Student Accommodation Survey 2014-15 Introduction:

Residential and Business Services
Thursday, 11 December 2014
Student Accommodation Survey 2014-15
ALBANY PARK
Introduction:
This report is based on the responses collected from the December 2014 Student Accommodation Survey.
In analysing the results, the ‘not applicable’ responses were removed to provide an accurate breakdown of
responses.
To ensure easy analysis of information in the bar and pie charts, the very satisfied and satisfied responses
have been combined to represent overall satisfaction. Likewise, the dissatisfied and strongly dissatisfied
responses have been combined to represent overall dissatisfaction. The individual breakdown of responses
has been preserved in the separate survey reports.
Average results have been calculated for each category and are presented alongside the individual responses
to the category questions for ease of reference. All averages are worked out by averaging all survey
responses and not by averaging the hall or survey section percentages.
The survey results showed a notable difference in International student satisfaction compared to Home/EU
student satisfaction, therefore the overall satisfaction and catering satisfaction categories are broken down
further and also presented by Home/EU and International satisfaction.
Demographic Breakdown:
Total Respondents:
1220
Male:
451 (37%)
Average Age:
19.7
Undergraduate:
Female:
769 (63%)
1053 (86%)
Postgraduate:
167 (14%)
Home/EU:
816 (67%)
International:
404 (33%)
Self-Catered:
507 (42%)
Catered:
713 (58%)
Year of Study:
1st :
3rd:
Postgraduate:
737 (60%)
138 (11%)
84 (7%)
2nd:
4th:
172 (14%)
89 (8%)
1
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
The No. of Students Per Residence who Completed the Survey
RESIDENCE
Agnes Blackadder Hall
Albany Park
Andrew Melville
Angus House
David Russell Apartments
Deans Court
Fife Park (CLOSED)
Fife Park Apartments
Gannochy
John Burnet Hall
McIntosh Hall
St Regulus Hall
St Salvator's Hall
Stanley Smith House
University Hall
TOTALS
No. Completed Survey
Percentage Per Residence
175
119
96
11
293
42
N/A
54
39
46
92
61
69
5
118
14%
10%
8%
1%
24%
3%
0%
4%
3%
4%
8%
5%
6%
0%
10%
1220
100%
Year on Year Overall Survey Catergory Satisfaction?
2
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
How Satisfied are you with our Service Overall?
EU/Home Student Overall Satisfaction:
International Student Overall Satisfaction:
3
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
Housekeeping overall averages (Self Catered):
4
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
Survey results:
Overall Satisfaction Question
How satisfied are you with our services overall?
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
RESPONSES
%
41
67
7
36%
58%
6%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
30%
64%
5%
0
0%
1%
115
Disability
If you declared a disability on your accommodation
application form, how satisfied were you that your
needs were met?
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
RESPONSES
%
1
3
1
20%
60%
20%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
34%
53%
11%
0
0%
3%
5
Cleaning and Housekeeping
The quality of our cleaning/housekeeping service:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
RESPONSES
%
10
22
3
27%
59%
8%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
46%
45%
7%
2
5%
3%
The friendliness and approachability of the staff:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
37
%
39
26
2
58%
39%
3%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
62%
33%
4%
0
0%
1%
67
The quantity of cleaning you receive:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
RESPONSES
RESPONSES
%
10
11
2
37%
41%
7%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
40%
45%
11%
4
15%
4%
27
5
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
Portering Service
The quality of our portering service:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
The friendliness and approachability of the staff:
RESPONSES
%
43
28
1
58%
38%
1%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
46%
50%
3%
2
3%
1%
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
74
RESPONSES
%
49
25
0
65%
33%
0%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
53%
42%
5%
1
1%
1%
75
Residential Services Management Team
The quality of the service provided by Residential
Services Management Team:
SURVEY
RESPONSES
%
AVERAGE
Very Satisfied
47
41%
37%
Satisfied
64
56%
59%
Dissatisfied
4
3%
3%
Strongly
0
0%
1%
Dissatisfied
The overall responses to questions and queries you
ask them:
SURVEY
RESPONSES
%
AVERAGE
Very Satisfied
45
42%
37%
Satisfied
56
53%
55%
Dissatisfied
4
4%
6%
Strongly
1
1%
1%
Dissatisfied
115
106
