Birkbeck holds onto top spot for part-time teaching in London
National Student Survey Results, published on Wednesday, show Birkbeck in the top three for metrics relating to teaching, learning opportunities and overall satisfaction among London’s part-time students.
Over 80% of Birkbeck’s part-time final-year undergraduates are satisfied with the teaching on their course. This is testimony to the university’s commitment to providing an exceptional learning experience and maintaining it during the upheaval and change caused by the Covid-19 pandemic through which the survey’s respondents studied.
The College has held the number one spot for part-time teaching in London for the last two years. Birkbeck’s part-time students have also shown a consistent level of overall satisfaction from last year, with 79% of students again reporting overall satisfaction with the quality of their courses.
Other findings from the NSS Results show that Birkbeck’s part-time students rank it:
• First in London for teaching
• Second in London for learning opportunities
• Third in London for overall satisfaction
Birkbeck’s subjects also showed strong results in the survey, with the following rankings:
• Geography 2nd nationally for teaching
• Philosophy 6th nationally for teaching
• Politics 1st, in London, for teaching, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, academic support and overall satisfaction
• Psychology, Geography and Economics in the top 5, in London, for teaching
• History and Archaeology in the top 10, in London, for teaching and academic support
Professor Diane Houston, Pro Vice-Chancellor Education said: “I am pleased that we have largely maintained the improvements we have seen in student satisfaction at Birkbeck in recent years during the last few years of turbulence caused by Covid-19.
“We made huge efforts to develop our online teaching and learning offer during the pandemic to ensure we maintained the student experience throughout successive lockdowns and Covid-19 outbreaks. The final-year undergraduates, who completed this survey, studied through this period, so it is really heartening that their satisfaction with Birkbeck was maintained during this difficult period.”
“We’ll be celebrating our 200th anniversary in 2023 and we’re working on a range of exciting projects that will further improve student satisfaction and attainment over the next year.
“We’re committed to ensuring that all of our students have a truly exceptional experience of studying with us and are supported to achieve their very best.”
The national student survey asks students questions about a range of factors related to their academic experience, including the teaching on their course, assessment and feedback, and how well courses are organised. For the 2022 results, 324,329 students took part in the survey, from 382 universities, colleges and other higher-education providers from the UK.