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Students very positive about Birkbeck's teaching and learning resources in National Student Survey 2023

The National Student Survey results, published annually, gather final-year undergraduate students' opinions on the quality of their courses and supports universities and colleges to improve the student experience.

a pic of happy students looking at an ipad

Birkbeck received a 91% positivity rating for the way teaching staff explain things from final year undergraduates who completed the National Student Survey (NSS) published on Thursday 10 August.

The university also received a 91% positivity rating for the support its library resources provide to learning.

Both these ratings put Birkbeck above the sector average and among the top performing universities in the country.

Birkbeck also scored highly among London universities for its part-time provision. It was placed first for the way teaching staff explain things and for the organisation on its courses.

Many of the university’s subjects scored highly among their national counterparts:

  • maths was first out of 53 in the country for the academic support provided, assessment and feedback, and the teaching on courses
  • psychology was fifth in the country for teaching
  • economics was seventh in the country for the learning resources provided.

Across the capital:

  • English was ranked first for learning opportunities and second for teaching
  • psychology was placed second for teaching
  • economics and biosciences were placed second for learning resources
  • languages were third for academic support and learning resources
  • geography and Earth Science were second for teaching and learning resources.

Professor Diane Houston, Pro Vice-Chancellor Education said: “It is welcome news that we have performed well in the most recent National Student Survey.”

Over 339,000 final year undergraduates from universities, colleges and higher education providers across the UK took part in the survey.

This year’s survey posed a range of new questions with different response scales to previous years, so it is not possible to compare performance with previous years.

This year’s cohort also experienced significant disruption to their studies nationally including from COVID lockdown measures and industrial action.

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