THE UNIVERSITY has increased the Student Development Fund budget by £400,000 to £2.4 million.
The spending hike will help to expand and continue the winter internships for recent graduates of the university and upgrade and improve the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
It will also help to extend the digital recording of lectures to more lecture theatres.
Registrar David Duncan commented: “Students tell us this [digital recordings] is something they find really useful, and would like us to prioritise.”
An app will also be developed, helping students with iPad tablets and mobile devices.
Additionally, access to WiFi coverage, which Duncan hopes will mean students don’t have to roam “to access the internet”, will also be accelerated.
Lucy Harling, a first year applied social science student, said: “These are great ideas. I have a memory like a fish so the digital recording of lectures in lecture theatres will be useful.”
Aisha Hussain, a computer science and maths student told Vision, “I think it’s great the University are providing resources for students who happen to miss a lecture or two, so they won’t feel at a disadvantage or feel they’ve missed out.”
The fund, which provides the university with additional income to “enhance” the student experience, was used in 2012-13 to ensure 24-hour opening of the library, night-time staffing and the abolition of charges for college sport.
Meanwhile, other on-campus investments include a £400 million injection into a Heslington West upgrade.
Money will be pumped into the science department, new accommodation blocks, and new state-of-the-art teaching facilities.