The availability of these staff:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
The friendliness and approachability of the staff:
RESPONSES
%
42
59
11
38%
53%
10%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
30%
60%
9%
0
0%
1%
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
112
RESPONSES
%
55
55
5
48%
48%
4%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
45%
48%
5%
0
0%
2%
115
6
Residential and Business Services
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Student Accommodation Services
The quality of the services provided by Student
Accommodation Services:
SURVEY
RESPONSES
%
AVERAGE
Very Satisfied
31
28%
30%
Satisfied
66
59%
61%
Dissatisfied
12
11%
7%
Strongly
2
2%
2%
Dissatisfied
The overall responses to questions and queries you
ask them:
SURVEY
RESPONSES
%
AVERAGE
Very Satisfied
33
31%
31%
Satisfied
63
60%
58%
Dissatisfied
6
6%
8%
Strongly
3
3%
3%
Dissatisfied
111
105
The application process:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
The friendliness and approachability of the staff:
RESPONSES
%
31
58
20
26%
49%
17%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
26%
55%
15%
9
8%
5%
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
118
%
44
57
6
40%
51%
5%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
37%
56%
5%
4
4%
2%
111
The response time for questions and queries:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
RESPONSES
RESPONSES
%
29
65
8
27%
61%
8%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
30%
57%
10%
4
4%
3%
106
7
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
Wardens
The quality of our Wardennial Services:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
Hall/residence discipline:
RESPONSES
%
55
57
3
47%
49%
3%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
51%
44%
4%
1
1%
1%
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
116
46
55
10
41%
49%
9%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
36%
51%
9%
1
1%
3%
Pastoral/welfare support and advice:
RESPONSES
%
50
57
7
43%
50%
6%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
44%
48%
6%
1
1%
1%
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
115
RESPONSES
%
43
46
3
46%
49%
3%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
42%
52%
4%
1
1%
2%
93
The friendliness and approachability of Wardennial
staff:
SURVEY
RESPONSES
%
AVERAGE
Very Satisfied
62
53%
59%
Satisfied
51
44%
37%
Dissatisfied
2
2%
3%
Strongly
1
1%
1%
Dissatisfied
The overall response to questions and queries you
ask Wardennial staff:
SURVEY
RESPONSES
%
AVERAGE
Very Satisfied
44
42%
48%
Satisfied
56
53%
47%
Dissatisfied
4
4%
3%
Strongly
1
1%
1%
Dissatisfied
116
105
The hall/residential community:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
%
112
The availability of the Wardennial staff:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
RESPONSES
RESPONSES
%
59
48
7
51%
41%
6%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
48%
41%
8%
2
2%
3%
116
8
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
Student Committee
The accessibility of the Committee:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
The events they organise:
RESPONSES
%
48
48
9
45%
45%
8%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
39%
53%
7%
2
2%
1%
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
107
%
61
37
9
56%
34%
8%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
41%
45%
13%
1
1%
2%
108
The interaction with the Committee:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
RESPONSES
How your subscription is spent by the Committee:
RESPONSES
%
48
48
7
46%
46%
7%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
38%
51%
10%
2
2%
2%
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
105
RESPONSES
%
49
40
13
47%
38%
12%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
34%
49%
14%
3
3%
3%
105
9
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
Facilities
Common rooms (e.g. libraries in residences, study
areas or computer rooms):
SURVEY
RESPONSES
%
AVERAGE
Very Satisfied
19
16%
30%
Satisfied
61
53%
54%
Dissatisfied
29
25%
13%
Strongly
7
6%
3%
Dissatisfied
Study bedrooms:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
RESPONSES
%
32
62
15
29%
56%
14%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
43%
50%
6%
2
2%
2%
111
116
Bathrooms/shower rooms:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
Kitchens or pantries:
RESPONSES
%
17
66
29
15%
56%
25%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
25%
52%
19%
5
4%
4%
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
117
22
66
26
19%
56%
22%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
23%
52%
19%
3
3%
6%
RESPONSES
%
13
29
21
20%
44%
32%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
