Student Satisfaction Higher than Ever

A new survey has revealed that more students at English universities and colleges are happy with their courses than ever before. Released by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the results show that 83% of final year students were ‘satisfied' with their education experience, whilst just 9% were dissatisfied.

Top Marks

The annual National Student Survey has been running for seven years and aims to not only show the general satisfaction of students in the UK, but also highlight where universities can improve the experience they offer. The questions are put to students finishing the final year of their course and are based on their entire higher education experience. Seven different categories are covered by the survey, including quality of teaching (which satisfied 84% of students) and academic support (77% satisfied).

Overall, every single category had either a higher or equal satisfaction rate compared to 2010; a point that the Minister for Universities David Willetts was quick to praise:

"This survey shows that student satisfaction is high on average. This is welcome news. No wonder record numbers of young people at home and abroad wish to study at our world-class universities".

What's more, the 265,000 students taking part represents a 65% response rate- the highest in the history of the survey.

More Important than Ever

With the huge increase in fees set to be introduced in 2012, the quality of university courses is under closer scrutiny than ever. Students are increasingly looking at courses in the context of their price, to decide whether they offer value for money. If students have to start paying three times the current fees, then it is only logical that their expectations will go up and universities will find it harder to achieve such high satisfaction levels.

Indeed, HEFCE Chief Executive, Sir Alan Langlands, was quick to point out that whilst "these excellent results yet again demonstrate that our universities and colleges provide a high-quality experience for their students...there is no room for complacency".

Only time will tell if the universities will be able to improve the higher education experience they offer their students enough to make it worth the cost of increased fees.

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