www.thestudentsurvey.com

Monday 25th January sees the launch of the National Student Survey (NSS) 2010 at Bath Spa University. Entering its sixth year, the NSS is your opportunity to give your opinions on what you liked about your time at Bath Spa University, as well as things that you felt could have been improved.

What is the NSS?
The NSS is an annual survey of mostly final year undergraduates in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and some institutions in Scotland. The survey forms part of the revised system of quality assurance for Higher Education to generate more detailed public information about teaching quality. The NSS is commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) on behalf of all the funding bodies. Ipsos MORI, an independent research company, conducts the survey.

The questions allow you to provide feedback on a range of items, including what you thought about the Academic Support you received during your studies and how you felt about the Organisation and Management of your course. There’s also space at the end for any positive and/or negative comments you have about the whole experience. Were you satisfied with the way cancelled lectures were handled? What were your thoughts on the advice and support available through your course? Write it down and let University and the Students’ Union know!

How are the results used?
The results are made available at Unistats.com to help prospective students make informed decisions of where and what to study. Institutions and students’ unions also use the anonymised data to identify areas where they performed well and less well to help effect change and bring about enhancements to improve the student experience for future generations of students.

Bath Spa University has been participating in the NSS for 6 and as a result of listening to what former students said, the following changes have been implemented at Bath Spa University.

The National Union of Students (NUS) fully supports the NSS and sees it as an opportunity for students to shape the future of higher education. Aaron Porter, NUS Vice-President (HE) said "The National Student Survey gives final year students a unique opportunity to inform future students about the quality of their student experience. Prospective students will be able to compare standards in a number of institutions giving them valuable information, which can help in making choices about their Higher Education. It also provides students' unions and institutions with the kind of feedback they need to effect changes and improvement to the student experience. I hope that finalists will take a few minutes to share their experience with the next generation of students."

How can I get involved?
During the week beginning Monday 25th January eligible students will be sent an invitation email to complete the survey by Ipsos MORI. Later non-respondents will be contacted by post or ultimately by telephone. You can also go to www.thestudentsurvey.com to complete the survey. You may opt out of the survey at any point during the fieldwork.

The success of the NSS depends on your feedback so please set aside a few minutes to get involved. Your responses are anonymised so your answers can reflect your genuine perceptions of your experience. Plus there’s no need to worry about your contact details being passed on because they will only be used for the purposes of the NSS and are destroyed shortly after. To find out more visit www.thestudentsurvey.com or contact the National Student Survey team at Ipsos MORI directly at thestudentsurvey@ipsos.com