The results for the 2011 National Student Survey (NSS) have produced positive results for Lancaster University, with 88% of 2608 students surveyed agreeing that they were satisfied with the overall quality of their course.
The survey, which covers both Higher Education Institutions (HIEs) and Further Education Colleges (FECs), was taken in January and February of this year, and is beneficial to prospective students when making decisions about where to go to university and what course to study. This is the seventh year that the NSS has been running.
93% of students at Lancaster said that “staff are good at explaining things,” a one percent increase from last year’s results, with only two percent in disagreement. 84% also agreed that the staff at Lancaster have made their particular subject interesting, with a further 89% expressing that they felt their course was intellectually stimulating.
On the question of “assessment and feedback,” 78% of Lancaster students said that “assessment arrangements and marking have been fair,” up from 74% last year and compared to 74% sector-wide. A six percent increase from last year also showed that 74% of students felt that they had been receiving detailed comments on their work.
In terms of “academic support,” 87% of students agreed that they were able to contact staff when needed, with 76% in agreement that they had received sufficient advice and support with their studies.
90% of Lancaster students also said that they “have had plenty of opportunities to interact socially with other students”, up from 89% last year and compared to 82% sector-wide. 82% of students were also happy with the efficiency of their academic timetables, with a further 83% believing that their communications skills had greatly improved since attending Lancaster.
Pro Vice-Chancellor for Colleges and the Student Experience, Professor Amanda Chetwynd, told SCAN that “the University and LUSU have done a lot of work together on feedback and assessment and it is good to see this reflected in the students’ responses,” going on to say that “the responses and comments made by our students in the NSS are carefully considered and discussed in departmental teaching committees and action plans drawn up where needed.”
