Official statistics

National Student Survey data

The National Student Survey (NSS) is an independent survey that gathers final year undergraduate students' opinions on the quality of their course.

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Headline results

The percentage of respondents who gave the two most positive answers to the survey questions.

Teaching on my course

How good are the teaching staff at explaining things?

91%

How often do teaching staff make the subject engaging?

80%

How often is the course intellectually stimulating?

84%

How often does your course challenge you to achieve your best work?

84%

Learning opportunities

To what extent have you had the chance to explore ideas and concepts in depth?

82%

How well does your course introduce subjects and skills in a way that builds on what you have already learned?

84%

To what extent have you had the chance to bring together information and ideas from different topics?

83%

To what extent does your course have the right balance of directed and independent study?

76%

How well has your course developed your knowledge and skills that you think you will need for your future?

82%

Assessment and feedback

How clear were the marking criteria used to assess your work?

76%

How fair has the marking and assessment been on your course?

81%

How well have assessments allowed you to demonstrate what you have learned?

81%

How often have you received assessment feedback on time?

80%

How often does feedback help you to improve your work?

72%

Academic support

How easy was it to contact teaching staff when you needed to?

83%

How well have teaching staff supported your learning?

84%

Organisation and management

How well organised is your course?

73%

How well were any changes to teaching on your course communicated?

75%

Learning resources

How well have the IT resources and facilities supported your learning?

84%

How well have the library resources (e.g. books, online services and learning spaces) supported your learning?

89%

How easy is it to access subject specific resources (e.g. equipment, facilities, software) when you need them?

86%

Student voice

To what extent do you get the right opportunities to give feedback on your course?

80%

To what extent are students' opinions about the course valued by staff?

74%

How clear is it that students' feedback on the course is acted on?

61%

Students' union

How well does the students' union (association or guild) represent students' academic interests?

72%

Mental wellbeing

How well communicated was information about your university/college's mental wellbeing support services?

75%

Freedom of expression

The following question was only asked to students registered at providers in England.

During your studies, how free did you feel to express your ideas, opinions, and beliefs?

England 86%

Overall satisfaction

The following question used a five-point agreement response scale and is therefore not directly comparable with the other questions in the survey. This question was only asked to students registered at providers in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the course.

Northern Ireland80%

Scotland 77%

Wales 75%

The NSS is managed by the OfS on behalf of the UK funding and regulatory bodies – the Department for the Economy (Northern Ireland), the Scottish Funding Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

Last updated 19 October 2023 + show all updates

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