Staffordshire University Reviews 14

Very strange university, if you study in the cadman building, there is no vending machine or paper in the printers

The town is extremely depressive and miserable. And the university is in such a terrible place in general. It’s literally on such a busy road crossing the roads every day to get to I need to be was putting my life in danger. I cross the road when the green man turned and the amount of times that cause would go because they just didn’t care like people were standing there trying to cross and they they saw me but they just don’t care because they think oh I’m in a car like I won’t get hurt but they will. And having to walk past the college you always get glad out by the little kids there that are smoking and drinking whilst I literally waiting to go into college which sends such a bad message about the college which is right next to the university and they’re basically paired together as a lot of the university students go into the college and the college students go into the universities. Whenever I’m walking around the university area, my phone is in my pocket. My hair is covering my earbuds. I just feel like I’m gonna get mugged. I also was waiting for my taxi to come and pick me up one day and a strange man was walking into the woods and tried to call me over to help him with something which has forever disturb me thankfully I didn’t go because my taxi pulled up and also because I’m just not going to walk into the woods with some strange person. But I think that there should be signs basically just informing the students of what to look out for. There should be an area that they can wait for the taxi outside of the university that’s got a security guard by it so they can make sure that the people get in on the road. Nobody else tries to get in the car and nobody is waiting around to hear their address or anything because you just never know if that person has like a bad motive the traffic is always bad and there are always hundreds of students waiting for a bus. The buses are like every 20 minutes. And they always seem to have such a long queue of people waiting for them and sometimes people have to wait for the next one and by the time that one comes out will get loaded up with People so it’s just constantly people waiting for buses all the time. They’re also fixing up the train station for literally the entirety of my course so getting to my building or walking to and from buildings was such a pain because I had to walk the long way around because the train station blocked off all the places I need to walk And it just made getting into class a pain and it made going to get any lunch in between class, a pain as well, cause she just didn’t really know if you had time to get to your next class. Not that I’d recommend getting any food from the university I wouldn’t even recommend the candy. I remember. I got a bag of sweets from the union shop and I felt really poorly afterwards and I checked the packaging and it was considerably out of date and I don’t understand why I got so poorly from it as it’s just sweets but I had the worst stomach ache and I also shared them with my family and they ended up getting poorly too. Perhaps it’s more of the manufacturers of the sweets problem, but the union should’ve noticed that they were out of date and not stock them.

This university is so below standard it’s absolutely ridiculous. They hire people who are rubbish at teaching have no respect or care for the students and would much rather be working professionally in another field other than teaching and they make it so painfully obvious. They schedule one maybe two lectures a week if you’re lucky which when you’re paying as much as you’re paying is not right. Don’t get me wrong I like being at home but if there was online lectures offered that would be amazing so I could feel like I’m actually getting my money’s worth and not getting mugged off. The grading system is absolutely ridiculous. I mean they expect you to do about 10 people. People’s amount of work on your own and then when you can’t keep up with the work they basically say oh you can have an extension but your grade will be capped at 40%. People can’t afford to do that. I also find that the staff and the students here are quite racist. Which I think is a common thing within the reviews that I’ve read about this place. Which is ironic because I find it’s mostly got ethnic people, but there’s a lot of racism going on. Staff don’t last longer at the university is only the ones that have been there may be over 10 years are safe but they typically end up leaving because the work commitments too much for them or they find better gigs. A lot of people on my course ended up dropping out. I think it started as a course of maybe 50+ people and graduation. I think maybe 30 people were in there. They do take on some foreign exchange students but not very many maybe three at most. I could understand that they don’t get many people interested in coming to this university as it’s so crap but it could also be due to racism. I think going to this university they should be paying you not the other way around because I don’t know why anyone would want to pay even a penny to go and study at this pit of racism negativity and depressiveness. You learn nothing I’ve gone into that course with more knowledge than I’ve come out with. The lazy lecturers bring in People from similar fields of work or past graduates to come in and teach. I’m sorry but I’m paying the lecturers who are supposed to have all this experience and knowledge to teach me not some Rando that they’ve pulled in from across the street. And I especially didn’t learn anything from these people. The lecturers were probably just a little bit more clue in the industry that I wanna work in than the people who were coming into be teaching and not saying something because the lectures were honestly ginormous waste of space. I wouldn’t waste your time studying at this university if I could go back and turn the time backwards and change everything and not go here best believe I would. I just hope that this review will help others realise that they’re better than this the better than this university and they won’t make the same mistake that I made by going here because it’s honestly the biggest mistake of your entire life.

Most racist backward university in the country.

As someone from Surrey, I believe universities should take pride not only in their academic standards but also in their surrounding community. Unfortunately, my experience at Staffordshire University’s Stoke campus left me with mixed feelings.

During my time there, I observed a noticeable social divide between the Asian and English communities in Stoke-on-Trent. Personally, I experienced hostility — including having eggs thrown at me — and sometimes feeling that lecturers treated me like a local Asian, even though I was not, judging purely by my appearance and assuming I had no aspirations. This diminished my motivation to remain at the university, and I left as soon as I could.

