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National Student Survey: student satisfaction climbs to 84% with record response rate

12 August 2016

The 2016 NSS results released this week reveal that 84% of final year undergraduates are satisfied with their overall experience at UCL, compared with 83% in 2015.

National Student Survey: Student satisfaction climbs to 84% with record response rate

Improvements were also recorded in Assessment and Feedback with a 3% increase in satisfaction to 64% and a 1% increase in satisfaction for both Teaching and Learning Resources. The Students' Union also saw an increase from 62% in 2015 to 66%. All other sections stayed the same, with 76% for Academic Support, 79% for Personal Development, and 80% for Organisation and Management putting us ahead of the sector in this area by 1%.

Record response rate

The National Student Survey is sent to all undergraduates in their final year across the UK and this year the response rate at UCL was higher than ever before, with 79% of students completing the survey, compared to 71% in the previous year.

Professor Anthony Smith, who as UCL's Vice-Provost (Education and Student Affairs) oversees the student experience, said, "We are pleased that overall satisfaction has increased. Achieving high levels of student satisfaction in the National Student Survey is a key part of our strategy.

"However, we want all aspects of the student experience at UCL to be outstanding and these results show there is more work to do in certain areas, such as assessment and feedback. We are working hard to improve this with, among other things, standardised marking criteria and a new online feedback tool for students.

"At UCL, we believe in integrating education and research so that students are encouraged to be directly involved in research at all stages of their studies. We believe this greatly adds to our students' overall satisfaction."

Sally Mackenzie, Head of Student Engagement, said: "It is encouraging to see that we are making improvements in certain areas of the NSS and that some of the recent initiatives, such as the UCL ChangeMaker Scholar scheme where staff and students worked together to make improvements to assessment and feedback, are helping us take a step in the right direction. 

"One of the most effective ways to drive change at UCL is for students and staff to collaborate and there is huge potential for shaping education for current and future students if we pool ideas and creativity."

Your top 3 scoring questions

  1. Staff are good at explaining things: 89% final year undergraduates agreed
  2. The course is intellectually stimulating: 88% of final year undergraduates agreed
  3. The library resources and services are good enough for my needs: 88% of final year undergraduates agreed

Your bottom 3 scoring questions

  1. Feedback on my work has been prompt: 59% of final year undergraduates agreed
  2. I have received detailed comments on my work: 60% of final year undergraduates agreed
  3. Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand - 60% of final year undergraduates agreed

What we are doing to improve feedback and assessment

The Education Strategy 2016-21 outlines how we are improving education at UCL, including:

  • Working with departments to ensure that all feedback on assessed work is returned to students within four weeks
  • Disseminating indicative marking criteria as a starting point for departments to develop their own, discipline-specific criteria
  • Trialling new ways of providing students with feedback eg piloting the My Feedback tool which lets students see their feedback and grades more quickly and in one place
  • Running joint staff sessions with our partner schools to explore how they use feedback and assessment techniques in the secondary sector and how we can adapt these for UCL.

What happens to the results?

The NSS results are analysed and a report is produced for your department. The results are used as part of the Annual Student Experience Review (ASER) process which requires departments to write annual Development and Enhancement plans in consultation with students, outlining what actions they will take to address any issues that have been raised in the survey.

Every comment that a student submits (anonymously) through the survey is read by Vice-Provost for Education and Student Affairs, Professor Anthony Smith, as well as your Head of Department and relevant teaching staff. 

Departments are encouraged to discuss their NSS results with their Staff-Student Consultative Committees (SSCCs) and Student Academic Representatives (StARs) so they can be used for planning and identifying opportunities for change.

Sally Mackenzie, Head of Student Engagement, Office of the Vice-Provost (Education and Student Affairs)