This year's National Student Survey (NSS) has been launched! The NSS is an annual survey which started in 2005 and is carried out at all universities in the UK on behalf of the National Union of Students (NUS). This is an opportunity for final year undergraduates to give feedback on their course including what was done well, what was done less well and any other comments relating to the course.
The NSS is a survey for all final year undergraduates covering aspects of their course such as learning and teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, overall satisfaction and several others. The results are available on Unistats.com for prospective students to make an informed choice about where they want to study. The results are used by the University and the Students’ Union to improve the quality of the student experience. Departments with low student satisfaction scores are asked to draw up action plans on how they will increase their scores. This is usually done with input from academic reps at Student/Staff Liaison Committee meetings. NSS results inform various university league tables. In order for a university to perform well in league tables it helps to have a high student satisfaction. Consequentially NSS results are taken seriously and to have a breadth of student feedback through this is important for the University.
Previous NSS feedback has led to improved rules on how Student/Staff Liaison Committees are run to strengthen the ‘Student Voice’. An annual report has been introduced, written by the Students’ Union, summarising the key academic issues from across these committees so that the University and Union can deal with the issues and concerns raised by students. The personal tutorial system has been reviewed to enhance the support given to students on taught programmes, both academically and personally, through a personalised point of contact with the University. The new system will assist new students with the transition to university life.
It only takes 5 minutes to complete the survey, and there are prizes to be won, including tea with the Mayor of Bath! The NSS is available here.