The NSS is a comprehensive UK-wide survey of students’ views carried out independently and anonymously by Ipsos-MORI.  Students are asked their views on areas such as teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, the organisation and management of their course, learning resources, personal development and their Students’ Union.

Over 2000 Swansea students completed the 2013 survey, representing 72% of all those eligible.

Picture: students in the newly-refurbished Cafe Blas.

Swansea students rated their overall satisfaction with their University at 86%, 2% higher than the average satisfaction in Wales and 1% higher than the average of all UK institutions. 

Satisfaction with teaching also remains high at 86%, and students also expressed rising satisfaction with assessment and feedback, which has seen a year-on-year improvement of 9% since 2011, and a 4% rise since 2012.

Additionally, 74% of students expressed satisfaction with their Students’ Union, representing a further rise of 3% over 2012, placing this above the UK sector average and within the top 25% of UK institutions, which is reflected in the national recognition which our Students’ Union has achieved this year!

Subject areas with particularly high rankings for overall satisfaction include:

Materials Engineering 100%

Classics 97%

Adult Continuing Education 96%

Mechanical Engineering 95%

Biochemistry 95% 

Physics  95%

History 94%

Law 93%

Mathematics  93%

Egyptology 93%

Genetics 91%

 ‌These results support the substantial work invested, with students as partners, to enhance the student experience over the past 2-3 years, reflected in the THES Awards we won for Student Support in 2013 and by the NUS Wales Awards won by our Students’ Union, including Higher Education Students’ Union of the year, the Community Engagement Award,  the HE Full-Time Officer of the Year award for Mahaboob Basha and the Student Journalist of the year, awarded to Chris Flynn.
 
Professor Alan Speight, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Student Experience, said:

"Students are at the centre of everything we do, so I am delighted to see that we have maintained our high levels of student satisfaction." 

"It demonstrates that the improvement in overall student satisfaction last year, up from 82% in 2011, has been sustained and reflects the continued benefits for our students of the approaches we have taken in collaboration with our students and the Students’ Union to enhance their experience whilst studying at Swansea.   Our score remains high, and I want to extend my thanks to all the staff across the institution who have worked hard to make this happen."  

‌Picture:  Students at the 2013 Summer Ball

Professor Speight continued:  "It is p‌articularly pleasing to see that student satisfaction with teaching remains high, and that students are increasingly satisfied with their experience of assessment and feedback." 

"Furthermore, satisfaction with Learning Resources has also improved, thanks to investments made in the Library and other study facilities, and students also report increased satisfaction with their Personal Development, which is reflected in the improved outcomes from the Destination of Leavers of Higher Education (DLHE) survey, which indicates that 93% of graduates find employment or go on to further study within six months of graduating."

"These results has only been achieved by listening to and working with our students, who play a key role in continued improvement." 

"In addition, it is extremely encouraging that student satisfaction with practice placements has increased to 90%, as we are currently developing more placement opportunities for more courses than ever before, to allow students to experience a completely different way of learning."

Zahid Raja, Students' Union President, said:

"I am thrilled to see that Swansea University Students’ Union has continued its upward trajectory in achieving a 3% increase in the National Student Survey. This result is on the back of being announced as NUS Wales Higher Education Students’ Union of the year for 2013; firmly placing the Students’ Union in the top quartile of all UK Students’ Unions."

"This year, we will be launching our new strategic plan outlining how we aim to enhance the student experience whilst leading on the ‘students as partners’ agenda in Wales in order to realise our ambitions in joining the top 10% of all Students’ Unions in the UK by 2020."

Professor Richard B Davies, Swansea University Vice Chancellor, added:

“Swansea is a great place to study, and students who come here become part of an ambitious, research-led institution with top quality teaching. Swansea is also a vibrant student city, with a thriving cultural and sporting scene, with city and countryside nearby and a beachfront location.  MSN recently featured us as one of the top 15 university cities in the UK.

 
More data on the NSS is to be released over the coming weeks.