University Centre Somerset

Do not.

I have many things to say about this place. I was promised to be treated like an adult and upon arrival I was spoken to like I was a small, innocent child. Not good.

The new art building which promised to be so good is messed up. The floors are constantly dirty and there is no management or punishments when things are on purposely vandalised. The building floods so much (seriously its flooded at least 3 times this year and has destroyed a students work) and sewer pipes burst all the time spewing a nasty stench all around the campus. The macs are not good. If you save a file in the wrong place by mistake then you have LOST your work. Oh and I'm not done. As well as the new art building being a crumbling, dirty mess- while you're trying to concentrate the music department is directly below you- that's right. Music, singing, and drums are constantly ringing through the place and being a huge distraction.

There is no air conditioning and the heating is barely worth it. Some of the art rooms don't even HAVE sinks. Don't even get me started on the prices of the food... I refuse to pay almost £3 for a simple mediocre sandwich.

What did I learn? Nothing. I came to this college expecting to learn about art but instead it became a competition and a case of proving yourself. I learnt nothing and I am highly disappointed.

The grading of the work? Be careful. The grading system is a little biased in which if you do not do a piece of work in a way the teachers like you will get marked down for it. It should be the students choice after all- not to appease the teachers.

Paperwork. Lots. And lots. Of paperwork. I'm doing an art program and rather than being graded for my drawings I'm being graded for how I use my English in my sketchbook. I'm taking an art course not an English course.

Life drawing is not that good. We would very rarely do this and when we do it was always the same model and no one else. No different genders or body types. You'd get more study from a photograph than life drawing classes.

The chips in the college are good but if you want a takeaway beware. They put your chips in a cheap paper bag with a plastic front. Most people have vinegar with their chips but sadly the cheapness of the bags mean that the moment the vinegar touches that bag you have a pile of chips on the floor and a huge hole in your bag. Sometimes you don't even need to add vinegar- the grease from the chips dissolves the bag for you!

Maths? Total joke.
I attended a class with other students who spouted nothing but racist, sexist, nazi-like opinions and disgusting insults at anyone and there is nothing done about it. To make things worse your papers don't even get marked! How am I supposed to get better at maths without knowing how I did?

Medical care..............
I was having a bad time of the month and I was in tears with pain. I needed paracetamol due to the sheer agony I was in. I went to the reception and I was told I was not allowed to have any paracetamol in case I was actually an addict! I was in agony and desperate.
In the end I had to waddle down to the nearest shop, drowning in my own tears just to get some paracetamol. Even a phonecall to my parents to prove I wasn't an addict wasn't good enough for them. What do they expect me to do to prove it? Don't even bother asking the college for anything.

Disgusting, dirty, unorganized, expensive, worthless, belittling, waste of time college. I think I would have preferred to have skipped the college and just go to full time work.

Stay away if wanting to do ICT.

Lecturers are highly uneducated in most areas they are teaching.
Expect to be treated like a child.

The only good thing out of the two years I spent there was the paperwork.
Otherwise, I learnt nothing and spent the entire two years trying to earn money working rather than waste my time sitting around when work had been finished yet I HAD to be on site.

Many many occasions too where classes we're being misinformed on how certain computing systems work. Management is far beyond a joke.

I studied a degree in computing here. In the 3rd year, (that's at honors degree level) 2 of the modules were a complete waste of time. Data warehousing assignment consisted of a 1 page hand in that taught me nothing. Total waste of time. We made a calculator for the IOS module, resourced from a youtube video! Wow!! The other modules have not readied me for a job.

I read through the previous years dissertations and they were full or grammar and spelling errors, and still getting 70 - 80% passes. Disgusting. They also consisted of creating very simple sql databases. Open university needs to investigate this as I cannot see how they have approved the module content.

My wife also studied here and her experience was just as poor. In the first term of one of her years, she'd had 3 different lecturers in one module.

The lecturers are poorly qualified themselves. This colleges focuses more on the arts etc.

I have witnessed a new lecturer leaving within their probationary period and they openly admitted this was due to the politics within this college.

Now finance are chasing me for money that should have been paid by student financed leaving me even more bitter.

I will not recommend this poorly organised excuse of a college to anyone. I will not allow my children to attend this college when they are old enough.

Avoid avoid avoid unless you want to carry out a very less then mediocre qualification and learn not a lot!

Studying here for 2 years doing an extended diploma in Media Development.
College is honestly great. Teachers are understanding and flexible, and treat students with respect.
The content we learn is relevant and the lecturers teach it in a way that's easy to understand.