12 September 2007
Higher education survey reveals continued student satisfaction
The third annual National Student Survey (NSS) shows students have a high and sustained level of satisfaction with their experience of higher education. Overall, 81 per cent of students were satisfied with their experience at university or college. The table below shows the 2007 survey alongside results from 2006.
| Questions | 2006 NSS | 2007 NSS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % average agreement | |||
| 1-4 | The teaching on my course | 81 | 82 |
| 5-9 | Assessment and feedback | 61 | 62 |
| 10-12 | Academic support | 69 | 71 |
| 13-15 | Organisation and management | 69 | 71 |
| 16-18 | Learning resources | 78 | 80 |
| 19-21 | Personal development | 76 | 77 |
| 22 | Overall satisfaction | 80 | 81 |
The figures in this table are for students at universities and colleges in England. The survey also covers higher education students in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and eight Scottish universities. Responses from some students on initial teacher training courses and NHS funded courses are also available.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is working with the Higher Education Academy to support higher education institutions in responding to the findings of the survey, and further improve the learning and teaching experience of their students.
The NSS data will be available on a new web-site - Unistats.com. The site will help prospective higher education students compare information about different subjects and institutions when researching which courses to choose.
Unistats will provide information that is not available anywhere else, in a user friendly, accessible format. The site will enable users to:
- read feedback from over 177,000 students on the quality of their higher education experience
- compare UCAS points and other information for different subjects and institutions
- find out the achievements of recent graduates and discover what sorts of jobs they are doing six months after they finish their courses.
Professor Michael Arthur, who chairs the NSS steering group, said:
'The 2007 survey drew on the experiences of more final-year students than ever before - giving prospective undergraduates a wealth of first-hand guidance to help them to choose their future course.'
Professor Arthur, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leeds, added:
'In its three years, the survey has grown to become a vital tool for prospective students, offering detailed information which had never before been available.
'One key reason this is working is because everybody benefits. New students are better informed; universities and colleges are getting a clear picture of what they are doing well and where they can improve; and our graduates value the opportunity to give something back to the higher education system, putting the benefit of their experiences at the disposal of others.'
Professor David Eastwood, HEFCE's Chief Executive, commented:
'I'm delighted that for the third year running, the results of the NSS have improved. Higher education institutions are taking the results of the survey very seriously and taking action to continuously improve their students' learning and teaching experience.'
Wes Streeting, Vice President of the National Union of Students said:
'I wish I'd had something like this when I was applying to university. With even more choices for students in terms of subjects and courses available, it makes sense that they can get hold of more, and better, information. It's also really important for prospective students to hear what others thought about the quality of life at an institution.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Intellectual Property and Quality, Lord Triesman, speaking at the launch of the 2007 NSS results, said:
'An overall satisfaction rating of 81 per cent is an excellent endorsement of higher education in this country. The NSS, and the broader information available on the new Unistats web-site, are extremely useful sources of information for potential students. The survey itself is also a helpful tool for institutions to identify areas that might need sharpening up.'
The launch of the Unistats web-site has been delayed to enable changes to be made following user testing. Testing was carried out as part of the design process and the changes are being implemented to ensure the site is fit for purpose, to support potential students make choices about what and where to study.
Notes to editors
1. The percentages used in this press release relate to students registered with English higher education institutions, including the Open University, who are not funded by the NHS.
2. Summary data are available on the attached spreadsheet. The full dataset is available at: www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/nss/data/2007/
3. The National Student Survey (NSS) is part of the Unistats web-site. The NSS covers higher education students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This year, eight Scottish universities and the independent University of Buckingham are also taking part, as are students on initial teacher training courses funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools and students on NHS funded courses.
4. The NSS was carried out by Ipsos MORI. The data will be available on the Unistats web-site which is developed and maintained by UCAS and Hotcourses.
5. Due to differences in quality assurance arrangements in different parts of the UK, some types of information are not published for all institutions.
6. The survey covers all full-time and part-time undergraduate students in publicly-funded higher education institutions in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some institutions in Scotland during their final year of study (or for flexible programmes where the final year cannot be predicted, during their fourth year of study). In 2007, over 177,000 students responded to the survey, out of over 290,000 students in the population, a 60 per cent response rate.
7. A small proportion of part-time students who completed the survey may not have been in their final year.