The National Student Survey 2015: Student participation and satisfaction remains high at UK universities and colleges despite higher tuition fees

Ipsos has delivered the eleventh National Student Survey for HEFCE on behalf of the UK funding bodies and the 2015 survey has been another successful study. Participation was at a record high with over 71% of eligible students completing the survey, giving a comprehensive picture of the undergraduate educational experience in the UK’s universities and colleges. The NSS 2015 was conducted between January and April and more than 300,000 final-year students took part, from 155 HEIs, 190 FECs and five private HE providers from across the UK (Note 1).

The satisfaction rate for students remains high with 86% saying they are satisfied overall with their course in this year's NSS. A further 7% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their higher education experience; 5% were dissatisfied and 2% were strongly dissatisfied.

Satisfaction has improved since 2014 in five out of six of the groups of questions covered by the survey, these cover: assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources and personal development.

The NSS results provide valuable information for prospective students, and help universities and colleges to further improve the education they provide.

Sami Benyahia, Director of the National Student Survey at Ipsos, said:

"We are very pleased to see the National Student Survey once again provide hard evidence that students value their HE courses at UK HE institutions, despite fears from some that the change in the fee regime would impact on students’ judgements on their course   Ipsos is proud to deliver its eleventh NSS and is pleased to see participation rates remaining at a consistently high level. The NSS is taken very seriously by all the stakeholders including the students themselves. The NSS gives students a loud voice to say what they think and demand changes to benefit future students. The NSS will continue to allow students and their families and advisors to make informed choices about where and which course to study. Continued improvements and high levels of satisfaction will ensure that UK Higher Education will continue to attract students from the UK and internationally."

A summary table of results for the UK is shown below.  More detailed data are available through the HEFCE website.

The National Student Survey (NSS) is a census of final-year undergraduates in the UK, which aims to gather students’ opinions on the quality of their courses and to measure their satisfaction with various aspects of their academic experience. Prospective students will be able to compare NSS results and other relevant information on the Unistats website from September.

Which cohort of students are included in the survey?

Of those students studying at HEIs and FECs in England, around a third were studying under the old fee regime before the introduction of the £9,000 tuition fee. This includes students who were on longer courses such as medicine and dentistry. Further analysis of the results will be carried out in the autumn to determine if there is any difference in response from ‘old-regime’ and ‘new-regime’ students.

Notes

1. The NSS covers nearly all final-year undergraduates studying for higher education qualifications at higher education institutions (HEIs) and further education colleges (FECs) in England and Wales, and HEIs in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The survey is funded by the four UK higher education funding bodies (the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Scottish Funding Council, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland), the National College of Teaching and Leadership and Health Education England. HEIs in Scotland and participating alternative providers fund their own participation in the survey. The threshold for publication at each institution is that at least 10 students must have responded, and that these should represent at least half the students eligible to participate.

1. The Unistats web-site will be updated with the 2015 NSS results in September. Unistats is the official site to search for and compare data and information on university and college courses from across the UK. The site draws together comparable information on those areas that students have identified as important in making decisions about what and where to study.  The data are provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the Skills Funding Agency, the Welsh Government, universities and colleges and Ipsos (National Student Survey).