Why so much hate on Anglia Ruskin

Hi

New here, I'm starting at Anglia Ruskin next month and was looking for a bit more info on it, so I found this place and after reading quite a bit I noticed it gets alot of hate and I'm not sure why.
Can someone explain why it is seen this way?

I only chose it as it is close to home as I have responsibilities at home I cannot move out at the current time.

Reply 1

username5358764

12

Original post by Anonymous

Hi

New here, I'm starting at Anglia Ruskin next month and was looking for a bit more info on it, so I found this place and after reading quite a bit I noticed it gets alot of hate and I'm not sure why.
Can someone explain why it is seen this way?

I only chose it as it is close to home as I have responsibilities at home I cannot move out at the current time.

Can you site the references where this university gets hate comments and reviews? We can continue the discussion from there.

Thanks.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by sang-jun

Can you site the references where this university gets hate comments and reviews? We can continue the discussion from there.

Thanks.

I don't have them to hand, it is just what I read earlier on in the day on here and other sites, apologies

Reply 3

username5358764

12

Original post by Anonymous

I don't have them to hand, it is just what I read earlier on in the day on here and other sites, apologies

Can you specify the common things that people supposedly hate this university for?

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by sang-jun

Can you specify the common things that people supposedly hate this university for?

The tutors are useless and/or don't know what they're on about
the administration just want money and offer no help
they don't listen to students

They're the main ones I remember

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

OP

I did read a few of them but they never explained what happened, so just trying to see if I made a bad choice

whos anglia ruskin?

OP

Not so much as a wrong choice, just there were other options as London is only a 45 minute train journey, whereas the Chelmsford campus is a bus journey away.

Reply 8

username5358764

12

Original post by Anonymous

The tutors are useless and/or don't know what they're on about
the administration just want money and offer no help
they don't listen to students

They're the main ones I remember

The idea of tutors being useless is dependent on your relationship with them. The more you integrate yourself in the university and form a relationship with them, the greater the mutual benefit between you and the tutor. It is important to account for the context of the people stating that tutors are useless. They themselves may have had bad experiences because they were never fully integrated into the university, and so that hindered their relationship with the tutors. Tutors are qualified to be there; it is not as if universities hire people with no qualifications off the street. There is a strict admissions process for jobs at universities that make sure that as far as is possible and practicable, the right person for the job is hired. Furthermore, when people say that the admin just "want money", you need to provide the context of that situation. It may range from a student feeling as if they never got their student loans' worth of education, to someone that has not paid for textbooks and the admin are requesting payment. Context is essential to understand the problem at hand. Also, they should listen to students.

Remember, isolated incidents are not representative of the entire staff. Yes, each staff member represents the university in an ambassadorial sense, but as an individual, our actions reflect ourselves, and those actions should not be reciprocated onto others to then cast an unfair judgement on them.

Reply 9

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by sang-jun

The idea of tutors being useless is dependent on your relationship with them. The more you integrate yourself in the university and form a relationship with them, the greater the mutual benefit between you and the tutor. It is important to account for the context of the people stating that tutors are useless. They themselves may have had bad experiences because they were never fully integrated into the university, and so that hindered their relationship with the tutors. Tutors are qualified to be there; it is not as if universities hire people with no qualifications off the street. There is a strict admissions process for jobs at universities that make sure that as far as is possible and practicable, the right person for the job is hired. Furthermore, when people say that the admin just "want money", you need to provide the context of that situation. It may range from a student feeling as if they never got their student loans' worth of education, to someone that has not paid for textbooks and the admin are requesting payment. Context is essential to understand the problem at hand. Also, they should listen to students.

Remember, isolated incidents are not representative of the entire staff. Yes, each staff member represents the university in an ambassadorial sense, but as an individual, our actions reflect ourselves, and those actions should not be reciprocated onto others to then cast an unfair judgement on them.

