Chester Students’ Union and University Facilities team to engage with SIP Car Parks to make the site safer for everyone. Proposing, that the university either looks at funding to rent a partial block of the car park via a corporate lease or establishes a clearly designated Student Zone. By organizing our student parking into one clear area, it will restore structure to the rest of the lot, ensuring that both the public and students can park safely without facing gridlock.”

Sign this petition!

“The sign at the top of Hollybank should clearly state that pedestrians can walk through to Exton Park. I never knew until I tried it half way through my 1st year and knowing that saved so much walking time. I now am seeing lots of new students hesitating at the top lost trying to get to the main campus so it might help.”

“I would prefer that music in the student gym on Exton Park be altered to a more updated playlist with a wider genre of songs or even to have the choice of a radio station. The gym is a place to go and be motivated and music is a big part of that experience.”

We have heard you (loud and clear!) and have released an initial statement about your concerns. We’re still inviting conversations, though – do get in touch if you want to be a part of this.

The Seaborne sensory room space will be developed over the summer and will re-open in the new academic year. We will share more information when we receive it!

UPDATE: the sensory room in Seaborne library seems to have closed for this purpose. We are trying to find out whether a replacement sensory space has been created elsewhere.

“Given their current plans to train their models on present/future works prepared by students (not to mention what they might do with past work), I think it’s imperative that the university consider alternatives. Students at UoC have a right to privacy when it comes to their own works, and should get a choice in whether their submissions are used to train AI. If the University of Southampton can do it, then so can we.”

“[UoC should] use a different assessment program to turnitin, as they are planning to use students work to train its own ai models.”

Turnitin has agreed to delay the release until September 2027 and are redrafting the agreement. The Officers are asking questions to the University about their stance and have released a statement (find this on their instagram!). If you have more opinions about this issue, please let us know via submitting a Change It.

A student wants us to host some short course qualifications. We invited the student in to chat with us about what they’d like to see, and we’ll be looking into running some in the new academic year alongside our usual workshops.

A student has requested some different types of University of Chester merch, with different colours added (not more blue!!). The Officers are taking this feedback directly to the University team in charge of merch. CSU are also working with students to create more of our own merch.

We’ll be gathering student opinions about this, and these findings will be presented to the University as evidence. More updates to follow! 68% of those polled agreed that PhD students should have their own professional email addresses and profiles on the website.

The full-time Officers are taking this idea to the Sports and Active Lifestyle team, and will be lobbying to make these workshops available. In the poll on social media, 77% of people said they’d attend a workshop in our online poll (208 votes).

We have been in conversation with the Sports and Active Lifestyle team. More updates to follow!

You’ve told us there aren’t enough charging ports in seminar rooms for everyone with laptops! The Officers are contacting the University to ask about this.

Update 1: the new teaching spaces in Binks have much better access to charging ports. They will continue to work on other spaces over the next academic years.

Great news! A budget has been secured for this Change It idea, and the branded UoC lanyards have been designed. These will launch with the new academic year. New starters will be given theirs as they arrive and continuing students will be able to exchange theirs from the helpdesks as they start coming back! Unfortunately they are yellow instead of red because of the University’s branding design, but they are at least UoC branded.

There is now a CSU tile that links to our website under ‘Community’ on the UoC app. Our icon has also been updated from a beer emoji to the CSU logo!

There is a large recreational cycle network attached to Exton Park campus (the Millennium Greenway), one of the most senior ranking officials in British Cycling studied at Chester, and cycling is a very widely used method of mobility within the local area!

Want to adopt this idea? Get in touch, or contact the Sports and Active Lifestyle team directly on sal@chester.ac.uk.

A student has suggested that there should be a Doctor Who society, but is unable to run it themselves. Do you like this idea? Head to chestersu.com/create for all the info on starting your own society.

“I would like to suggest that the Chester Students’ Union consider expanding visible recognition of the Lunar New Year across campuses. Increasing campus-wide recognition of the Lunar New Year would feel culturally relevant and locally meaningful. Collaboration with departments such as Chaplaincy, Sport & Active Lifestyle, and student societies could create inclusive activities that promote cultural exchange and belonging across the wider student body.” Do you like this idea? Email us on studentvoice@chester.ac.uk for more information.

“I would like the Chester Students’ Union to consider offering a CSU badge to all elected and appointed student volunteers, including committee members, as a visible recognition of their contributions.” If you agree, let us know by emailing studentvoice@chester.ac.uk.

A student sadly suffered from a pulmonic embolism due to the contraceptive pill, and wants to raise awareness for the symptoms of blood clots and campaign for people to be tested for this more frequently. We invited the student in to chat with us but did not get a response.

The Officers do work closely with the University on app/Moodle changes, and always look to embed student feedback into any changes that are made but we understand this is frustrating for you to constantly adapt to. Hopefully with the big improvements this year, the app and your Moodle will change less often. We’ll still feed back any issues you’re facing to the right teams at the University about these!

In an ideal world, of course we would have more parking for students on all campuses. Unfortunately, there just isn’t the space to add this in, and the University are working towards a more sustainable future instead of encouraging more cars on campus too. We will be working with the local community and Council to see if there’s anything that can be done about nearby parking, though.

There are bursaries and financial support for students via the University’s Your Money team (find them on Portal). The University have unfortunately declined to offer guarantor assistance.

Unfortunately, due to Martyn’s Law, the Inpost lockers cannot return to campus. This is due to members of the public driving or walking onto campus to use the lockers. Instead, we will be contacting Inpost to see if there’s any spaces in the Garden Quarter for the Inpost lockers to go, so they can still benefit students in or around Exton Park campus.

We’d love to hire a third Advisor for our Advice team, but unfortunately we do not have the funding to pay for this. We know that getting an advice appointment a little further away than you’d like is frustrating, but please do not worry – our current Advisors will guide you through the whole process before any deadlines – just make sure to book yourself in or contact us as soon as you can. Don’t leave it til the last minute! Find more information here: chestersu.com/advice