Higher Education Research

Our team of social researchers and evaluation consultants have expert knowledge in the social issues affecting higher education. This includes understanding the policies and practices that support higher education, and the challenges faced by students, universities and colleges.

We design and deliver end-to-end research and evaluation projects using a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

We have invaluable experience in carrying out both small and large-scale research studies, notably the National Student Survey (NSS), a high profile annual survey of nearly half a million students across the UK. The survey gathers opinions from students about their time in higher education, asking them to provide honest feedback on what it has been like to study on their course at their university/college. It is an influential source of public information about higher education and gives students a powerful collective voice to help shape the future of their course and their university/college for current and prospective students.

The NSS is commissioned by the Office for Students (OfS), on behalf of the UK funding and regulatory bodies – the Department for Economy Northern Ireland (DfENI), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). The NSS is undertaken independently by Ipsos.

We offer a range of student and Higher Education (HE) stakeholder research; we have an established reputation for our work in the HE sector and are experts in our work among students, HE stakeholders and regulatory bodies.

Our work makes an important contribution to improving the student experience.