Thank you for the explanation, after reading that I feel like I may just be putting too much thought into it

Reply 10

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous

Hi

New here, I'm starting at Anglia Ruskin next month and was looking for a bit more info on it, so I found this place and after reading quite a bit I noticed it gets alot of hate and I'm not sure why.
Can someone explain why it is seen this way?

I only chose it as it is close to home as I have responsibilities at home I cannot move out at the current time.

Because it is not a good uni. I know league tables are not everything, but they do give some indication and anglia Ruskin is 113th in the complete university guide and 99th in the guardian league tables. Additionally it does not have a good reputation at all amongst any decent employers and you're career options will therefore be severely limited upon graduation.

Reply 11

Anonymous #2

Additionaly, depending on your a levels or what your responsibilities at home are you should look into deferring and going to a better uni or retaking your a levels. It will be far better for your graduate prospects even if it means sacrificing your responsibilities at home it will be worth it as it is your future.

Original post by Anonymous

The tutors are useless and/or don't know what they're on about
the administration just want money and offer no help
they don't listen to students

They're the main ones I remember

Hi
I'm sure you want other students' opinions and I'm positive some of them will be along soon to tell you more about ARU but just to clarify on your points to hopefully put your mind at ease:

1. our lecturers are all experts in their fields and in many of the areas they are still practising their craft/conducting research/making big steps for our society. For example, our Cambridge School of Art lecturers are practitioners in their field and all very active in the local art-scenes and beyond, helping art students get experience in local gallery spaces and curating their own exhibitions in the city. Another example could be how many of our health lecturers returned to their field / came out of retirement during the pandemic to help during COVID-19 Response. If you can let me know what you're studying, I hope I could give a more poignant example to your specific course.

2. in regards to offering help, I think university is a very big place and if students' don't ask it can be easy for a student to feel left to one side. My recommendation here is to ALWAYS ASK! There is SO much support in place and to be honest, it's not always used as widely as it should be our students. For example, for academic advice, we have free workshops and 1-2-1 tuition which can help you with referencing, essay writing, using technical software etc, this is called Study Skills Plus. As for Health & wellbeing support, we have entire teams dedicated to this not to mention the SU who will provide totally confidential third-party advice, if you don't want to go through the university's systems. We have counselling sessions available, too and disability and dyslexia support for those who need it. We also have English Language support or free Modern Foreign language courses you can take as part of your degree, depending on how your language skills are. Right now we have our ARU Facebook Group for all applicants and ARU Together Group (For self-isolating students), too. Our aim is to make sure our students never feel alone.

3. In regards to listening to our students, we have a whole series of things we are always working on and changing and in particular, it's the name of the game for our fantastic Student's Union. They are really active and amazing people who make big and small changes all to better ARU, a place they're passionate about. From making the campus more accessible right down to cheap pints and more cash machines on campus - they really do listen! You can follow them on social media to see what they're up to and get involved.

I'm sorry to give so much information there, but the reality is ARU is full of wonderful people, supportive communities and features that are sometimes missed even by the students who study here. It's a big campus with lots of people and my one piece of advice would be to ALWAYS GET INVOLVED! You'll discover so much more in the way of support AND success when you embrace the whole university experience. - oops cheesy! :colondollar:

I really hope to see you in September and if you have any questions, we're always online whether on TSR or Facebook :smile:

Just give us a shout.

All the best,
Megan

Reply 13

5hyl33n

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Original post by Goldie-Is-King

whos anglia ruskin?

It’s an university. :smile:

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 14

username5355996

17

Original post by 5hyl33n

It’s an university. :smile:

sorry I was thinking it said friend angela ruskin :biggrin:

Reply 15

5hyl33n

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Original post by Goldie-Is-King

sorry I was thinking it said friend angela ruskin :biggrin:

Don't worry. You made me laugh.

