Aberystwyth recognised as one of the best universities in the UK for student satisfaction

15 July 2020

Aberystwyth is one of the UK’s top universities for student satisfaction, according to the latest National Student Survey (NSS) which is published today, Wednesday 15 July, 2020.

Aberystwyth is the best university in Wales, and of all the universities featured in The Times / Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020, is one of the top 5 universities in the UK for overall student satisfaction.

With overall student satisfaction at 90%, Aberystwyth University has outperformed the UK figure of 83% by 7 percentage points.

This year’s results mean that Aberystwyth has been voted the top university in Wales for overall satisfaction by its students for the fifth year running.

The annual survey asks every final-year undergraduate to score their university across a wide range of questions including quality of teaching, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, learning community, the student voice and overall satisfaction.

This year’s survey opened on 6 January and closed on 30 April 2020, and included the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown.

Professor Elizabeth Treasure, Vice-Chancellor at Aberystwyth University, said: “The excellent results of this year’s National Student Survey are a testament to the exceptional work of colleagues across the University, and their dedication to providing the best possible learning experience for our students. By any measure, this has been an exceptional year, one that has presented many challenges. Our focus now is on ensuring that we continue to deliver what is one of the best student experiences in the UK higher education sector for the forthcoming academic year, whilst ensuring the safety of our students, staff and the wider community.”

Nate Pidcock, President of Aberystwyth Students’ Union said: “Congratulations to Aberystwyth University on another outstanding NSS result. It’s great to see Aberystwyth continuing to achieve such high student satisfaction year on year and maintaining their top position in Wales. This year’s NSS reflects some very good results for the Students’ Union and the student voice. The Union will continue to work hard to make sure that student satisfaction remains high at Aberystwyth and to ensure that Aber students love student life. We are looking forward to another year of working with students to ensure they have an amazing time in Aberystwyth.”

The National Student Survey (NSS) is an annual survey of nearly half a million students in universities, colleges and other providers across the UK.

Conducted by IPSOS Mori, the NSS is coordinated by the Office for Students on behalf of its funders including the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, the Scottish Funding Council and the Department for the Economy in Ireland.

As well as a top achiever in the NSS, Aberystwyth University holds a Gold award in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and has been recognised by The Times / Sunday Times Good University Guide with awards for three years running, University of the Year for Teaching Quality in The Times / Sunday Times Good University Guide for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019, and Welsh University of the Year in 2020.