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6 April 2005 HEFCE logo
To  Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions
Heads of universities in Northern Ireland
Direct Line 0117 931 7300
Direct Fax 0117 931 7203

Circular letter number 08/2005

For further information contact Julian Martin, tel 0117 931 7070, e-mail j.martin@hefce.ac.uk

Dear Vice-Chancellor or Principal

Update on National Student Survey and outcomes of consultation on TQI subject structure

1.    This letter provides an update on the National Student Survey (NSS) and the outcomes of the consultation on the subject structure for organising information on the Teaching Quality Information (TQI) web-site. It also outlines:

  1. How institutions can preview the way their students involved in the NSS will feature within the reporting structure; issues must be raised by 13 May 2005.
  2. How and when institutions can access their NSS results. Institutions should ensure that they have provided Ipsos UK with the relevant institutional contacts for this, by 13 May 2005.
  3. The mechanisms for identifying students to be included in the 2006 NSS. Institutions are invited to provide feedback on its proposed scope, by 29 April 2005.

2.    No other action is required in response.

3.    The questionnaire completion phase of the 2005 National Student Survey is coming to an end. The overall response has been good: more than 55 per cent of students have completed the questionnaire to date and surveying will continue (targeted at those areas with lower response rates) until mid-April. Response rates vary between institutions; institutions are able to access their own response rates via the Ipsos UK extranet.

4.    The results of the survey will be published on the TQI web-site in early September 2005, to coincide with the full launch of the site. We consulted on methods of presenting the NSS results at a series of events in January 2005. One main issue discussed was the subject structure to be used for organising NSS and other data on the TQI web-site. Following the events we consulted on the proposed subject structure (HEFCE Circular letter 04/2005) and received 47 responses. Responses were generally supportive of the proposals, and many provided suggestions for improvement. A summary of responses is at Annex A. Some changes were made as a result, and the finalised subject structure is at Annex B.

5.    Annex C provides the following details on the NSS:

  1. How institutions can preview the way students will be allocated within the TQI reporting structure and raise any issues, by 13 May 2005. (Technical guidance on accessing the preview data is at Annex D).
  2. How and when institutions will have access to their NSS results.

6.    We are beginning to prepare for the 2006 NSS, and in particular the mechanisms for identifying students to be included in the survey. Annex E provides further details, including the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed scope of the 2006 NSS, by 29 April 2005.

7.    A summary timetable for the reporting stages of the 2005 NSS and preparations for the 2006 NSS is at Annex F.

Yours sincerely

 

Howard Newby
Chief Executive

Download

Annexes
[ MS Word 231K | Zipped Word 139K | Adobe PDF 182K | Zipped PDF 157K ]

Annex B
[ MS Excel 36K | Zipped Excel 9K | Adobe PDF 14K | Zipped PDF 9K ]