National Student Survey results
10th August 2023 – Tags: Degrees and Higher Education, university
Results from this year’s National Student Survey (NSS), which is carried out by the Office for Students (OfS), show high levels of satisfaction amongst students on our university-level courses.
The NSS asked final year undergraduate students for honest feedback about what it has been like to study on their Higher Education course, with experimental statistics providing summary scores for key themes.
Teaching is highly rated
87 per cent of our students were positive about the teaching on their course.
The following scores were combined to produce this theme:
- 92 per cent of students said staff were good at explaining things,
- 87 per cent said staff often made the subject engaging,
- 85 per cent said the course was intellectually stimulating, and
- 86 per cent said they were challenged to achieve their best work.
Student support is a strength
83 per cent of our students were positive about the academic support on their course.
The following scores were combined to produce this theme:
- 79 per cent of students said that it was easy to contact teaching staff when they needed to, and
- 88 per cent said they had received good support from teaching staff.
Courses felt to improve career prospects
84 per cent of our students were positive about the learning opportunities on their course.
The following scores were combined to produce this theme:
- 81 per cent of students said they explored ideas and concepts in depth on their course,
- 88 per cent said the course introduced subjects and skills in a way that built on what they had already learned,
- 86 percent said there were opportunities to bring together information and ideas from different topics,
- 76 per cent said their course had the right balance of directed and independent study, and
- 90 per cent said their course had developed knowledge and skills needed for their future career.
Students are listened to
73 per cent of our students were positive about the opportunities for the Student Voice to be heard.
The following scores were combined to produce this theme:
- 82 per cent of student said they get the right opportunities to give feedback on their course,
- 75 per cent said students' opinions about the course are valued by staff,
- 61 per cent said it is clear that students’ feedback on the course is acted on, and
- 62 per cent said that the Students’ Union represents students’ academic interests.
Students recognise our key strengths
Commenting on this year’s NSS results, Samantha Ratcliffe, Head of Higher Education, said:
We are really pleased that lots of the areas we regard as key strengths – a strong focus on learning that directly improves students’ career prospects, great teaching and support, and an approach to assessment and feedback that really helps our students – were all highly rated by students in this year’s NSS.
We are also looking at areas where the NSS indicates there is room for improvement, including around communications, engagement with the Students’ Union, and information on the wide range of wellbeing support and services available to students.”