More than 15,000 students have voted for the best student accommodation at universities and colleges across the UK in the National Student Housing Survey
The findings measure student satisfaction with accommodation providers and let housing managers measure performance against regional and national benchmarks.
The three main awards for 2011 were:
• Best University Halls - Awarded to Lancaster University for the second year running for demonstrating the highest level of student satisfaction
• Best Private Halls Provider - Won by Victoria Hall
• Best Student Living Experience - Awarded to student landlords in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for showing the best levels of student satisfaction in the private rented housing sector.
Other awards included:
• Best Learning Environment, Best Booking Experience and Best Individual Accommodation all went to Lancaster University’s Grizedale Townhouses
• Best Student Broadband - Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
• Best Moving In Experience - Liberty Living / BRANDEAUX
“The National Student Survey shows that the highest satisfaction levels tend to be at smaller campus based universities such as Lancaster,” said a spokesman.
“Lancaster has a friendly college system and has seen a £350m investment into its campus to provide top quality accommodation, teaching and research space and facilities such as a brand new £20m Sports Centre.”
The survey also awarded an International Accommodation Quality Mark which recognises organisations achieving at least 90% satisfaction among international students. The mark went to:
• Victoria Hall
• Derwent Living
• iQ Student Accommodation
• University of Sheffield
• Lancaster University
Kate Outram, head of student services, of Derwent Living said: “We’re delighted to receive this quality mark which shows that Derwent Living is an organisation which goes that extra mile.
“We know that most of the international students we work with have moved away from home for the first time and know how daunting that can be. We work closely with our partner universities to help make everything run as smoothly as possible for those students."
