THE UNIVERSITY of Wales Trinity Saint David has been awarded its highest ever Student Satisfaction score in the National Student Survey 2017 (NSS).
Satisfaction amongst final year undergraduates at the University has improved in two consecutive years to 85% from 79% two years ago.
This was achieved in a year when a new survey format was introduced and when the overall UK national average fell from 87% to 84%. The University welcomes these results which now see UWTSD ranked 4th University overall in Wales.
In many key areas these NSS results show that the University has performed above or in line with the sector average including for the strength of teaching where 91% of UWTSD students agreed that ‘staff are good at explaining things’.
The University is ranked first overall in Wales in the new ‘Learning Community’ category which asks students if they feel part of a community of students and staff and if they’ve had the opportunity to work with other students as they complete their degree. UWTSD was also ranked 2nd overall in Wales in the ‘Learning Opportunities’ and ‘Assessment Feedback’ categories.
The annual survey asks final year students to rate their student experience and includes questions on such topics as the quality of the teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, as well as the learning resources available to students and the student voice. These results include feedback from students across the University’s Swansea, Carmarthen, Lampeter and London campuses as well as those studying at its constituent college Coleg Sir Gâr and FE partner colleges.
“We very much welcome these latest results which have seen a further increase in Student Satisfaction at UWTSD,” said Dr Mirjam Plantinga, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Experience. “To improve our UK and Wales position so much in just two years is quite an achievement and is testament to the hard work of all staff at the University. We’re delighted with the excellent department-level results which include a particularly strong performance from the Faculty of Education and Communities with their first place in Wales for ‘Initial Teacher Training’ and top ten UK positions for ‘Academic Studies in Education’ and Social Work.”
Dr Plantinga added: “Student engagement is a priority at UWTSD and is crucial to achieving a high quality student experience. We work in close partnership with the Students’ Union to ensure that student voice is integral to our planning activities throughout the organisation. As we do with every survey we will be looking at the results to help us identify areas for enhancement. National surveys provide us with that vital feedback to help us ensure we’re meeting the needs of our students.”
Rob Simkins, TSDSU Group President said: “It’s encouraging to see a positive result in so many areas, with particularly good results at individual course level too. The Students’ Union will continue to work closely with the University during the coming year to continue the good work in enhancing the student experience across all of our campuses”.
These latest NSS results confirm the University’s strong performance in relation to its quality of teaching, academic support and learning community in many student-centred surveys over the past year.
Of the 122 British universities that were part of the recent Times Higher Education Student Experience survey UWTSD was ranked in the top 20 overall for ‘Academic Experience’, and ranked 4th in the UK for ‘good personal relationships with teaching staff’, and joint first in Wales. UWTSD was also ranked 9th in the UK for ‘high-quality staff/ lectures’ and again joint first in Wales.
Of the 45 institutions that took part in the 2016 Autumn Wave of the International Student Barometer and Student Barometer survey globally UWTSD was ranked first overall in eleven of the main categories surveyed including for the ‘quality of lectures’, ‘personal tutoring’ and the university’s ‘counselling services’. UWTSD also came out on top when it came to ‘small class sizes’, ‘assessing students’ work’ and ‘meeting staff on arrival’.
Professor Medwin Hughes, DL, Vice-Chancellor, said: “The excellent results achieved in the NSS is very pleasing and supports the feedback that we have received throughout the year from our students where the quality of teaching, academic support and the learning community are consistently rated highly by our students. The University makes a considerable investment in ensuring the quality of the student experience through the range of activities and opportunities provided as part of, or in addition to, our programmes of study. We will continue to develop engaging initiatives for our students in order to ensure that they are provided with a range of opportunities to develop as well-rounded individuals who will make a valuable contribution to their chosen fields of expertise.”
