Appendix Ten
National Student Survey Results by Race
The National Student Satisfaction Survey (NSS) is undertaken annually and has the purpose of providing prospective students with information, as to how satisfied students who have just graduated have been with their academic department and institution. Questions are broken down into six sections and students are also asked to give an overall satisfaction rating. The datais used by newspapers and GoodUniversity guides as one factor in published league tables. The application choices of students is often influenced by this data. Queen Mary has developed a programme to address some of its disappointing results within the NSS.
Response Rate for Queen Mary
Ethnicity / Response Rate %All students / 63%
White / 66%
Black / 64%
Asian / 60%
Responding to the NSS is not mandatory. Many institutions encourage students to participate, in order to secure a representative NSS outcome. All students are contacted and asked to respond to the survey, although they may opt out. The overall response rate for all students combined at Queen Mary was 63%. Compared to last year survey, the proportion of Black and Asian (BAME) studentsresponding has increased and is almost the same as White students.
The following analysis is by the six sections of the survey, rather than by each individual question asked within it. The percentage used is the mean score for respondents who answered with definitely agree or mostly agree to the questions.
The teaching on my course
Ethnicity / Agree % 2007 / Agree % 2008 / Agree %2009 / National average agree % 2009
White / 88 / 90 / 89 / 84
Black / 85 / 81 / 85 / 81
Asian / 79 / 76 / 78 / 77
Teaching within the College received the highest satisfaction ratings out of all the sections asked within the survey. The vast majority of students from all backgrounds agreed that teaching was good, although satisfaction rates were slightlylower for Black and lower again for Asian students. White students and Black students expressed a significantly greater level of satisfaction than the national average, while Asian students’ responses were in line with the nationalfigures.
Assessment and feedback
Ethnicity / Agree % 2007 / Agree 2008 % / Agree %2009 / National average agree % 2009
White / 65 / 65 / 64 / 65
Black / 70 / 59 / 66 / 67
Asian / 56 / 57 / 60 / 62
Assessment and feedback received the lowest satisfaction from students out of all the sections within the survey. Over half of students surveyed from all backgrounds agreed that assessment and feedback was good. However fewer White and Asian students were satisfied than the Black students in their cohort and their responses were below the national average. The satisfaction level for Black students is a lot less stable than the other group with a significant drop in satisfaction between 2007 and 2008 and a significant rise between 2008 and 2009.
Academic Support
Ethnicity / Agree %2007 / Agree %
2008 / Agree %
2009 / National average agree % 2009
White / 77 / 78 / 78 / 75
Black / 73 / 68 / 77 / 71
Asian / 69 / 71 / 71 / 71
The majority of students agreed that academic support was good. Again levels of satisfaction were lower for Black and Asian students. The responses from Black students were below the national average.
Organisation and management
Ethnicity / Agree %2007 / Agree %
2008 / Agree %
2009 / National average agree % 2009
White / 74 / 77 / 76 / 72
Black / 79 / 69 / 82 / 74
Asian / 75 / 74 / 74 / 74
The majority of students agreed that organisation and management of courses and timetables was good. Levels of satisfaction amongst Black students are unstable from year to year but have improvedsignificantly compared to last year..
Learning resources
Ethnicity / Agree %2007 / Agree %
2008 / Agree %
2009 / National average agree % 2009
White / 80 / 79 / 76 / 81
Black / 85 / 75 / 86 / 80
Asian / 80 / 82 / 82 / 80
The majority of students agreed that learning resources such as IT equipment and library services were good. White students were below the national average. Black student satisfaction has returned to 2007 levels.
Personal development (increasing confidence and communication skills)
Ethnicity / Agree %2007 / Agree % 2008 / Agree %
2009 / National average agree % 2009
White / 82 / 81 / 82 / 79
Black / 82 / 73 / 81 / 81
Asian / 78 / 79 / 78 / 79
Responses from all students were broadly in line with the previous years percentage ratings and the national average. Black students’ satisfaction has improved compared to the previous year.
Overall Satisfaction
Ethnicity / Agree %2007 / Agree % 2008 / Agree %
2009 / National average agree % 2009
White / 89 / 89 / 90 / 82
Black / 91 / 79 / 88 / 80
Asian / 84 / 82 / 82 / 80
Responses from all students exceeded the national average and were broadly in line with the responses given in the previous year’s survey. Black students’ experience and satisfaction has improved significantly compared to last year. Their level of overall satisfaction is significantly above the national average.
