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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.

Colourful graphic stating: 'Have your say!' 'Take 15 minutes to share your views'

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.     


Promoting the NSS 

What support is available for UCL staff looking to promote the National Student Survey?  

There is at least one NSS Liaison Officer in each academic department with undergraduates, and they have received a comprehensive guide to promoting the survey locally. As well as this, staff can find NSS promotional materials including images for social media and PowerPoint templates on the Templates and Guides page.  

How can we encourage students to participate? 

Get creative with incentives 

Some departments have invited their students to a session about the NSS and provided pizza, coffee or cake. An event like this must be voluntary and if you would like to include incentives, please contact Sophia Macblain. For details, read the IPSOS MORI Guide to Good Practice.

Funding for your department to spend with students

The Office of the Vice-Provost (Education & Student Experience) also continues to fund UCL’s departmental response rate incentive scheme. If your department secures a response rate of 70% or higher, it could gain between £250 and £1,500 (depending on the size of their NSS cohort) to spend in consultation with your undergraduate finalists. Find out more about the response rate incentive.  

The VPESE team also send out weekly response rate updates so departments can track their progress towards the 70% mark.