May 2004/22
|
| To: | Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions Heads of HEFCE-funded further education colleges Heads of universities in Northern Ireland Other interested parties, including presidents of student unions via the NUS |
| Of interest to those responsible for: | Learning and teaching, Quality assurance, Information management, Student data |
| Reference: | 2004/22 |
| Publication date: | May 2004 |
| Enquiries to: | Katherine Andrews, tel 0117 931 7323, e-mail k.andrews@hefce.ac.uk or Rachael Tooth, tel 0117 931 7066, e-mail r.tooth@hefce.ac.uk |
Executive summary (read on-line)
Download
Report and annexes B-D
[ MS Word 337K | Zipped Word 86K | Adobe PDF 138K | Zipped PDF 126K ]
Annex A Response form
[ MS Word 50K | Zipped Word 9K | Adobe PDF 41K | Zipped PDF 39K ]
Executive summary
Purpose
1. This document sets out our proposals for conducting the first full National Student Survey (NSS) in 2005, and invites responses on specific issues. The responses to these questions will be considered by the National Student Survey Pilot Steering Group in making its final recommendations for the conduct of the 2005 survey.
Key points
2. We expect to conduct the first full-scale NSS in early 2005 and to publish the results in summer 2005. The published results will be an essential element of the revised quality assurance framework for higher education, as part of a package of new public information on teaching quality.
3. The survey aims to help inform prospective students and their advisers, alongside other information on teaching quality, in making choices about what and where to study. It also aims to contribute to public accountability, and to provide information that will help institutions to enhance teaching quality, by supplementing internal feedback mechanisms.
4. This document sets out initial recommendations for the conduct of the survey, based on evidence gained so far from piloting during 2003 and early 2004. Reports on these pilots are available on the project web-site, http://iet.open.ac.uk/nss/
5. The National Student Survey Pilot Steering Group will consider both the outcomes of this consultation, and further analysis of the pilot results, in finalising its recommendations to the sponsoring bodies. We expect to publish, in autumn 2004, the final details of the survey including guidance about any implied actions for institutions.
Action required
6. We welcome comments on these proposals. Responses should be made by Friday 25 June 2004 using the form at Annex A.
7. All responses received by the deadline will be taken into account but it will not be possible to discuss individual responses. In the interests of transparency, we will make all responses publicly available unless specifically asked to keep them confidential.
8. Institutions are also advised to consider the following, in preparation for the 2005 survey:
- Data protection. Students should be adequately informed that their contact details may be passed on for the survey.
- Systems for maintaining accurate contact details for students. Term-time addresses as well as telephone numbers and e-mail addresses will be required for all students in the survey population, in January 2005.