Kingston University Penrhyn Road Campus — Attraction in London

I am currently an engineering student studying Mechanical Engineering (BEng) and am a direct entry to year two.

Firstly, its a shame that Google Reviews doesn't allow you to put zero stars, as this is exactly the rating Kingston University deserves.

I would like to say that from my experience of this university so far it is absolutely appalling how things are organised (For lack of a better term) and how both Lectures and Workshops are conducted.

From me being notified that I was due to attend a practical session the day after it had been conducted (This was not on my timetable and therefore I was unaware of its existence). For group assignments with dates for different groups without being given a group number. To lecturers turning up late for lectures or workshops thereby delaying the start/finish to said lecture or workshop throughout my busy day.

Canvas, this is the online software that this university uses in order to supply the students with the 'resources' and 'information' they require in order to 'Complete' their course. This is the worse piece of software I have come across for educational purposes throughout my life. It doesn't work well on any platform and especially does not work on Android or iOS where information fails to be displayed and from what is shown is in an unreadable format. It is shocking to say the least that this passed the design, development and testing stage let alone being live for students and teachers to use.

Currently it is extremely difficult for me to find assignments, lecture slides and other important course materials. For Example under a module there is a tab called 'Assignments' (Where you would hope to find the assignments for that module) however if you went there looking for it you would be wrong. For me I have to find the subject for that module, then under the sub heading I will find another heading to where the assignment is. This doesn't sound like hard work however the information isn't view-able until you click on the heading and then you have to do further digging which just adds frustration and time for an already difficult course, the website is also slow to respond and can take a while to process a request.

Formula Student Team, Throughout my induction week I attended several presentations for the formula student team, I put down my Student number (On more than one occasion) as was told to wait for them to contact me for further information and to arrange a possible interview. After waiting for a few weeks for a reply nothing had been sent my way, I therefore decided to visit the Lab to which I had another discussion, they took down my student number and to this day still have not contacted me. If im not fit for a role within the formula student team I can accept that. However, to not even contact/interview me to find out what I can bring to the table is disgraceful. Despite being told throughout several induction days that 'Anyone' can be apart of the team regardless of previous experience and 'there is no limit to the size of the team'.

In summary, I am seriously angry with Kingston University as a whole and would advise if you were looking to study for a degree then look elsewhere. I currently have not turned up in weeks and yet im still getting good grades with testing and assignments on current material thereby showing that the lectures are there for purely a 'we need to do it' purpose. I am not worried about my attendance as most lectures dont even bother to bring a register.

Should anyone from Kingston University read this review and wishes to discuss matters with me then please...

I Studied Architecture at Kingston Univesitys Knights Park Campus. The course on a whole was more style over substance. The majority of lecturers were in working practices as well, and instead of sharing insider knowledge of what practices want do and need, the studio lecturers were more concerned with contrieved matters, only too satisfy there own egos. Much of the students design work wasnt allowed to flow freely, often the design stages were formulated by the lecturers themselves. On several occasions my intial intentions were 'shot down' as they 'couldnt see' my intention regardless of supported info and documentation. That isnt the students fault for the limited vision of his lecturer. Architecture after all is ART, which is an intimate expression. Often the students who were more 'SUCKY' to the lecturers were favoured and came out with better grades. This was extremely concerning to me as the final examination of portfolios and final pinup were marked by the lecturers themselves. My final was marked by 2/3 lecturers who were my Studio leaders. INSANITY YES! The whole GRADING system is meant to be IMPARTIAL which wasnt the case. This means the GAME is rigged, if the lecturer doesnt like you, regardless of you being good at said given course, you will be marked on their biases towards you. Kingston University needs to look into this as it seems you could be penalized or destroyed regardless of your merit. I have come to believe, after gaining my BA Hons Architecture, that University is a scam, a money making scheme, a relic of a bygone era. They do not provide students the tools or preparation for life after they have finished there courses. The reality is Jobs are now scarce. More people hang onto there jobs for longer, and each year the universitys pump out tons of students with degrees, which go nowhere as there are no spaces to fill. Having a degree something that was quite unique, has now become the norm. The universitys, much to what i witnessed, take on an abundance of overseas students, which is obvious that they are concerned mainly with making money not educating. many of whom pay 3x the amount of UK students. This is blatant corruption of the education system. University does nothing but indoctrinate the students it teaches, the lecturers use it as a platform for their own narcissism, providing a few 'flattering' credentials for their CVs. Students leave without actually knowing how to adminster what they have learnt. My advice to anyone who isnt sure about joining university is, THINK. its around £30,000 for 3 year study fees with a maintainence loan ontop. You arent guaranteed a job when you finish. You havent really even finished the courses you study, as you usually need a masters to do a specific job. MEANING MORE MONEY PAYED TO THE UNI OF CHOICE. Id do a trade personally, and that way you wont be stuck in an office the rest of your life, wearing a stiff suit, a noose of a tie round your neck...

For all the reviewers saying Kingston Uni is their dream school, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. It was mine aswell, I am a second year law student who started during lockdown of 2020. I regret coming here. We have societies, but due to covid we have not had the opportunity to experience any formals, speeches, dinners or court trips (and the course overview states that we will be taking part in extracurricular activities but we have not as of yet) not have we had a freshers.

First year: First year went okay, my class had some issues with professors but other than that we enjoyed the module topics.

Second year: I do not know where to start. My professors have gone on strike pretty much every month since September 2021, all the while complaining we are not turning up for lectures because of these strikes. One thing to remember is that professors do not have to tel students they are striking so some students who live away from uni have to travel down for a class that isn’t even on. Currently, professors are on a ‘marking and assessment boycott’. Not totally sure what that means but sounds like they do not want to mark exams or assignments.

I have had personal issues with the university aswell. I went abroad for a while and my laptop broke during security checks so I was unable to hand in my assignment. The uni requires evidence of this and I gave it to them and they have refused and ignored my emails about retaking the assignment and extensions.

Recently, my mother has fallen ill and has been in hospital and needs to be taken care of, and I have been helping care for her. We have an upcoming module that will take place on campus for 3hrs 3 days a week. Me and my class members have asked for it to be online like our other modules but the uni has refused this and told me to do an internship. Legal internships are like gold dust and very hard to get and if I do not do either then I will fail my second year. I think the easiest thing to do is to do online lectures for a module that is not part of our degree so I can care for my sick mother.

I try to enjoy my experience here but I just can’t seem to. I hope my experience so far can help with expectations because I had high hopes and I am left disappointed with my choices. Whoever does choose Kingston, I hope you have a much...