Pros
Pockets of very good and dedicated staff trying to push boulders uphill, good accessible location
Cons
After seeing a marketing piece about Ravensbourne being voted 4th best university in London by StudentCrowd, I felt compelled to offer a warning. First, the review is based on three reviews left since 2021. To any prospective staff, pay attention to the more reliable stats - Ravensbourne now ranks so low in the official rankings (based on the NSS) that it doesn't even place. The marketing team make it look like a dream workplace for staff and students, but past terrible financial mismanagement mean that courses are cut to the bone and classes are massively oversubscribed. Students fight over equipment. As long as you can sign your name on a student loan form you are given a place, meaning that many young people with massive support needs end up having no support delivered. This leaves an avalanche of care landing unfairly on academics and student services teaching students to read and write and dealing with daily classroom tantrums from frustrated angry students. The same promises are made to international students, who receive next to no support as no funding has been allocated. Be careful of the marketing. Look at all the other feedback here and other independent sources. As a staff member - cramped noisy hotdesking, absolutely no support from senior management and reams of upset students, many of whom have been defrauded by promises of support and guaranteed careers that will not materialise. Original review from 2023: Pros Some lovely staff, though meeting them is hard due to enormous workloads and no facilitated social culture. Similarly, some lovely but unhappy students with no facility to meet each other due to an SU with terrible management. Cons The institution has an industry-leading reputation which it has been coasting and cashing in on for many years. Once you've bought into the marketing and are through the door, the reality for staff and students is both depressing and alarming. Past financial mismanagement means that balancing the books comes first (which is understandable). However, the result is a building full of broken equipment, enormously oversubscribed courses and a massive influx of international students with no support. Drop outs are high, with many students feeling they have been sold a lie. With zero onboarding and checked-out/hostile departmental management, staff are handed equipment late and left to work out their job alone. Staff have been in actively dangerous situations and told by managers they must cover them up. All departments are stretched to the limit, and as there are no internal communications the ability to collaborate and get support is zero. The open door policy in admissions means that many students have a very high support needs and are often unable in a University environment. The resulting support pressure falls to staff and an overwhelmed student services team. It's bottom of the University rankings for a reason. Advice to Management The reputation has run out of road and both staff and students are leaving in droves. All of your good staff are looking for work. Take a very close look at your department leads. Make support a priority and staff in line with your escalating student body. To be honest, not sure if you can fix things as they are without a miracle.