The satisfaction rate for students studying at UK higher education institutions (HEIs) and further education colleges (FECs) remains high with 86 per cent saying they are satisfied overall with their course in this year's National Student Survey (NSS). A further 7 per cent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their higher education experience; and only 7 per cent were dissatisfied (5 per cent) or strongly dissatisfied (2 per cent).
Satisfaction has improved since 2014 in five out of six of the groups of questions covered by the survey, these cover: assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources and personal development.
More than 300,000 final-year students responded to the survey this year, from 155 HEIs, 190 FECs and 5 private HE providers from across the UK (Note 1). This represents a response rate of 71 per cent, the same as last year.
The results of the survey, conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of UK funding bodies, provides valuable information for prospective students, and help universities and colleges to further improve the education they provide.
Commenting on the results of the NSS, Professor Madeleine Atkins, Chief Executive of HEFCE, said:
‘The survey provides detailed and robust data which is used extensively by universities and colleges to improve the quality of their teaching and learning. It is also valuable in supporting prospective students and their parents and advisors in helping choose which higher education institution to select.’
A summary table of results for the UK is shown below. More detailed data are available through the HEFCE website. Prospective students will be able to compare NSS results and other relevant information on the Unistats web-site from September.
Which cohort of students are included in the survey?
Of those students studying at HEIs and FECs in England, around a third were studying under the old fee regime before the introduction of the £9,000 tuition fee. This includes students who were on longer courses such as medicine and dentistry. Further analysis of the results will be carried out in the autumn to determine if there is any difference in response from ‘old-regime’ and ‘new-regime’ students.
For further information, www.hefce.ac.uk