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Why you should encourage your students to complete the NSS 2024
11 March 2024
The National Student Survey (NSS) is a vital source of insights into education and the student experience at UCL that informs key decisions across our university.
The NSS is an annual online survey for final year undergraduates across the UK, organised by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Office for Students (OFS).
The 2024 survey runs from 22 January to 30 April, and students can complete the questionnaire directly via www.thestudentsurvey.com.
The survey takes around 15 minutes to complete. All student responses to the survey are anonymous and any references to individuals in open text comments are also removed.
Why does the NSS matter?
Results and comments from the National Student Survey continue to be instrumental in shaping policies and guiding improvements in UCL departments and support services, for the following reasons:
The National Student Survey is a nationwide survey canvassing final year undergraduates on the experience of their programme and institution. All English HEIs use the same questionnaire. The results are published nationally and this helps UCL gauge how we are performing in comparison to our peers.
Institutions require a response rate of at least 50% in order for results to be published, so comparisons between institutions, as well as UCL’s own programmes, are based on stable sample sizes.
In last year’s National Student Survey, UCL achieved a response rate of 72% with over 4,600 students completing the survey.
Authentic student feedback
Tell your students and colleagues that the feedback from the NSS and other student surveys can help faculties, departments and support services identify what is working well and where we can improve.
NSS feedback is entirely confidential, meaning students can share their views honestly and openly. Results from the survey will be released in July 2024.
You can find examples of changes inspired by previous student feedback on the You Shaped UCL pages.
Qualitative results
Students' free text comments inform and guide changes. As well as quantitative results, departments and support services will receive open text comments from students participating in the NSS, in response to the final question ‘Looking back on the experience, are there any particularly positive or negative aspects you would like to highlight?’.
Comments in response to this question can be valuable in highlighting issues and best practice that might not be apparent in quantitative results.
These comments along with the numerical scores contribute to Faculty and Departmental Education Plans, to help guide changes in education and student experience.
Rankings and ratings
Results from the NSS contribute to the assessment of a HEI’s rating (Gold / Silver / Bronze) in the Teaching Excellence Framework. Results from the survey also contribute to university league tables.