National Student Survey 2024: Student satisfaction in teaching is top at Birkbeck
Results, published this week, capture the views of final year undergraduates and reflect positively on teaching and the overall student experience at Birkbeck.
Our students have rated ‘Teaching on their Course’ as the most positive part of their Birkbeck experience. 87% of final year undergraduate students expressed satisfaction in the teaching theme, after providing feedback in the National Student Survey (NSS). This result exceeds last year and places the university above the sector average.
The 2024 NSS results showcase improved satisfaction across the majority of themes and questions. This further reflects the positive student experience at Birkbeck especially for these specific questions:
- 92.0% of students feel that teaching staff are very good/good at explaining things.
- 88.3% of students feel very free/free to express their ideas, opinions, and beliefs during their studies.
- 86.5% believe teaching staff make the subject engaging.
NSS theme, ‘Learning Opportunities’ also scored above the sector average - with student satisfaction increasing by over three percentage points to 83.9%.
Birkbeck ranked highly against its counterparts across England, in the following subject areas:
- Creative writing- 1st in Teaching
- Psychology (developmental)- 1st in Teaching
- Media studies- 1st in Teaching; 3rd in Student Voice
- Biosciences- 2nd in Teaching; and for Learning Resources
- Biomedical sciences- 3rd in Teaching, and in Learning Resources
The University ranks top in multiple subject areas when compared to counterpart institutions across London:
- Management Studies- 1st for Academic Support, and for Learning Resources
- Earth sciences- 1st in Teaching, in Learning Opportunities, and for Assessment and Feedback
- English (studies)- 1st in Teaching; and for Learning Opportunities
- Psychology (applied)- 1st for Learning Opportunities, Student Voice, and for Learning Resources
- Social sciences- 1st in Teaching
- History- 1st in Assessment and Feedback, 4th in Teaching
- Mathematics- 2nd Assessment and Feedback, 3rd in Teaching
- Economics- 2nd Learning Opportunities, 3rd in Teaching
Professor Diane Houston, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Education and Student Experience said, “It's great to see that Birkbeck has increased student satisfaction in six NSS themes, particularly with improved experiences for students in teaching and learning opportunities. These improvements are a testament to the outstanding contributions of University staff and our active collaboration with our student body.
“We are pleased that more of our students responded to the survey this year, their feedback indicates that we are making a positive impact on their studies at Birkbeck. There are always further improvements that can be made to enhance our students’ experience. We are already working with academic colleagues and our student body to identify the next steps and priorities for the areas highlighted by the student feedback.”
About the National Student Survey (NSS)
The NSS, published annually and managed by the Office for Students, collects student opinions on the following areas: Teaching on my Course, Learning Opportunities, Assessment and feedback, Academic Support, Organisation and Management, Learning Resources; and Student Voice.
Last year’s survey posed a range of new questions with different response scales to previous years, so this year is the first opportunity HEIs have had to compare performance against the new questions.
The National Student Survey (NSS) gathers students’ opinions on the quality of their courses which helps to: inform prospective students’ choices and provide data that supports universities and colleges to improve the student experience. This year, 520 institutions took part with 345,981 students responding.
Further Information
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