Nottingham Trent University | Centre for Academic Development and Quality

Background

  • The first National Student Survey ran in the UK in 2005.
  • It is currently run by Ipsos Mori and in 2012 around 287,000 students responded.[1]
  • It surveys final year undergraduate students about their university experienceusing 23 ‘core’ questions in a number of key areas:[2]
  • The teaching on my course
  • Assessment and feedback
  • Academic support
  • Organisation and management
  • Learning resources
  • Personal development
  • Overall satisfaction
  • Student union (new question added in 2012)
  • The survey is intended to ‘contribute to public accountability and help inform the choices of prospective students’.[3]
  • The survey opens in early January and closes at the end of April.[4]
  • The results are published online on Unistats[5] and, from 2012 they have also been made available through the Key Information Sets (KIS).
  • Aggregated data is published on the HEFCE website[6] and includes summary data and results by institution.
  • Although some are critical of the survey, the results are published online and they are used to compile league tables. They therefore have an impact on the reputation of NTU.

NSS at NTU

  • The response rate improved in 2012 and overall satisfaction has increased by 4% to 83%.
  • NTU has increased by 14 places this year to joint 84th. Other universities at 83% satisfaction with us are: Aston, Bath Spa, Birmingham City, Derby, Edge Hill, Edinburgh, Glamorgan, Leeds Met, Liverpool John Moores, Manchester, Queen Margaret, Sunderland.
  • The difference between the top score and NTU is 15% (top score 98%). Many universities have the same scores which makes us appear lower down. For example to get into the:

Top 10 – we need a score of 91%- Top 30 – we need a score of 89%

Top 20 – we need a score of 90%- Top 40 – we need a score of 87%

  • NTU has an institution-specific question: ‘Would you recommend studying at NTU?’ In 2012, 88% of respondents said that they would.
  • A summary of NTU ‘overall satisfaction’ results by year is provided in the table below.

Year / Sector Satisfaction / NTU Satisfaction / Rank
2006 / 80% / 75% / 116/137
2007 / 81% / 77% / 107/143
2008 / 83% / 83% / 63/131
2009 / 82% / 82% / 66/129
2010 / 82% / 79% / 98/154
2011 / 82% / 79% / 98/129
2012 / 85% / 83% / 84/136
  • Data for subject areas and comparisons between subjects at NTU and sector results are available - contact your course leader, ATLor Kim Winter (Marketing) for further information.

Impact of the NSS

Student feedback on the NSS, along with feedback generated through other surveys, has had an impact at NTU. Improving student academic satisfaction is the key strategic focus of the University, alongside the employability of our students. There have been several key University-wide initiatives undertaken to address satisfaction issues including the curriculum review, three week turnaround and the introduction of tutorials. These initiatives have been undertaken to help improve timetabling and provide coherent course structures, improve the timeliness and quality of feedback and to provide an infrastructure that enhances the student academic experience

CADQ Guide: Introduction to the National Student Survey (NSS)

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