THE NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY 2006
Friday 25 August 2006
| Times Higher Satisfaction Rating |
| |
|
| Overall score Hefce in 2006 |
|
| Buckingham |
|
|
| Open |
|
|
| St Andrews |
|
|
| East Anglia |
|
|
| Leicester |
|
|
| Loughborough |
|
4.20 |
| Aberystwyth |
4.05 |
4.30 |
| Hull |
4.00 |
4.20 |
| Birkbeck |
3.98 |
4.30 |
| Durham |
3.97 |
4.20 |
| Exeter |
3.97 |
4.10 |
| Southampton |
3.97 |
4.20 |
| St Mary's University College |
3.97 |
4.20 |
| Lampeter |
3.97 |
4.20 |
| King's College London |
3.95 |
4.20 |
| Reading |
3.95 |
4.10 |
| Bangor |
3.95 |
4.10 |
| Glasgow |
3.93 |
4.10 |
| York |
3.93 |
4.10 |
| Huddersfield |
3.92 |
4.00 |
| Kent |
3.92 |
4.10 |
| Lancaster |
3.92 |
4.10 |
| Teesside |
3.92 |
4.00 |
| Newport |
3.92 |
3.90 |
| Bradford |
3.90 |
4.00 |
| Imperial College |
3.90 |
4.20 |
| Staffordshire |
3.90 |
3.90 |
| Swansea |
3.90 |
4.10 |
| Aston |
3.88 |
4.10 |
| Chichester |
3.88 |
4.10 |
| Queen's, Belfast |
3.88 |
4.10 |
| Bolton |
3.87 |
4.00 |
| Oxford Brookes |
3.87 |
4.00 |
| Bristol |
3.87 |
4.10 |
| Cardiff |
3.87 |
4.10 |
| Liverpool |
3.87 |
4.10 |
| Newcastle |
3.87 |
4.00 |
| Canterbury Christ Church |
3.85 |
4.10 |
| City |
3.85 |
4.00 |
| Glamorgan |
3.85 |
4.00 |
| Leeds |
3.85 |
4.00 |
| Northampton |
3.85 |
4.00 |
| Sheffield |
3.85 |
4.10 |
| Winchester |
3.85 |
4.00 |
| Essex |
3.83 |
4.10 |
| Brighton |
3.83 |
3.90 |
| Derby |
3.83 |
3.90 |
| Edge Hill |
3.83 |
3.90 |
| Edinburgh |
3.83 |
4.00 |
| Gloucestershire |
3.83 |
3.90 |
| Goldsmiths |
3.83 |
4.00 |
| Plymouth |
3.83 |
4.00 |
| Ulster |
3.83 |
4.00 |
| Central Lancashire |
3.83 |
4.90 |
| Queen Mary |
3.82 |
4.00 |
| Chester |
3.82 |
4.00 |
| Coventry |
3.82 |
4.00 |
| Nottingham |
3.82 |
4.00 |
| Stranmillis University College |
3.82 |
4.00 |
| UWIC |
3.82 |
3.90 |
| Northumbria |
3.80 |
3.90 |
| Portsmouth |
3.80 |
3.90 |
| Worcester |
3.80 |
4.00 |
| Bath |
3.78 |
4.00 |
| Central England |
3.78 |
3.90 |
| Keele |
3.78 |
4.00 |
| Sunderland |
3.78 |
3.80 |
| West of England, Bristol |
3.77 |
3.90 |
| Bedfordshire |
3.77 |
3.80 |
| Hertfordshire |
3.77 |
3.80 |
| Kingston |
3.75 |
3.90 |
| Manchester Metropolitan |
3.75 |
3.80 |
| Roehampton |
3.75 |
4.00 |
| Salford |
3.75 |
3.80 |
| Southampton Solent |
3.75 |
3.70 |
| Surrey |
3.75 |
3.80 |
| Wolverhampton |
3.75 |
3.70 |
| Anglia Ruskin |
3.73 |
3.80 |
| Bournemouth |
3.73 |
3.70 |
| Bath Spa |
3.70 |
3.90 |
| De Montfort |
3.70 |
3.70 |
| Leeds Metropolitan |
3.70 |
3.70 |
| Nottingham Trent |
3.70 |
3.80 |
| Sheffield Hallam |
3.70 |
3.80 |
| York St John University College |
3.70 |
3.80 |
| Bucks Chilts University College |
3.68 |
3.70 |
| Middlesex |
3.68 |
3.70 |
| Greenwich |
3.67 |
3.70 |
| Sussex |
3.67 |
3.80 |
| Brunel |
3.65 |
3.80 |
| Liverpool Hope |
3.65 |
3.90 |
| Uni College of Creative Arts |
3.65 |
3.60 |
| Lincoln |
3.63 |
3.60 |
| Thames Valley |
3.60 |
3.60 |
| Westminster |
3.60 |
3.80 |
Last year the Government's Higher Education and Funding Council of England
commissioned an independent survey of all final year students in Britain. The survey was conducted by the IpsosMORI
polling organisation and was therefore independent. The students were asked questions in the categories of:
- Teaching
- Assessment and Feedback
- Academic Support
- Organisation and Management
- Learning Resources
- Personal Development
- Overall Satisfaction
The results of the survey were published in the
Times Higher Education Supplement of 25 August 2006 and are reproduced unchanged here in the table on the right.
As can be seen, Buckingham has emerged as Britain's top university for students. The Times Higher Education Supplement concluded that: "Top of the table, according to the Times Higher's scoring, is Buckingham University, the UK's only private higher education institution". Some news organisations, following Hefce's weighting of the data (see the table) have identified the Open University as number one, with ourselves as number two. We have no problem with this because the Open University, who are our friends, is not a traditional or residential university, but an online or distance learning university, and is therefore very different from ourselves. Even on the Hefce weighting, therefore, we are Britain's top residential university.
Over 157,000 students participated nationally. The only significant weakness to the survey is that Oxford, Cambridge, the London School of Economics and Warwick do not appear, which is a shame, but universities were included only if over 50 per cent of their final year students responded.
Ultimately, league tables and surveys are only approximations to truth. The fundamental truth about Buckingham is that because the
students, not the government pay, they are treated as valued customers. They are therefore guaranteed the best and most personal
attention. As the recent President of the Student Union, Charles Ramson, says: "I wasn't surprised to learn that the University of
Buckingham topped the National Student Survey, this university is simply great. Buckingham University embraces the individuality of
each student and understands the 'trueness' of the learning experience. Choosing to come here has been one of the best decisions of my
entire life. Here every student matters - period."
The Independent published an article about the NSS results on Thursday 7 September,
'Lessons for the state sector' (external link)
which asks 'Why are the nation's happiest students at its only private university'?
Report by the Vice-Chancellor and the
Web Team
See also:
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