National Student Survey Result 2011

QMU participated in the NSS for the first time in 2011. Below is a summary of the results which are also available for individual courses which meet the required NSS publication thresholds*. You can see results for all participating institutions at http://unistats.direct.gov.uk . 78% of all eligible students participated in the NSS.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK

 Overall satisfaction with the course:

- 78% of respondents were satisfied overall with the quality of their course. Sector-wide scores in this criterion range from 95% to 67% with an average of 83%.

Quality of teaching on the course:

-87% of respondents agreed that our staff have made the subject interesting. This is above the Scottish average of 83%.

-85% of respondents agreed that staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching.

-84% of respondents agreed that their course is intellectually stimulating.

Personal development:

- 88% of respondents agreed that their communication skills had improved. We rank first in Scotland for this.

Assessment and feedback:

-75% of respondents agreed that criteria used in marking had been made clear in advance and that assessment arrangements and marking had been fair.

AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT/ IMPROVEMENT

We are taking action to address each of the points below:

Assessment and feedback:

-41% of respondents agreed that feedback on work had been prompt.

-48% of respondents agreed that feedback on work had helped clarify things they did not understand.

Organisation and management:

-58% of respondents agreed that the timetable worked efficiently for their activities.

-58% of respondents agreed that any changes in the course or teaching had been communicated effectively.

-53% of respondents agreed that the course was well organised and running smoothly.

NEXT STEPS

The NSS is an extremely important and useful source of information to us. We have agreed a plan of action to disseminate and respond to the results on a number of levels, for example: through discussion with the Students’ Union and staff; through our committee structure; and through annual monitoring of our teaching programmes.

At present, further consideration of the data collected is being undertaken by a small working group involving representation from each of the academic schools, professional services departments, and the Students’ Union. The institution will work with students and staff to facilitate ongoing improvement of the student experience.

If you have any queries about the NSS and next steps within QMU, please contact Hilary Glendinning, Quality Enhancement Unit, QMU.

*Programme level reports are only possible for programmes that meet the NSS minimum response threshold of 10 students; results are not available for cohorts smaller than 10 in order to protect anonymity.