This statistic is used as a measure of student satisfaction in the Sunday Times University Guide and places us at 30 (38 last year) out of 120 institutions. Asian student satisfaction appears to be an area of particular weakness.
Open comments from students
Students were offered the opportunity to add written comments to their responses. A number of those received related to diversity issues. The responses were mixed, with both positive comments and room for improvements. Overall students see the diverse mix of students at Queen Mary as beneficial to their experience here.
Positive
“You are able to talk to staff when you need to.You get extra support classes if needed”.
“The staff are always approachable and fair. The resources are brilliant, especially when deadlines aredue. As a student you feel as though you continually have a resource of people around you”.
“I’m a special needs student, so I feel that I wasreally well supported with everything, in otherwords good support for students with special needs”.
“The community atmosphere at Queen Mary.Freedom given to students to pursue interest outside the curriculum”.
“Helpful and highly intellectual staff, and abrilliantly broad, in-depth, and organised degree.A broad spectrum of multi-cultural students from all over the world”.
“The teaching in general has been very high andyou are treated equal during tutorials”.
“There is good contact time between staff andstudents. At Queen Mary, you feel valued as an individual”.
“Nice small campus-community feel”.
“They take into consideration personal situations and help you through them”.
Room for improvement
“I would say there was unfairness in marking;there was definite bias behaviour from tutors”.
“Very complicated to get in touch with staff, or get their attention on problem”.
“Some of the English staff have treated me unfairly,not giving me relevant critical advice and havebeen unclear about goals and assessment. I havefound one member of staff very unapproachableand unhelpful, only really compounding any issues with my course”.
“Weren't supportive when it came to religious holidays”.
“A degree of racial discrimination plays a part inthe way certain lecturers treat students”.
“Senior staff are discriminating. Course is extremelydisorganised. No feedback on any aspect especiallyexaminations and my progress. Unfair process formost selection procedures. No students support. Toomuch emphasis on communication skills and ethnicproblems, and very little medicine and anatomy”.
“The nationalities at the universities should beincreased, in order to enhance a merger amongdiverse cultures”.
“The University was totally disorganised &unsympathetic when I needed to take time off dueto illness. I was treated mostly with a lack ofrespect and compassion which has tainted myview of the school on the whole.
“Not so much a negative aspect, but access to faithrooms under the current system could be improved”.
Summary
There appears to be a dimension of performance in the NSS whichsuperficially is explained by racial factors. If this is correct, an opportunity is presented to improve the student experience and measures of organisational performance by addressing those concerns.
Black students’ satisfaction has improved dramatically compared to the previous academic year, and in overall seems unstable. Further research will be necessary to identify the causes of these changes.
Recommendations
- The internal student survey conducted by Queen Mary should be analysed by ethnicity as a variable independent from the course studied.
- Further analysis of the NSS should be undertaken at sectoral level(Humanities, Science and Medicine) to explore if the experiences of students differ between sectors.
- This paper should be brought to the attention of Schools and Departments to inform and challenge their own practices and processes.
- Student focus groups could be held with students from different backgrounds, particularly students from Black backgrounds, to ascertain what perceptions they hold on assessment and feedback, organisation and management and whether race plays a factor in their perceptions.
- Departmental handbooks should make clear how feedback is provided at Queen Mary and an article written for the student union newspaper explaining how feedback is provided.
Questions asked within NSS Survey
The teaching on my course:
Staff are good at explaining things
Staff have made the subject interesting
Staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching
The course is intellectually stimulating
Assessment and feedback
The criteria used in marking have been clear in advance
Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair
Feedback on my work has been prompt
I have received detailed comments on my work
Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand
Academic support
I have received sufficient advice and support with my studies
I have been able to contact staff when I needed to
Good advice was available when I needed to make study choices
Organisation and management
The timetable works efficiently as far as my activities are concerned
Any changes in the course or teaching have been communicated effectively
The course is well organised and is running smoothly
Learning resources
The library resources and services are good enough for my needs
I have been able to access general IT resources when I needed to
I have been able to access specialised equipment, facilities or rooms when I needed to
Personal development
The course has helped me to present myself with confidence
My communications skills have improved
As a result of the course, I feel confident in tackling unfamiliar problems.
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