Hertfordshire and Nottingham Trent foundation in Animation

Without further ado, I would like to ask about the real insights of student life and overall course satisfaction of the aforementioned colleges. Both are great and ranked very top with respect to the course. So I figure it's best to ask the students who really live there and took the course. So again, how is the area around the campus? Is it quite easy to access restaurants, 24-hours stores, supermarkets, and some entertainments? How is the overall satisfaction of students taking the course at both of the Unis? Pros and Cons of both colleges? What it's like to be in part of an Animation Foundation course? Which of the universities are ranked higher than the other in real life? ( not based on university generated ranking lists) Which university will be more recognized when we, as graduates apply for a job? Thank you all for taking your time to answer my list of long questions.

Hi there PaperBoi,

Sorry to see you haven't had any replies yet - hopefully I can help to bump the post for you and you'll get some replies from current students at Hertfordshire and Nottingham Trent. In the meantime, have you considered looking at websites such as Which Uni, What Uni, UniStats and The Complete University Guide? They may offer some further information about student satisfaction & info about the courses (from current and past students) if no one else can!

Hope this helps,
Harriet
Third Year Photography Student and Student Ambassador

Hello @PaperBoi!

Unfortunately I don't study Foundation Animation, but I am a current Herts student, living on campus! Hopefully I can give you a few answers

How is the area around the campus? The campus is very nice. We have two campuses but arts courses (such as animation) are taught on our main campus, College Lane. Both campuses are linked by a shuttle bus which is a 5 minute journey. College Lane is nice - there are plenty of modern facilities, and the Library (which is open 24-7) has many computers/Macs with course-specific software (such as software used for animation). There is a fair amount of green-space on this campus as well as other parks a short walk away. College Lane is home to hundreds of newly build student flats which are a great place to live. There are several varieties, ranging from 12 to 6 person flats, as well as private Studio flats. The campus has a gym which is open 24/7 and a several sports pitches. College Lane is also home to our on-campus pub, Elehouse and nightclub, The Forum.

Is it quite easy to access restaurants, 24-hours stores, supermarkets, and some entertainments? Very easy - we have a Premier on campus which, although not big, does offer a good range of pastry's, produce, fresh food & meat, groceries, drinks, stationary, toiletries etc. There is a Co-op and a OneStop within a 10 minute walk of the campus, both of which are open until 11pm which is convenient. There are 3 supermarkets in Hatfield - Asda, Aldi and Tesco, however the first two are closer to campus (a 5 minute bus ride/20-25 min walk away). Asda is open 24/7. Entertainment is pretty good - we have a very active SU which is home to many societies. You can view them here! As I mentioned earlier we also have a nightclub on College Lane campus and a pub on both campuses. The nightclub typically hosts events on 3-4 nights a week. There are also a range of events at The Elehouse, such as Karaoke, Comedy Night, Pub Quiz and live sports. Nearby is St Albans which also has a range of events. If all of that isn't enough, it only a 25 minute train ride to central London, where there's plenty to do. There are a lot of places to eat on and around the campus. There are several cafes dotted around the campus and a Subway, as well as the main campus restaurant which serves a vast range of food for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. The nearby Galleria shopping centre has a vast range of restaurants including Pizza Express, Nandos, Bella Italia, McDonalds, Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito. The nearby Whetherspoons is also good for a cheap meal.

Which of the universities are ranked higher than the other in real life? Having applied for placement jobs, I would say that ranking isn't hugely important, as long as your University has a good academic reputation (e.g. no cheating, no plagiarism) which most UK Universities do have. I know that Herts has a fairly good reputation for Animation, but it's hard to tell which is ranked best in real life. You'd probably want to find the opinion of an industry professional to help you answer that question. Hertfordshire does have good employability ratings - 96.5% of students are in employment or further study six months after graduating, which I believe is the highest percentage of any University in the East of England. Course Accreditation is an important factor to look at when considering employability/industry recognition. Herts animation degrees are ScreenSkills accredited.

What it's like to be in part of an Animation Foundation course? Would you be able to point me in the direction of the Animation Foundation course you have found at Herts. I can't seem to find it on our system (it's been a long week ), so if you could point me in the right direction, I would be happy to provide you with more course information! I will also then be able to find out more student satisfaction info for you too.

Pros and Cons of both colleges?
Pros:
- Close to London
- UH maintains close industry links
- Course Accreditation
- Campus layout with green spaces
- Lots of nearby amenities, several of which are open 24/7
- Best University in the area for employability
- Great sports facilities (including on-campus pool, gyms, rockclimbing, court space, etc.)
- Plenty of student events organised by Uni, SU, Societies, Elehouse, The Forum
- Good academic/course facilities
- Plenty of on-campus accommodation
- I could go on....

Cons:
- Campus can feel a little quiet on weekends (due to students going home for the weekend, no commuting students being around) but in the 3 years I have been here, I have found that on-campus flats don't really empty out that much for the weekend - most of my flat mates (past and present) tend to stick around for the weekend.
- Local taxis can be a bit pricey, but it's quite easy to avoid this by walking, cycling, catching the bus (which is pretty cheap) or sharing a cab. I rarely need to use a taxi so this isn't a problem for me, and when I need to travel there is a good bus service between campus and rail station.

