2.0
Introduction

2.1
Kent Union welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Institutional Audit and put forward the experiences and views of students studying at the University of Kent. There are over 16886 students learning at the University of Kent at multiple sites including Canterbury and Medway in Kent and Brussels. The submission from Kent Union follows guidelines provided by the QAA and provides information on the following areas:

• How accurate is the information that the institution publishes about itself, such as prospectuses, programme descriptors and advertisements?
• Do students know what is expected of them in order to be successful?
• What is the student experience as a learner like, including teaching and learning opportunities, support received and access to learning facilities?
• Do students have a voice in the institution and is it listened to?

2.2
As well as looking at these areas in turn, the penultimate section looks at the changes across the University since the last audit in 2004. The section reflects on how staff from the institution have responded to the last submission and the recommendations from the audit report, ensuring that improvements in the required areas have been met.

2.3
The submission makes use of both quantitative and qualitative data which is discussed in more detail in the methodology section. The results from a number of University of Kent surveys have been extremely useful in order to obtain the views of a large number of students. Kent Union included a number of relevant questions in its November 2007 Satisfaction Survey and its March 2008 Course Rep Survey. Views from students have been included where appropriate to provide examples of what the quantitative data represents, however the identity of individuals is withheld. A full set of results from all of the quantitative and qualitative data can be found in the Appendices or through following the web links provided.

2.4
The submission concludes with a summary of the document and highlights some of the key areas which students studying at the University of Kent feel are significant and wish to bring to attention of the auditors. Whilst the submission is not the place for the Kent Union to recommend action deemed necessary for the University, there are a series of points in this section which Kent Union hopes the University will work towards improving.