While a few lecturers were genuinely inspiring, others left a poor impression. For example, one lecturer, Bob Edwards, would block the door with a chair to stop latecomers from entering — something I felt was unnecessarily hostile. Looking back, I wish I had chosen the University of Surrey in Guildford, which might have provided a more encouraging environment.

Although I did make valuable friendships in the local community, the campus culture itself didn’t inspire confidence. I also want to caution future Asian students considering living on-site: I encountered instances of drunk, racist behaviour from fellow residents. In one case, when I raised a complaint, I believe the management might have sided against me if I hadn’t presented clear evidence.

Growing up in Surrey/South London, I thought racism was largely a thing of the past. My time in Stoke-on-Trent challenged that view — though I hope conditions have improved since.

I was sexually assaulted on campus by a student, not only did the university refuse to take action, they defended my abuser and made sure he could graduate and he was allowed back on campus for 2 years following this. I was then later attacked by the same person a year after the original events and the univeristies on-campus police officer came to my house to threaten me into paying £200 for my abusers glasses otherwise they would open a case (suggesting there was no case, meaning I was blackmailed into paying £200 to my abuser who attacked me, a year after sexually assaulting me (I'm only using this term as the R-word is too vulgar for this review).

Later on, I was made homeless due to my disabilities preventing me from working during my masters degree, they put me in the most expensive accomodation they had and stuck me with a bill for thousands of pounds i did not have. I am still paying it off to this day and will be for the next few years as they know I am not able to work. I can back all of this up with evidence. I was taken advantage of by the university and this was just the tip of the iceberg with them.

I have started the process of going to the press and getting legal help in these matters. Trustpilots date function is broken. This happened between 2021 and 2023.

The Counseling Tutors are so incompetent and corrupt in this University, covering up for each others incompetency that they would make Matt Hancock blush even.

They gaslight you, and practically bully you front of students and then start collectively targeting you and failing you at every essay to ensure you don't pass.

Pathetic and will be reported to the BACP.

At the start they hold such a lovely , fake speech how they want to support and help their students at all cost. But then their true nature starts to unveil that these are not authentic, but rather discriminative and outright malicious women.

Vindictive and completely despicable lying behavior from tutors, who should be role models of ethics. So if your not their cup of tea, be ready to face the fake smile with a consistent fail and then, series of lies form each and one them. Unfortunately it was even worse.

Frightening to think that such "corrupted" women, who have situated themselves into their comfortable jobs, might be allowed near vulnerable patients and children.

Disgusting to think how, many innocent people, who have paid them their wages and kept them there, they have tormented in the past.

They should all be investigated.

Awful.

I would not recommend this university for coloured people, racist university they lied to students finance England about my attendance just to collect tuition fees from students finance England and there is no record of me attending and they refuse to make it right to student finance England. “Student finance England has policy there must be physical attendance for in person course to release tuition fees but Staffordshire university lied to student finance England when there is no attendance.

Visited an open day for my daughter who will be going to uni next year.

The psychology (forensic) building was amazing, we were shown around by Mel who my daughter and I though was fantastic, everything about the course and teaching was first class.

The problem is everything else! The uni is drab and extremely uninviting. It was like a ghost town where nobody really wanted to be. Everyone looked miserable.

The worst thing of all is the student accommodation.

The buildings resemble a young offenders institution. The bedrooms have breeze blocks for walls, how hard would it have been to skim them and make it look half decent? There is hardly any light, without a proper light fitting on the wall. There is a strip light on the wall which does absolutely nothing.

Kitchen area was adequate but nowhere near the level of other unis we have looked at for the same price.

One word - depressed because that’s how you would feel living there!!

To sum it up my daughter was very disappointed because she loved the course but this uni would never be a consideration due to the dismal existence of everything else, top of the dismal list especially the accommodation. I should note that the most expensive, remodelled rooms that had recently been done were no better and identical in gloom.

I honestly don’t know why anyone would chose to attend here unless perhaps they were local and didn’t have to live there.

If you fancy being gaslit, having false accusations being justified against you, vindictive students and poor supervision, then Staffordshire University is the place for you. Looking back on my journey at Staffs there were several red flags that I ignored, wherein I should have realised that I did not fit at this type of institution. Whether it was the lacklustre supervision I received, having a point of contention with every published pseudo academic in my literature review, the troublesome and talentless students nobody wanted to teach or the Human Resources employee pontificating to me about stagecraft, I should have realised what these Higher Education institutions are, which is a monetary scam, targeting young people, that has no true knowledge to offer. Staffordshire University's School of Digital, Technology, Innovation and Business is littered with practitioners that are, to use a kind analogy, 'car enthusiasts' and not 'mechanics' in their field. A dreadful university with a substandard Drama department wherein actor training is being extinguished from the curriculum entirely. Avoid like the plague.