41%
49%
8%
3
5%
2%
Cycle Storage:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
66
RESPONSES
%
18
43
20
20%
47%
22%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
26%
54%
15%
11
12%
6%
92
Laundry room and equipment:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
%
117
Atmosphere and surroundings in the dining room:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
RESPONSES
Recycling facilities in residential areas:
RESPONSES
%
18
66
27
15%
56%
23%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
16%
48%
25%
6
5%
12%
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
117
RESPONSES
%
43
62
9
37%
54%
8%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
30%
56%
12%
1
1%
3%
115
10
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
Heating
The current heating levels in your residence:
SURVEY
RESPONSES
%
AVERAGE
Very Satisfied
52
45%
33%
Satisfied
51
44%
45%
Dissatisfied
11
9%
16%
Strongly
Dissatisfied
2
2%
6%
116
The heating times in your residence:
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Strongly
Dissatisfied
Communication
Preferred method of communication:
Email
Text
Wed Memos
Social Media
Other
RESPONSES
%
112
4
21
23
1
70%
2%
13%
14%
1%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
67%
5%
9%
18%
1%
161
11
RESPONSES
%
35
58
19
30%
50%
16%
SURVEY
AVERAGE
26%
46%
21%
4
116
3%
7%
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
What do Residential and Business Services do best?
"Answer questions quickly with helpful
replies"
"Oversee the running of the residence"
"Patient and welcoming approach towards
the students"
"Answering queries and being friendly and
approachable"
"Problems are dealt with quickly and
effectively"
"Approachable and easy to chat to!
Understand students."
"Prompt response to emails."
"Cater for students' needs, listen and help
each particular case and go out of their way to
tray to solve their problems"
"Provide information that is clear and
relevant, without being overbearing or
nagging"
"clear response to emails"
"Providing a sense of security within the halls
through being fully accessible"
"Especially within Albany Park the Residential
Team are outstanding."
"Quick response"
"Events, approachable, friendly"
"quick response if something is broken,
friendliness"
"fast response"
"Fixing things."
"quick response o queries and fast fixing of
reported problems"
"Friendly and try to help quickly"
"quickness in responses via email"
"Friendly service"
"Respond promptly to email
communication/queries"
"Give fair allocation for students with low
income (much appreciated!)."
"Respond to issues like loss of electricity,
broken items etc. Everything runs rather
smoothly, so don't need to query them that
much -- and that's great!"
"Give me a roof."
"Good, hassle free fair treatment. They're the
best landlord ever."
"helpful in providing information"
"Responding to requests for repairs and
queries in a timely manner and having very
friendly staff who are happy to help."
"Helping, easy to find"
"I don't know"
"its easy to tell that they care about us."
"The community building in Albany especially
by the wardennial team is great!"
"laundry"
"the event hold every week"
"Letting us know of upcoming events"
"The Residential Service team in Albany is
brilliant, and Brian Herd does an excellent
job."
"Maintenance of the house"
"Mend broken things quickly"
"They are available when needed"
"Misinform and make life difficult"
"They are friendly, approachable and are
always happy to help =] I've always really
enjoyed my time at Albany, it's a great place
to live!"
"Offer affordable accommodation!"
"Organisation"
"Organising hall events on a regular basis"
"They are very polite when they come to do
our Fire Alarm Tests and Electrical Tests"
"organising staff for all the halls "
"Our albany committee is very good at
organising events"
"Will do anything to help and at almost any
time"
12
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
What could Residential and Business Services do better?
".... It's not that bad"
"Employ more staff members and improve on
web infrastructure/ email infrastructure to
respond to requests and queries more
quickly/effectively"
"A larger bike storage in Albany, there's never
enough room"
"Address physical issues i.e. window
insulation or at least let us know they can't do
anything"
"Fix the doorbell"
"Get a bigger bike shed at Albany Park"
"AP Warden Family v noisy (screaming&
shouting inside and outside). House
inspections are too frequent, and comment
on things that have no perm effect on the
house (whether dishes are done etc); is this
even legal?? If a private landlord tried to visit
every month it would be called harassment..."
