Stakeholder survey
We are currently seeking stakeholder views on the future of the NSS. We would like to hear from:
- students' union officers and staff members
- academics
- professional services staff who run the NSS
- senior provider managers who handle the NSS.
The survey will close on Friday 13 November 2020.
Complete the survey online or download a Word version of the questions
The Office for Students (OfS) board has agreed the future of the National Student Survey following the announcement of a review which will help reduce bureaucratic burden while ensuring the NSS remains an important indicator of students’ opinions and experiences.
The review follows a request by the universities minister to address concerns about how survey may be creating burden and impacting on standards, while ensuring the NSS remains an important indicator of student opinion.
A two-stage internal review process of the survey is to be conducted. The first stage will address those concerns and will report later this year. The second stage will look more widely at the role of the NSS, including which questions should be asked to support regulation and student information across all four countries of the UK.
Terms of reference
The terms of reference for the first phase of the review will be:
- Clarify the purpose of the NSS in the current higher education landscape.
- Assess the bureaucratic burden the NSS places on providers and how this could be reduced.
- Explore the unintended and unanticipated consequences of the NSS for provider behaviour, and how these could be prevented, including whether the NSS drives the lowering of academic standards and grade inflation.
- Examine the appropriate level at which the NSS could continue to provide reliable data on the student perspective on their subject, provider and the wider system, and what could be done without depending on a universal annual sample.
- Examine the extent to which data from the NSS should be made public including the implications of Freedom of Information legislation.
- Ensure the OfS has the data it needs to regulate quality effectively.
- Ensure the NSS will stand the test of time and can be adapted and refined periodically to prevent gaming.
- Ensure the UK wide role of the survey is considered in any recommendations.
Additional information
Working group
The review is being internally led by Conor Ryan, Director of External Relations, with Richard Puttock, Director of Data, Foresight and Analysis (DFA) as deputy chair.
Details of the membership of our working group are in the process of being drawn up and will be published when they are appointed.
Methodology and collecting feedback
The review has the following main audiences:
The NSS is currently the largest UK-wide mechanism to measure student satisfaction. It is important that students can shape any recommendations which come from the review of the NSS.
As part of the review, we will:
- engage applicants, current students and graduates through a sample survey and workshops
- engage students’ unions through a sample survey and roundtables in collaboration with the National Union of Students.
Providers use the NSS for a number of purposes, such as policy formation, student engagement and course enhancement activities. It is important that we hear views from a range of providers on the issues in the terms of reference.
As part of the review, we will:
- seek the input of higher education mission groups
- engage providers using a survey and a series of roundtables.
The NSS is currently used in league tables and several information websites, as well as by information, advice and guidance practitioners, among others.
As part of the review, we will:
- engage student representatives, including the National Union of Students, as well as academics and sector experts on the NSS review working group
- coordinate listening sessions with key sector stakeholders
- hold one-to-one interviews with experts.
Data analysis
As part of the review, the OfS is also undertaking data analysis to explore:
- the feasibility of different sampling approaches for the NSS
- possible links between the NSS and grade inflation.
If you have any questions or comments about this review, please email [email protected].
