National Student Survey Liaison Officer Role and Actions Check-List

National Student Survey Liaison Officer Role and Actions Check-list

The role of the NSSLO

1) Encourage student participation in the NSS within departments or other academic units (e.g. divisions, schools, inter-departmental programmes etc);

2) Liaise with Academic Services (AS) in coordinating NSS promotional activity;

3) Receive the weekly response rate update from AS and follow the suggested activity. Also share any examples of promotional good practice for further transmission across UCL;

4) Ensure that the NSS and the previous year’s faculty digest are included as items for the Departmental Teaching Committee (DTC) or equivalent and the Staff Student Consultative Committee (SSCC);

5) Provide feedback at the end of the survey to AS officers on the NSSLO role.

Check-list of actions for the NSSLO to undertake for the NSS

 Arrange for: (i) NSS posters to be displayed on notice-boards or where students may see them, (ii) distribution of NSS flyers to the students, for example via their pigeon holes, or handed out in lectures, seminars or tutorials (posters and flyers provided by AS) and (iii) an item to be posted on the departmental (or equivalent) web-site publicising the NSS with links to the web-site: (suggested text to be provided);

 Receive the weekly response rate update and liaise with AS officers to take action to improve it as necessary. A response rate of at least 50% and 23 student replies is required for results to be published;

 Remind Heads of Department, programme directors etc to send an e-mail message to students (suggested to be provided);

 Request that lecturers/tutors ask students to participate in the NSS and explain that they have a very important role in communicating with their students about the survey (list of key points for lecturers to be provided);

 Ensure that: (i) the NSS is included as an item for information and/or discussion on the agendas for the SSCC and for the DTC (or equivalent) and (ii) that the previous year’s results available in the NSS Faculty Results Digest have been submitted to both committees;

 Help ensure student awareness that the NSS is used with other forms of feedback, to inform UCL strategy and enhance the student experience;

 Ensure that staff are aware that students should be free to give honest feedback and not encouraged to give answers outside their own perceptions of their UCL experience (i.e. no link should be made between the NSS and league tables, or the value of their degrees);

 Encourage students to complete the NSS on-line, as it is more convenient for them to fill it in at their leisure, rather than be contacted by Ipsos MORI by phone. The sooner they complete, the fewer reminders they will receive!