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National Student Survey 2011

26 Jan 2011

Please make final year students aware of the NSS and encourage them to complete it online as soon as possible

NSS graphic

Now entering its seventh year, the National Student Survey (NSS) will launch at The University of Manchester on 31 January 2011.

The NSS is a survey of mostly final year undergraduates in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and some institutions in Scotland. FE colleges with directly funded higher education students in England are also included. The survey is part of the revised system of quality assurance for higher education, which replaces subject review by the QAA and is designed to run alongside the QAA institutional audit to generate more detailed public information about teaching quality. The NSS is commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England on behalf of all the funding bodies. Ipsos MORI, an independent research company, administers the survey.

For further information about the NSS, including results from previous years, visit:

Aaron Porter, NUS 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."

It’s important that as many students as possible provide their feedback for the survey to generate reliable information. We need to achieve a response rate of at least 50% at institution level and in our subject areas (plus a minimum of 23 responses per cohort) in order for our data to be made publicly available on Unistats.com. Last year, due to the hard work of staff in Schools, we managed to achieve an overall response rate of 69%, and we are aiming to at least match this in 2011.

During the week beginning 31 January, eligible students will be sent an invitation email to complete the NSS. Those who have not completed the survey are later contacted by post or ultimately by telephone. Early online completion is desirable so please make your final year students aware of the NSS and encourage them to complete the survey online at:

Students may also opt out of the survey at any point during the fieldwork. Publicity material and advice has been distributed to administrative staff in Schools, and student reps will be helping to publicise the survey – please give them your full support.

If you would like further information about the National Student Survey:

If your students have any questions, please direct them to: