The Times’ good uni guide “Student Experience” rating (RG only)

[Delphigirl]

https://thetab.com/uk/2024/10/02/the-russell-group-unis-where-students-are-the-most-fed-up-with-their-uni-experience-according-to-the-times-389830

So, I know it is the tab, but they are reporting on work done by the Times. As part of their rankings the Times has crunched data from the most recent National Student Survey “that was connected to how satisfied students were with how their degrees were taught, how the university is managed, and how much they’d enjoyed their degrees”. The Tab has then ranked the russell group unis by that metric. At the bottom (no 1 “most miserable” or more accurately least satisfied) is oxford and at the top (no 29 or most satisfied) is Sheffield.

OK, it is only one thing to put in the pipe and smoke, but it is based on proper data and I thought some of those choosing unis at the moment might find it helpful. I have to say students at both Edinburgh and Manchester have had some very difficult years recently what with how they were treated during and after Covid, during strikes, re Palestine protests etc so I’m not too surprised to see them almost at the bottom.

Thanks for the article, OP. A few surprises there, though not Sheffield and Warwick at the top or Edinburgh and Manchester near the bottom.

I was surprised by the low ratings for Oxford and, to a slightly lesser extent, Cambridge. I wish these had been analysed in the article. I wonder whether these ratings are mostly about the workload, or if something else is going on?

Sheffield always tops this particular table. When I visited I expected everyone to be wandering about with beatific smiles. To be fair, they mostly were, and the lecturers were extremely friendly and interested in the applicants.

The link now seems to be kaput OP.!

Not working for me either

Works for me.

The scores range from 71.1% to 83.1% ... I'd be curious to know what the sample sizes and methodology for the original 'students satisfaction' metrics were and whether the numbers represent any very meaningful differences.

'Most but not all students at RG unis are satisfied with their courses' is probably all you can really say.

Does it say how many students responded to the survey at each of the universities? Or what the actual questions asked were?

If you go on the NSS website itself, you can see the questions, I believe.

I was wondering what subjects had the most respondents, I bet it varies. If everyone that rsponds is studying politics but your DC wants to study chemistry that tells you nothing, does it.

Link worked for me.

To be fair there is really very little difference in student satisfaction between any of these universities looking at the table. 70% of students satisfied is not "fed-up" for goodness sake.

Agree. The rankings for consumer goods in Which? are often like this - not really much difference if you look closely.

A neighbour's DD is at Sheffield (top for student satisfaction) and loving it. My DD has just started at Edinburgh (2nd bottom) and is also loving it. No gripes about anything with either her course or student life there so far. There will be students who are unhappy at any uni, and as @OneInEight says, 70% happy is not "fed-up".

One dramatic change is the improvement in student satisfaction at London Universities. LSE languished right at the bottom of the national tables for years. Now they, Imperial and UCL are towards the top. The end of building work and an improved campus feel will have helped. And perhaps Covid, as this will be the Covid intake. In DDs experience at least, Imperial were very very good at efficient at switching to on line teaching. Feedback suggests other Universities weren't.

Sheffield is a brilliant uni and city to be a student in. Hardly ever hear about it on MN though with all the agonising about the ‘next best after Oxbridge’ chat.

You do on ones about engineering.

Sheffield is also top of the pops for architecture/landscape architecture.

my dd went there and loved it, it did extremely well for her.

This wouldn't surprise me at all about Oxford and Cambridge. Not because the universities have done anything especially wrong but because they must inevitably have students go there because they think they "ought" -whether that pressure has come from themselves, their family or their school.

Whereas students choosing to go to Sheffield will probably have chosen them having looked at several others and decided they were the best fit.