2026 National Student Survey Results

The National Student Survey (NSS) marks its 21st year in 2026, with Ipsos once again delivering an outstanding response rate. This year's survey achieved a 71.8% response rate, continuing a long-standing record of consistently exceeding 70%.

Around 360,000 final-year students from universities and colleges across the UK took part in the survey, underlining the continued importance that students place on sharing their experiences and shaping the future of higher education.

The vast majority of participating universities and colleges met the minimum publication threshold of a 50% response rate, demonstrating the survey's broad reach and continued relevance across the sector.

The 2026 results show encouraging improvements in students' perceptions of teaching quality and institutional responsiveness to student feedback. Positive responses increased across every survey theme compared with 2025, reflecting continued progress in the student experience across UK higher education.

Key findings include:

• Response rate: 71.8%
• Teaching on my course: 88.1% of students gave positive responses, up from 86.9% in 2025.
• Student voice: 80.2% of students responded positively to questions about how their institution values and acts on student feedback, an increase from 77.6% in 2025.

While the results highlight positive progress across the sector, they also point to areas where further improvement is needed. Disabled students continue to report lower levels of satisfaction than their peers, particularly in relation to organisation and management, and feeling that their views are listened to and acted upon.

The NSS remains one of the UK's most important sources of insight into the student experience. Its findings support prospective students in making informed decisions about higher education while providing universities, colleges and policymakers with robust evidence to inform continuous improvement across the sector.

Sami Benyahia, Research Director at Ipsos, commented, 

Delivering the National Student Survey is a significant and complex undertaking, made possible year after year through the steadfast support of universities and colleges and the continued engagement of students. Their collective commitment not only enables the successful delivery of the survey but also drives meaningful improvements across the higher education sector.

Detailed findings of the NSS 2026 are available on the Office for Students (OfS) website.