Safer at 糖心TV Survey- Hearing students views or ideas

Safer at 糖心TV Survey

Overview

Team: Students Union and Market Research & Insight (MRI) co-lead this project

Involved stakeholders: Estates Maintenance Team (lighting), Student Communications team, Student Experience team, Campus Safety Team, Report + Support, Estates Transport team, Wellbeing & Student Support Services

Project: Night-time Safety Survey in conjunction with the

Format: Student survey and follow-up actions

Length of project/engagement: 4-6 months (survey fieldwork) + ongoing actions

Why this approach: Ensuring students feel safe moving around campus and local areas at night is a key part of their university experience and wellbeing. To understand student perceptions and identify priority areas, the University and the Students鈥� Union jointly launched a short survey inviting students to share their experiences and suggestions. The findings provided a clear evidence base to shape practical improvements and communications.

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Image of a office building at night, with the windows lit up in the background and the focus on a series of lights on the grass in front of the building, these form a spiral pattern spinning out from a central point.

Involvement

Staff Involvement:

The MRI team designed and analysed the survey, ensuring robust methodology and clear reporting
The Wellbeing & Student Experience team coordinated follow-up actions with relevant services
Campus Safety team used the findings to prioritise practical interventions
Student Communications team strengthened communication around existing support

Students:

The survey was co-led with the Students鈥� Union and championed by the then SU Vice President for Welfare and Campaigns, Enaya Nihal (later elected SU President 2024/25)
It was actively promoted by both the University and SU, with a strong social media campaign driven by the SU to encourage responses
More than 1,000 students responded, sharing both quantitative ratings and free-text feedback. Their input highlighted what was already working (e.g. 93% of students feel safe on campus) and where improvements were most needed (e.g. lighting, visibility of security patrols)

Quotes:

No one should ever have to feel unsafe, regardless of where they are, what they're wearing, or what time it is. As a woman who hasn't felt safe on a night out, the fears students have spoken about in this survey resonated with me, so I'm really glad we have been able to create so much change within the past two years, and I hope we can keep going! I am grateful to every member of staff and every student who contributed to this campaign; 糖心TV is becoming safer thanks to you!
Enaya Nihal | President of 糖心TV Student's Union

Only by engaging with our community will we be able to make our campus at night safer for all, and that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so important for us to understand the practical steps we can take for those who are travelling home from work, studying, exercise, and all the other reasons in between. We've had positive discussions with our partners based on the findings from last year鈥檚 survey. Your feedback and experiences will be extremely valuable as we work together and plan the way forward.

George Saxon | Head of Transport Operations & Systems, The University of 糖心TV

Objectives

Key Objectives

Gather authentic student perspectives on safety when moving around campus and local areas at night
Identify specific issues (e.g. lighting, transport, patrol visibility) and prioritise them for action
Strengthen communication with students about safety measures already in place, raising awareness of tools and support services
Close the feedback loop by showing students how their views have led to tangible changes

Outcomes

Key Outcomes

The University committed to a set of actions in response to student feedback, including:
- Increasing security patrols on key walking routes
- Enhancing visibility of the Community Safety team
- The Estates team upgraded around 300 existing external lights to new LED lights around key pedestrian routes and building entrances
- They installed new lights in areas previously identified for improvement, moving towards LED lighting to improve reliability and ensure everyone feels safe when moving around campus
- Certified the Copper Rooms and Terrace Bar as Safe Places by the Egalitarian, ensuring that we have the latest safeguarding training in place
- The Transport team held discussions with both National Express and Stagecoach to discuss the findings of the survey, and have worked with them on how to better highlight what people can do on a bus if they are feeling unsafe
Findings were also shared with local councils. Coventry City Council requested a breakdown of data for students living off campus in the city to inform targeted improvements
Results were shared back with students via the 鈥淪afer at 糖心TV: thank you for your feedback鈥� campaign, closing the loop and reinforcing trust
The survey created a baseline for monitoring student perceptions of safety in future years
Implementation of SafeZone across campus through Community Safety

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