Freshers' week

Students report record levels of satisfaction in National Student Survey

The universities of Belfast, St Andrews, Keele and Bath were all among the top for student satisfaction

Read more: is the National Student Survey fit for purpose?
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86% of students say they are satisfied with their course. Photograph: University of Sussex

Students have reported the highest satisfaction rates with their degree courses in a decade, according to this year's National Student Survey (NSS).

The universities with the highest satisfaction rates recorded are St Mary's University College, part of Queen's University of Belfast, the University of St Andrews, Keele University and the University of Bath.

The universities that rank the worst for student satisfaction are University for the Arts London, London Metropolitan University and University for the Creative Arts.

The research, which is carried out every year for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce), found that 86% of students say they are satisfied with their course.

Professor Madeleine Atkins, chief executive for Hefce, says: "I'm delighted to see record levels of student satisfaction this year, as well as marked improvements in satisfaction with assessment and feedback over the last decade.

"The NSS is the largest survey of its kind in the UK [...] and has been fundamental to driving change in our universities and colleges."

Thousands of students still say that they are unhappy, however, with 5% saying they are dissatisfied and a further 2% saying they are strongly dissatisfied. A total of 7% of respondents say they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

The survey is sent to final-year students at all universities and the findings are used to compile university league tables. Satisfaction has either improved since 2013 or stayed the same in each of the seven categories covered by the survey.

The research also shows that students rate their teaching, academic support and learning resources highly. However they are less satisfied with the assessment and feedback they receive.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, says: "[The results] show that universities across the UK are responding to student feedback and working hard to improve the academic experience."

Universities minister Greg Clark says: "It is vital that higher education institutions further enhance teaching quality and improve the experience they offer to students."

Around 321,000 final-year students from 156 higher education institutions, 166 further education colleges, and three private institutions responded this year. The 71% response rate is the highest the NSS has seen since it began a decade ago.

Redcar and Cleveland College and Courtauld Institute of Art came top overall for satisfaction, with both institutions scoring 100%.

Darlington College and Strode College ranked worst of the colleges for student satisfaction.

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