National Student Satisfaction Survey 2013

The University is encouraging a high response rate to this year's National Student Satisfaction (NSS) Survey to maintain and better its performance.

Published annually, NSS asks final year students studying every subject at every UK university to rate their education. They give marks for teaching, assessment, academic support, organisation, learning resources, personal development and overall satisfaction. The results are published nationally in August.

The Survey forms an important part of the University's educational planning, allowing it to identify areas where further action is needed. Last year, Cardiff achieved its highest-ever response rate of 78 per cent, making it joint second across the sector.

Cardiff students have already been sent an invitation email to complete the NSS and are starting to respond. An NSS icon on their desktops, delivered by Information Services is also helping raise awareness of the survey.

Professor Tricia Price, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Student Experience and Academic Standards said: "Staff can help boost response rates by encouraging students to complete the survey online at www.thestudentsurvey.com This can be done at the start of lectures or tutorials. Posters and other marketing materials have been distributed to each School to help them publicise the survey.

"Staff need to ensure that students: feel free to give their honest feedback; are not asked to fill in the survey while a member of staff is overseeing their responses or made to feel that their responses are being monitored; and are not encouraged to reflect in their answers anything other than their genuine perception of their experience."

Bethan Foweraker, Student Voice Officer added: "Only our current students know exactly what it's like to study here at Cardiff.  By telling us these unique opinions, the University can learn directly from students about what we doing well and where we could do better.

"The results from the NSS survey are looked at in fine detail and the University takes actions based on these findings.  The results of the NSS are being used more and more by prospective students in their decision making process, particularly as they are now included on the UniStats website and within our Course finder pages.  It is crucial that we maintain our high response rate to the NSS so that we can be assured that the messages we take from the results are representative of the views of all our students."

Staff with questions can contact Martin Jones in Student Services and Governance on JonesM5@cardiff.ac.uk or on ext. 79284. If your students have questions please direct them to www.thestudentsurvey.com or they can contact the National Student Survey team at Ipsos MORI directly atthestudentsurvey@ipsos.com.