Aberystwyth leads in student satisfaction
Student satisfaction
16 September 2009
Once again Aberystwyth University has performed brilliantly in this year's National Student Survey results.
Aberystwyth is joint 6th place of all Universities in the UK and top in Wales for the fifth year running.
This excellent result supports the earlier Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2009, which rated Aberystwyth top in Wales and eighth in the UK.
The National Student Survey (NSS) has been running annually since 2005. It is a survey of mostly final year undergraduates in the UK, with the main purpose to help inform the choices of prospective higher education students about where and what to study.
The total number of students who responded to the annual NSS increased this year by over 3,000 to 223,363 students, an overall response rate for the UK of 62 per cent.
Students are asked questions, grouped into seven areas: teaching on my course; assessment and feedback; academic support; organisation and management; learning resources; personal development; and overall satisfaction.
Overall satisfaction at Aberystwyth University remains very high at 90%, the same as 2008 and 2007, and nearly 10% higher than the UK average. Highest ratings were achieved in ‘learning resources' and ‘overall satisfaction’.
In addition to Aberystwyth University’s high overall position as the leading university in Wales for student satisfaction, many of the subjects taught here to full-time first degree students have achieved increasing levels of satisfaction across the seven areas of the student learning experience.
When compared to the UK average, the following trends are noted:
Higher in all seven themes
• Sport and Exercise Science
• Agriculture
• Cinematics
• Art
Higher in 6 out of 7
• Physical Geography
Higher in 5 out of 7
• Accounting
• Business
• Welsh
• Computer Science
• Education
• Human Geography
• International Politics
• Zoology
Professor Martin Jones, Pro Vice Chancellor at Aberystwyth University said:
“A high quality student experience is the hallmark of excellent higher education. The results demonstrate that students are engaging seriously with the survey as an important means by which to maintain and enhance the quality of their experience”.
“We are delighted that our students have once again, this year, acknowledged the supportive and enhancing environment of Aberystwyth University, the distinction and commitment of its teaching and support staff, the innovative and exciting academic courses and the wonderfully friendly community spirit that makes studying at Aberystwyth such a unique experience for students from all over the world”.
“To have done so well again in the NSS as the best in Wales for the fifth year running, is a matter of the greatest pride for us all, and I would like thank everyone at Aberystwyth for creating this experience. Our aim is to continue to improve the student experience here in every respect. Our students, and those who'll join them here in the future, now know that they really are experiencing the best student environment that the UK can offer. Environment matters, which is why we care”, he added.
The NSS was carried out by Ipsos MORI. The data are available for prospective students, their parents and advisors, and will be made available on the Unistats web-site (http://www.unistats.com/) at the end of September 2009.
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