National Student Survey

13 September 2011

• 80% of all students surveyed indicated that they were satisfied with the quality of their course – a 3% increase on last year’s results
• 19 subject areas achieved 80% or above satisfaction ratings
• 24 subject areas have improved their satisfaction rating from last year

Given rising tuition fees and increasing competition amongst HEIs for students, LJMU must further bridge the gap between student expectations and their actual student experience at LJMU.

Indications are that LJMU is doing just that, as institutionally, the University received improved results across each of the six NSS question categories, relating to:

• Teaching on my course (80% overall satisfaction rating, up 3%)
• Assessment and Feedback (66% overall satisfaction rating, up 5%)
• Academic Support (74% overall satisfaction rating, up 3%)
• Organisation and management (74 overall satisfaction rating, up 4%)
• Learning Resources (81% overall satisfaction rating, up 5%)
• Personal development (80% overall satisfaction rating, up 4%)

As part of this drive for university-wide improvement, LJMU ran its first ‘mirror’ survey in 2010/2011, asking first and second year undergraduate students exactly the same questions as the National Student Survey.

The mirror survey results reiterate those of the NSS, with LJMU again scoring over 80% overall satisfaction rates from both cohorts and achieving broadly similar results in each of the question categories.

Collectively, the mirror survey and NSS results give LJMU a wealth of information, both at institutional and programme-level. This comprehensive student feedback will be used by the University to target resources at those areas requiring further improvement to ensure an enhanced learning experience for all students, on all undergraduate programmes, irrespective of their academic Faculty or School.

Assessment and feedback remains the area most highlighted by students as needing improvement. From 2011/2012 students can expect:

• Feedback on the majority of their coursework within three weeks of it being submitted
• More opportunities to submit their coursework electronically
• Improved access to computer and IT facilities both in the Learning Resource Centres and in IT suites across each of the campuses.

Much more needs to be done over the next 12 months to ensure that the LJMU undergraduate learning experience ranks amongst the best in the UK.

Faculty action plans will be developed during August and September detailing where resources and new working practices are to be directed to ensure that LJMU can deliver a high quality student experience for all and that we can continue to attract high calibre students in the future.

Professor Diana Burton, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic Enhancement, said:

"I am very pleased that our students are giving us a clear message about what is excellent within their courses. Again we find that it is individual tutors that make the biggest difference to whether our students enjoy their courses and achieve success. We are proud that so many of our students appreciate they are taught by excellent lecturers and are benefiting so much from our world-leading initiative (WoW) to provide students with innovative, business-endorsed employability skills. But we are not complacent – we have major plans to improve our provision even further in order that each and every student has a life-changing experience at LJMU."