New National Student Survey reveals students less satisfied at Russell group universities
The National Student Survey (NSS) 2024 has revealed a surprising trend: students at smaller, less prestigious institutions are reporting higher levels of satisfaction than their counterparts at elite universities.
The annual survey, which polls undergraduates across the UK on various aspects of their university experience, showed improvements across every measure at the sector-wide level.
However, with the Office for Students (OfS) continuing to omit the overall satisfaction question for English providers, Times Higher Education (THE) has stepped in to crunch the numbers and provide a comprehensive picture of student sentiment.
Arts and specialist institutions excel
Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln emerges as the standout performer, with an impressive 89.4% of students’ responses across all subjects being positive - the highest rate among all universities analysed.
This former Anglican teacher training college led in four out of seven themes: learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, learning resources, and student voice.
Following closely is Arts University Plymouth, achieving a positivity rating of 86.7%. Notably, this institution also scored highest in a question on freedom of expression.
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the University of St Andrews share the third position with an 86.5% positive rating.
St Andrews, which topped the list last year, maintains its status as the highest-ranked Scottish institution.
The University of Oxford claimed the top spot for teaching, while Plymouth Marjon University led in academic support. St Andrews excelled in organisation and management.
Interestingly, the data reveals significant variations across the UK nations.
Northern Ireland, despite having only two universities included in the analysis, achieved the highest overall positive score at 81.5%.
Wales followed closely at 81.4%, with England and Scotland at 80.5% and 79.6% respectively. The University of Ulster, Northern Ireland's top performer, received an overall positive score of 82.6%.
Russell group universities lag behind
The survey results suggest a potential disconnect between institutional prestige and student satisfaction.
The Russell Group, comprising 24 of the UK’s most renowned research-intensive universities, achieved an overall positive score of 78.3%.
While this marks a slight improvement from 2023, it falls behind the 81.4% average for non-Russell Group institutions.
Within the Russell Group, the University of Sheffield performed best, ranking 17th overall with an 82.2% positive score. In contrast, the University of Edinburgh recorded the lowest score among Russell Group members at 73.5%.
The OfS has stated that the data indicates student experience has not been adversely affected by current financial pressures. However, the disparity between elite institutions and others suggests a more complex picture of student satisfaction in UK higher education.
It’s worth noting that minor data quality issues were flagged for the University of Chester, the University of Hertfordshire, and the University of Bedfordshire, though these are not expected to have significantly impacted the overall scores.
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