"good enough now"
"Have more communication throughout the
year with the hall committees, and perhaps
attend hall events/socials to speak directly to
students about their experiences in hall.
Improve Common room space. Lower Laundry
prices."
"Be more transparent about who gets an offer
to stay in which halls and why."
"Hire someone without OCD to do the
cleaning inspections."
"Better bike storage - one bike shed is not
enough for the third largest hall in St
Andrews. Application process should have a
separate section for financial hardship, and
there should be a section to express an
interest with whom returning residents can
live with."
"I disagree with the cleaning inspection in
postgrad houses, and the fact that electrical
items are taken away if they don't meet the
safety requirements especially when we are
not around."
"i have no complaints - but maybe more
events?"
"Cleaning services"
"I think the application process last year was
strange as we weren't asked about our
finances as we were the previous year,
making me question whether everyone who
needed got into Albany Park - the ONLY cheap
hall"
"Common spaces in Albany park are poor in
comparison to other halls that are much
bigger and better equipped. On events when
a lot of the hall shows up, the portacabins
becomes unbearable. Also, the hall events
don't cater for the amount of people they
should be encouraging to turn up."
"I would like there to be an option of choosing
flatmates in Albany Park when signing up for
accommodation"
"Continue to improve cycle storage facilities recommended the wheel benders racks at
Albany should be replaced with Sheffield
loops."
"increase parking for bikes"
"Less formal/cramped reception area at
Albany Reception so that reception staff feel
more approachable"
"Create more of a community feel in Albany.
Staff could join in events more. Wardens
could do more one on one consultation."
"make bursaries available before acceptance
of accommodation- otherwise unable to
accept higher cost accommodation"
"Do not take away people´s belongings on the
basis they might be a "potential" risk. Unfused
adaptors are no risk at all!"
"Make the application come out BEFORE
private listings so if people don't get into
13
Residential and Business Services
11/12/14
university accommodation then they have
other options. Don't raise rents for next year,
its ridiculous already. Make cheap
accommodation widely available"
"Provide enough accommodation for
postgraduate students at low cost"
"Provide fewer services and subtract the
money saved from our accommodation fees."
"Make very clear to incoming PGR students
that they are eligible for council tax from their
move-in date until 27th September
irrespective of when their department asks
them to arrive"
"Quicker response times, more support at the
beginning of the year"
"recycling (mainly compost), furniture’s (it'd
be nice to have sofas in postgraduate flats!)"
"Maybe make it clear at what they do and are
involved with."
"reduce response time"
"more flexible application deadlines, more
freedom choosing accommodation"
"sometimes their difficult to find"
"Respond to requests to fix things quicker."
"The application form could be improved to
instruct clearly what documents should be
provided by students from different countries.
Cleaning before we arrive in September there were things left from previous residents
in the house."
"Nothing comes to mind!"
"Offer more affordable accommodation."
"Offer questionnaires before allocating people
to the same flat/ house so there isn't a
distinct clash of personalities"
"The Inspection criteria is being too hard for
me. Every time there is an inspection we fail
because of a minor thing and not because the
house was a total mess."
"Organize a study area in halls that do not
have one"
"Perhaps a better focus on the problems
within the buildings that need to be rectified."
"Update some of the equipment in
kitchens..."
"Perhaps on the accommodation application,
there could be a little box for extra
comments... I ended up having to put my
financial reasons for going to Albany in the
'disability' section, because that was the only
place I could write it!"
"Price rises are quite frankly ridiculous.
Disproportionate to the rate of inflation, with
no given reason for such huge jumps in cost.
My concern is that it makes living in St.
Andrews nigh on impossible for working class
families with students already maxing out
there SAAS loans."
"Provide a larger bicycle shed."
"Provide a wardennial or reception service in
the early evening. Have a better
accommodation application form."
14