Reply 16

Anonymous #3

Original post by Anonymous

Because it is not a good uni. I know league tables are not everything, but they do give some indication and anglia Ruskin is 113th in the complete university guide and 99th in the guardian league tables. Additionally it does not have a good reputation at all amongst any decent employers and you're career options will therefore be severely limited upon graduation.

Can you back it up. You’re making bold claims and I was thinking on joining.

Reply 17

alexandra877

7

Original post by Anonymous

Hi

New here, I'm starting at Anglia Ruskin next month and was looking for a bit more info on it, so I found this place and after reading quite a bit I noticed it gets alot of hate and I'm not sure why.
Can someone explain why it is seen this way?

I only chose it as it is close to home as I have responsibilities at home I cannot move out at the current time.

Hi!

I went to ARU a couple of years ago and ended up dropping out. Not sure if I'll be any help with why ARU receives a lot of hate but I can tell you about my experience!

Mainly, my issue was with the accommodation. I lived in private accommodation called CB1, which wasn't owned by the uni - consequently, they had no say in any issues we had. I found CB1 to be awful at dealing with problems, and security and staff generally just felt they were only out to make money off you. And if you look at reviews on other websites, people seem to feel the same way.

ARU Cambridge as a university isn't bad. It's a very small campus (probably smaller than a UK secondary school) and has a nice feel to it. It's pretty central to town and is in a good location. I found the course interesting (studied Criminology) and found the lecturers to be really kind and understanding. Dropping out was also a very straightforward process and the staff were very understanding and did everything they could to help. In general, I have no complaints about the university. It's very small, as I mentioned, and so the social life isn't brilliant. I also think ARU attracts a lot of people who don't want to go to big cities for uni, meaning that a lot of people that I met were generally not overly concerned with going out and nightlife. So if you're looking for a sociable uni with a big nightlife, ARU isn't your best option. Also, the halls owned by the uni aren't great, so people generally stay in CB1 or The Railyard, which are about a 15 minute walk to the uni. The halls are very modern compared to the accommodation options owned by ARU, but not very sociable. I believe some CB1 buildings have a communal area, but as far as I know, the Railyard and Bragg / Aston House in CB1 do not. So generally, people only tend to mix with their flat and, if you don't have much in common with your flat, it can be hard getting to know people aside from your course.

As a whole, ARU isn't a bad uni. It just depends what you're looking for. If you're wanting to go because of circumstances outside of your control and aren't planning on going out a whole lot, it's a fairly decent uni, with nice lecturers and a small campus. But if you're looking for a good social aspect, with a big city campus, ARU won't be that.

I hope this helps! :smile:

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 18

Rose240193

1

I am in my first year at ARU Chlemsford and I have found the teaching and support offered next to nothing. You would think that as we are in the middle of a global pandemic, that the lecturers would be willing to offer additional support to students as we are all stuck at home and not able to access teaching and resources as we would be able to in the 'normal world'. I am really tempted to start first year again in September than waste my time for another 5 months.

Original post by Rose240193

I am in my first year at ARU Chlemsford and I have found the teaching and support offered next to nothing. You would think that as we are in the middle of a global pandemic, that the lecturers would be willing to offer additional support to students as we are all stuck at home and not able to access teaching and resources as we would be able to in the 'normal world'. I am really tempted to start first year again in September than waste my time for another 5 months.

Hi @Rose240193
I'm really sorry to hear you are not feeling supported during your first year at ARU. The iCentre is always available to help you, you can contact them at [email protected] or you can use the Ask ARU platform. If your issue is faculty-based they will be able to direct you to the right person to speak with in the faculty. Please note, you may have to wait a few working days for response this way.

Alternatively, if you have already explored these avenues you may feel like making a complaint or just letting us know your feedback so we can help.

If I can help in anyway please do privately message me. If not, please do make use of any of the aforementioned contacts, but please do not give up on what I'm sure has been a difficult year during which you have worked exceedingly hard.

All the best
Megan
Team ARU

Why so much hate on Anglia Ruskin

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