The annual ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Student Survey () results conducted by the Office for Students (OfS) have been released this week. (Thursday 10 August). This year The University of Manchester improved its engagement rate by 12%, with 74% of final year undergraduate students at our university completing the survey, compared with 62% last year. The increased response rate this year is 3% above the English sector average.
For The University of Manchester total scores, 22 of 27 questions had positivity scores of 70% or above.
NSS 2023 results show students think The University of Manchester courses are intellectually stimulating, with 86% being positive about them, compared to the overall English sector score of 84%. They rate teaching highly, with 89% saying that teaching staff explain things well.
The Students’ Union was also given a strong score of 74% for ‘supporting students’ academic interests’ compared to the sector average of 72%.
Areas where the university could do better are around assessment and feedback. Students also say the balance of directed and independent study could be improved, scoring this question 67% compared to the sector average of 76%.
The change in methodology this year saw two new questions added to allow students to reflect on mental health and freedom of speech. For the question, “How well communicated was information about your university/college’s mental wellbeing support services?” 75% of students gave a positive score similar to the sector average of 76%. For the question, “During your studies, how free did you feel to express your ideas, opinions, beliefs?” 82% scored this question positively.
Professor April McMahon, Vice-President for Teaching and Learning and Students comment on this year’s results: “First of all, I want to thank every one of our students who took time to complete the survey and tell us about their experiences. The NSS survey is always an important time to reflect on progress and areas where we need to do better. We know there are areas in teaching and student experience where we can improve, but we are also very proud of our amazing graduates, whose Manchester degrees support them into excellent jobs and future opportunities.”
