Students "more satisfied than ever before"

According to the Times Higher Education analysis of the latest NSS data, students are more satisfied than they’ve ever been. For universities in England, students’ overall satisfaction rate rose slightly from 81 per cent last year to 82 per cent, while satisfaction scores in six specific areas, including teaching, assessment and academic support, also all … Continued

According to the Times Higher Education analysis of the latest NSS data, students are more satisfied than they’ve ever been.

For universities in England, students’ overall satisfaction rate rose slightly from 81 per cent last year to 82 per cent, while satisfaction scores in six specific areas, including teaching, assessment and academic support, also all increased. Students are most satisfied with the teaching they receive, with 83 per cent reporting general satisfaction. But satisfaction with “assessment and feedback” remained lower than in other areas, at 64 per cent. Minister for Students Delyth Morgan said: “The continued high level of satisfaction is a welcome testament to the quality of the teaching and learning experience in this country.”

But is this really telling us very much about the real quality of the student experience? Especially when you note the following:

The top UK satisfaction score of 96 per cent went to the University of Buckingham, a private institution. Vice-chancellor Terence Kealey said: “This is the third year that we’ve come top because we are the only university in Britain that focuses on the student rather than on government or regulatory targets. Every other university should copy us and become independent.”

I’m sure students at Buckingham have a distinctive experience but the reasons for this result are perhaps a bit more complicated than suggested here. Still, the NSS does at least provide much-needed fodder (or core data on the quality of the student experience) for the league table compilers.

The full data is available from Hefce. The THE rankings are as follows:

Most-satisfied students
Institution	2005	2006	2007	2008
University of Buckingham		94	93	96
Royal Academy of Music	95	81	90	94
The Open University	95	95	95	94
University of St Andrews		92	94	93
Courtauld Institute of Art	100	81	74	93
University of Cambridge				93
University of Oxford			92	92
University of East Anglia	88	89	89	92
Birkbeck, University of London	90	91	92	92
Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln	88	89	87	92
University of Leicester	89	89	90	92
University of Exeter	86	85	91	91
University of Aberdeen			88	91
Loughborough University	88	88	89	91
Harper Adams University College	90	86	91	90
Aberystwyth University	87	90	90	90
St George’s Hospital Medical School	86	80	87	90
Institute of Education	83		80	90
University of Kent	86	86	88	90
University of Sheffield	86	84	87	89
The table shows the percentage of students, full and part time, who “definitely” or “mostly” agreed with the statement: “Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of my course.”