How the UCL Student Experience Panel helps refine our student-facing services

Feedback from the Student Experience Panel can help the development of your service, initiative or project. See how students’ voices have shaped four major projects across UCL.

The Student Experience Panel is a community of UCL students across all levels of study who have registered their interest in providing ad-hoc feedback on UCL initiatives and projects. Students who sign up to the Panel receive an email newsletter around every six weeks offering them a number of opportunities for engagement, such as focus groups, workshops or online polls. 

The aim of the Panel is to support our efforts to place student feedback and insights at the heart of our decision-making. 

What are suitable activities for the Panel to take part in? 

Activities for the Panel should focus on UCL-wide initiatives such as the Strategic Plan 2022-27 consultation, or non-academic aspects of the student experience such as support services and facilities. The Panel is not used for faculty- or department-specific research purposes. 

UCL staff who have put forward opportunities to the panellists have often found the students’ perspectives to be invaluable in developing their plans and ideas. 

How has the Panel helped other UCL staff? 

UCL colleagues working on a wide array of different projects have already benefited from student voices garnered through the Student Experience Panel. 

Continuous Improvement Team

For example, the Continuous Improvement team used the May 2022 edition of the Panel newsletter to recruit for two on-campus focus groups, where participants could discuss ways in which communications to students could be improved. The insights from the sessions will now be used by a project team to guide the release and implementation of UCL’s new CRM system. 

Library Services 

The Library Services team, meanwhile, convened a lunchtime workshop for students to have their say on the experience of using UCL’s libraries. Feedback from the workshop, including students’ requests for new spaces that allow students to participate in online meetings, was shared with Library Services’ senior management team and will contribute to their upcoming Customer Service Excellence assessment.   

askUCL

Students from the Panel have also shared their feedback through an array of online activities. The Student and Registry Services (SRS) team were able to map the student experience of using the askUCL student enquiry service through a series of online workshops. The askUCL project lead reflected that using the Student Experience Panel “newsletter was extremely helpful in giving us quick access to students” who were keen to share their views and ideas. 

The askUCL project team also used a £10 voucher incentive to encourage students to take part in the online sessions. Other opportunity providers have offered students from the Panel a free lunch or breakfast pastries when taking part in on-campus activities. 

How can I get feedback from the Student Experience Panel? 

The Student Engagement and Experience Unit contact a pool of staff colleagues from central services on a regular basis, asking them to put submit any new opportunities for the Student Experience Panel. The Student Engagement and Experience team manage the Panel and will be to provide advice and support on how to set up your activities. 

Please contact us if you’d like to be added to the pool of staff contacts for Student Experience Panel opportunities. 

Sign up as a staff contact for UCL’s Student Experience Panel