University of Buckingham tops National Student Survey for student satisfaction with highest ever score

The University of Buckingham has come top in the UK for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (NSS) for the seventh time since it started taking part 11 years ago and achieved its highest score ever.

Britain’s first not-for-profit independent university, which is celebrating its 40^th birthday this year, beat Oxbridge and all the Russell Group universities with a score of 97 per cent, 11 points above the sector average and one per cent above its previous best score. This result comes after being named the Times / Sunday Times University of the Year for Teaching 2016.

Buckingham has also scored very highly in a number of other areas in the NSS survey – it is top in the UK for the academic support provided to students with 96% of students saying that they had been able to contact staff when they needed to. Additionally, 97% of students said staff were good at explaining things and 93% of students said their course was well organised and running smoothly.

Sir Anthony Seldon, the new Vice-Chancellor of The University of Buckingham, said: “We are thrilled to have received our highest score ever for student satisfaction in our 40^th year. This is a ringing endorsement of our trailblazing approach over four decades. Whilst studying at some other universities can mean big, impersonal lectures and just being a number our high staff-student ratio and open door policy results in students at Buckingham getting all the help they need from tutors and enjoying the benefits of small Oxbridge-style tutorial groups.

“In the 11 years that The University of Buckingham has participated in the NSS survey we have consistently led the way and we have established ourselves as the place where students are the happiest and most satisfied with their academic experience. We are extremely lucky to have such wonderful students who are a pleasure to teach.”

The NSS provides all final-year undergraduate students in UK higher education institutions and further education colleges with the opportunity to express their opinions on what they liked during their time at university.