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Satisfaction guaranteed for University of York students

Posted on 22 September 2005

An overwhelming majority of students at the University of York are happy with their courses, according to a major new national survey.

The National Student Survey revealed that less than two per cent of students who responded at York expressed any dissatisfaction with their learning experience.

There was a huge response at the University to the survey undertaken between January and April 2005 by independent market research agency Ipsos UK, with 77 per cent of York's 1,800 final year students taking part. The national response rate was 60 per cent.

86 per cent of York responders were satisfied with the quality of their courses and regarded them as well-organised.

A total of 90 per cent of responses said that staff were successful in making subjects interesting, and 85 per cent thought they received enough advice and support with their studies.

The NSS is a new national initiative across all higher education institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and involved asking final year students what they thought of their courses.

The seven areas on which students were questioned were:

• teaching
• assessment and feedback
• academic support
• organisation and management
• learning resources
• personal development
• overall satisfaction with the quality of the course

The results are published on the Teaching Quality Information website at www.tqi.ac.uk on 22 September 2005. The TQI is a quality assurance project of the four UK higher education funding bodies.

We think it is important for universities to be accountable.

Professor Trevor Sheldon

Professor Trevor Sheldon, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at York, said: "We think it is important for universities to be accountable. Regular independent scrutiny such as the National Student Survey can be of great benefit. It can help tell us where we are doing well while giving clear messages on areas in which we can improve."

Micky Armstrong, President of the University of York Students' Union, added: "I am very happy with the high proportion of students that took the time to complete this survey, it means that the University can gain an in-depth perspective of students' views. There are many positives that can be taken from these results and I am also very encouraged by the action that the University is taking in response to issues that have arisen."