Best university ever! As a Staffordshire University graduate from the course in Interior Design I am happy to have studied in one of the UK's best universities! Definitely reccomend!

I enrolled on a newly created masters distance learning programme at this university in September 2020. From the outset it was clear that the quality and competency of the teaching was poor and frequently inconsistent.

Module learning objectives were complex and convoluted. Some of the assignments were impractical and often it was apparent that the course leader had not planned or communicated clear objectives to the student cohort.

Lecture dates and timelines were not communicated in advance making it a huge challenge to plan attendance and collaborate with other students.

The only positive was the research module provided by another staffs uni lecturer, which was engaging, well taught and supported by clear assignment objectives.

In terms of student support, I was subjected to unacceptable treatment which as a working professional and mature student, was an utter disgrace. I am concerned that younger students may not have the mental health resilience to endure. For my own well-being, I have withdrawn from study and am transferring to an academic institution that actually cares! At no point has anyone from the university reached out to talk to me, despite numerous opportunities to do so.

If you are considering investing your time, money and personal / career development at Staffordshire University, please ensure you thoroughly research the course and talk to former students before commencing - particularly if you are using your own money to fund your studies.

I'm still trying to get a clear explanation and apology for the terrible way my son was treated at Staffordshire University. My son has Aspergers and was supposed to have a Learning Support Agreement (LSA) and mentors. The errors and awful behaviours of staff fill several pages of my official complaint, which is being brushed off. I'll just list a few here.
1. His LSA was never distributed to his lecturers as it should have been. This error only came to light after 18 months when my son asked for an extension for a piece of work. Because of the nature of Aspergers my son was always allowed extensions. The lecturer refused, because he had taken against my son for a misunderstanding during the first semester of that year. The misunderstanding itself came about because of my son's Aspergers, but the lecturer never enquired, just took against my son. When I wrote to explain my son was entitled to extensions the lack of the LSA came to light. Even then the lecturer said he wouldn't give the extension, which was totally unacceptable. We appealed and the decision was rightly overturned.
2. As a result of this it became clear my son's first mentor wasn't doing her job properly. She hadn't spoken to any of his lecturers - Aspergers is a condition with serious communication problems. If she had bothered the lack of the LSA would have shown up at the beginning. (By contrast his second mentor made a point of introducing herself to all the lecturers and explaining about my son's disability.)
3. It became clear from comments by my son that his first mentor was missing meetings with him. Always her car had gone wrong. When I wrote to complain she had missed 4 meetings out of 12 possible meetings in one semester, her manager raged at me in an email, saying she had only missed 3! But that was a quarter of the meetings she should have made.
4. My son finished that year in May and his results came out in August. There was a zero from the lecturer whose decision had been overturned. I was horrified. This just felt like vengeance. And I had been told by someone at the Student Union that "Staffordshire doesn't like people who complain". My son told me he'd been asked to see this lecturer alone (no other student had been asked this) and given confusing verbal instructions about where and when. (Those with Aspergers need precise written instructions with exact times.) My son's LSA made it clear that any instructions should be written down. When my son went along, the lecturer was not there. My son searched him out and was told, "You're late, you'll get zero." But there is something else. My son had always told me when something bad had happened and asked my help. I am the only person he will ask help from. But he had kept silent, from May to August. He still won't speak about it, 3 years later. That is terrifying for me. I have asked and asked Staffordshire what was said or done to him to keep him silent for those 4 months. Sarcasm? Bullying? I don't know. No-one at Staffordshire will do anything.
5. My son was so affected by this he took two years out and was even then brave enough to return. But he was offered no help, no support, even though they knew he had been out for two years. My son realised partway through the first semester the basis of the work for that final year was DIFFERENT from the work when he'd last been there. But NO-ONE had troubled to TELL HIM! He was just left to struggle. Finally they said 'he couldn't manage the work', and they suggested he leave. My son felt terrible, so diminished and destroyed. He's highly intelligent and could manage the work - if it had just been explained to him, if he'd had some support.
These are the worst incidents, but there are more. I've emailed and written and each time it takes ages for them to reply, brushing me off again. So time goes by. Now they are telling me its too long since the incidents. Oh, and that I have no right to complain on my own behalf. But I have. Their complaints procedure says that "anyone affected" by issues at the university can complain. I have been seriously affected. My son's only hope of finding his niche in life has been destroyed by these people.
More recently I met the small IT team at an organisation I am connected with. I told them about my son - without mentioning the university by name - and one of them said, "Was it Staffordshire?" Two of them had studied there - computer studies like my son - and both said it had been terrible. One said they'd driven him to a breakdown, the second had had to leave.
The moral of this story - DON'T GO TO STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY, particularly if you have any kind of disability. I posted a review on the university's website and got a number of replies from disabled students - not just Aspergers - saying they too had suffered from lack of caring or outright poor behaviour by lecturers.