Hope that helps you! Get back to me and I will be able to give you some more course specific info too!

Hello and first of all, thank you so much for your reply! I really appreciate it, so I take it that moving around outside the campus is easy and safe by means of walking?
https://www.herts.ac.uk/courses/3d-computer-animation-and-modelling
Can I also ask if there is a bank on campus or near the campus? Is there a saloon nearby?

Thank you for your suggestion! The websites are really helpful and efficient.

Hi!

Yes, its pretty safe and easy to get around, in fact Hatfield Constabulary has assigned the University a dedicated Police Officer and two dedicated PCSOs. Within campus areas there are also regular security patrols. I have always felt pretty safe in my time in Hatfield, in fact the Complete University Guide puts us within the Top 30 safest University Towns in the UK. I would say walking around off-campus is fairly easy - most students walk around Hatfield. The only thing is there is a small hill to walk up/down near the campus but that doesn't stop us - you can also avoid it by leaving campus via a different exit.

There is a bank on-campus - Santander which is open 4 days a week. IN the town centre (20-25 min walk) there is a Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC and Halifax. I wouldn't worry too much about banking though (unless you are in a situation which depends on regular bank access) - my bank is one of those in the town centre but I have only ever had to physically go to the branch once in my 3 years here. We have several ATMs dotted around each campus too which is handy.

We have a Unisex hair salon on College Lane campus. But there are others nearby too.

I would certainly recommend coming by for an open day too if you can. You can find out details about our open days here.

With regards to the course you have linked, are you aware that it is a Bachelors degree (not foundation)?

Hi PaperBoi,

No worries. Glad to have been of help to you, they are really useful websites and great to compare universities and courses, too. I see a Student Rep from the University of Hertfordshire has spoken to you so hopefully you will get some answers to the rest of your questions!

All the best and good luck with your journey,
Harriet
Third Year Photography Student and Student Ambassador

Hello and first let me apologize for my delayed reply, my SPM exam is keeping every part of me occupied. And second, thanks again for providing this information! But going to an open day would be a bit difficult as I have to complete my SPM exam which ends on the 28th of November this year. Also, there is a foundation course for animation in Hertfordshire International College but I just couldn't find the link somehow hahahaha.

Ah thanks for pointing that out, I had forgotten to check the HIC course list. Just wanted to definitely make sure the course was available, which I see it is!

Best of luck in the SPM exams! Well done for keeping focused on it - I'm sure your hard work will pay off. Does this mean that you are currently studying in Malaysia? Herts has quite a large Malaysian community, a friend of mine who is a Malaysian International Student was telling me that Herts is one of the most popular UK Universities for Malaysian students. I hope to head over to Malaysia myself to visit him next year The University also works on several projects in collaboration with Malaysia.

Once again, best wishes for the exams!

OH neat! Yes I am a Malaysian and I have a British-Malaysian friend here in my school that vouched for your infos and yeah, I can see HIC is indeed a popular choice in Malaysia too. Thank you for your kind regards about my exam and I will put my brain to the test. Actually I have quite a number of questions regarding the accommodation fees as the fees stated online at the official HIC website contradicts to that of what was mentioned in the prospectus provided by my local further studies agencies.

Are you considering the on-campus accommodation? For the most up-to date information, I would check the University of Hertfordshire accommodation website. You can take a look at that here. I don't believe our prices for the 2020/21 academic have been published yest, however, I imagine it will be within 5% of this year's prices (2019/20).

You can also email our accommodation team on [email protected], who will be more than happy to help They may also be able to give you official figures for next year.

You can also download the most recent HIC Prospectus here https://www.hic.navitas.com/download-student-guide - it might be worth checking that against the prospectus you have already been given, to see if there are any differences in accommodation pricing.

Yes I am considering the on-campus accommodation. But unfortunately the same problem still arises. My conditional offer says that it is from the 7th of September 2020 to 4th of April 2021 which takes about 31 weeks but the prospectus and website says that it is from September 2020 to June 2021, so what happens in the 2 months between April to June 2021? I have sent an email questioning the problem to [email protected]. Thank you again for your assistance!

Okay, my understanding of the dates are this:

A lot of September may be spent doing international orientation things and settling into the HIC, before your course begins - domestic students won't arrive until later - sometime around 15-20th September. The course will likely end in April, which will be followed by exam season which could take until mid-may. Then between May and June is when resits/retakes take place (for students who have not achieved high enough grades in some modules).

Another possibility is this. The HIC may run on slightly different dates to the University of Hertfordshire. If it's an international prospectus for UH that you have, it may have the UH dates and not the specific HIC dates listed.

To be certain about which dates apply to you I think it would be best to contact HIC. Please drop them an email on [email protected] or call them on +44 (0)1707 285 590. They will be able to tell you the exact dates you will need to be living here during that course

Sorry for any confusion this may have caused!