This free-of-charge one day event was designed primarily for Scottish HEIs participating in, or planning to participate in, the National Student Survey. It provided opportunities to discuss and share models for realising the enhancement potential of the NSS. The focus was on the use of data in designing, developing, and implementing positive changes for student learning experiences.
The event was held at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, and the Academy acknowledges their generous assistance in organising and hosting this event. Over 50 academics, educational developers and university administrators attended the event, representing over 15 Scottish HEIs. This page contains the programme for the day with links to the presentations that were given, as well as some useful links and resources.
Click here for a summary of the day by Alastair Robertson, Head of Policy and Partnerships Scotland, at the Academy.
(Please follow this link for more information about the work that the Academy is doing in the area of the National Student Survey, and this is the archived event page on the main Academy site)
Contents of this page:
PROGRAMME (with links to presentations)
09:45 Registration and coffee
10:15 Welcome, outline of the day and discussion of event aims
- Alastair Robertson, The Higher Education Academy
10:30 Analysis of Scottish NSS results
- Alex Buckley, The Higher Education Academy
11:10 Refreshment break
11:40 Institutional case study 1: "A good effort, but must try harder: using NSS for action planning"
- Denize Macintyre, University of Glamorgan (Denize also supplied a blank NSS action plan template)
12:10 NSS: Components of institutional experience
- Alex Buckley, The Higher Education Academy
12:35 Lunch
13:10 Parallel sessions:
Institutional case study 2: "The NSS at the University of Glasgow"
- Wendy Muir, University of Glasgow
Institutional case study 3: "NSS as a quality enhancement tool"
- Rowena Kochanowska and Anna Highmore, University of Strathclyde
NUS and the NSS
- Victoria Passant, NUS UK
14:35 Action planning session
- Roni Bamber, Queen Margaret University
- (This session also included the chance for delegates to anonymously submit suggestions for the future form of the NSS, to be submitted to the TQI steering group that is currently undertaking a review of the NSS. The suggestions are collected here.)
15:30 Close
RESOURCES
Data
Data is available from two key sources:
Unistats
This is the site that is designed for prospective students and other members of the public to access. You can either use their search tool or there is a link at the bottom of the page that allows you to download various spreadsheets.
HEFCE
As owners and administrators of the survey, HEFCE have detailed information on their website. There is a main NSS page, containing various resources, as well as a page containing links to the raw data. The data available varies for different years.
Research papers
These are some key pieces of research, in three key areas. (Please note, some of these require subscription access)
Data analysis
"National Student Survey of teaching in UK universities: Dimensionality, multilevel structure, and differentiation at the level of university and discipline: preliminary results"
This is a piece of work by Herb Marsh and Jacqueline Cheng from 2008. It is a very rich source of analysis of the NSS data, especially regarding the relative effects on student satisfaction of various factors such as institution and discipline.
"The National Student Survey three years on: What have we learned"
This Academy-funded report by Paula Surridge from 2009 brings together some key pieces of research (including the Marsh and Cheng article above) to give an overview of past findings and areas of future work. It is a very useful general guide to the NSS data, especially regarding what it does and does not tell us. There is also an EvidenceNet summary of this report, for those wishing to learn about the key points.
Survey research
"Why we shouldn't use student surveys of teaching as satisfaction ratings"
This very short paper was written by Mike Prosser in 2005 when he was Director of Research and Evaluation at the Academy. It lays out his view that using the NSS to formulate league tables may hinder its use as tool for improving student learning experiences.
"The National Student Survey: development, findings and implications"
This article from 2007 is by John Richardson, John Slater and Jane Wilson. It describes the history of the NSS, by discussing the mechanisms and findings of the two pilot surveys that took place in 2003 and 2004.
"Student experience surveys: some methodological considerations and an empirical investigation"
This 2009 article by Mantz Yorke looks as issues around the design and administration of sector-wide student surveys, giving grounds for both "comfort and discomfort".
"Student feedback: a report to the Higher Education Funding Council for England"
This is an editorial from 2001 laying out Lee Harvey's views on the collection and use of student feedback. It includes discussion of the issue at institutional, faculty, programme and module level.
"Fitness for purpose? National and institutional approaches to publicising the student voice"
This is an article from 2007 by James Williams and Gill Cappuccini-Ansfield which compares the strengths and weaknesses of nation-wide surveys and more tailor-made institutional surveys. It focuses on the value of student engagement with surveys.
Enhancement work
"Closing the feedback loop: ensuring effective action from student feedback"
This 2003 paper by Sarah Watson explores the different ways universities feed information back to students regarding quality enhancement work that has taken place.
"Preparing for success: one institution's aspirational and student focused response to the National Student Survey"
This is an article from 2009 describing work carried out at Sheffield Hallam University regarding the involvement of students in the process of using NSS data for quality enhancement purposes. Various activities are described, including an event to allow academics to hear student perspectives in detail, and the publication of a "You Said, We Did..." document to inform students of the changes that had resulted from their feedback.
Case studies
EvidenceNet
EvidenceNet is the Academy's service to promote and support the use of evidence in higher education, and is the parent site for this Wiki. It contains a variety of material relevant to the NSS, including research papers, case studies, events and networks (for instance, the resources linked from this page are housed on EvidenceNet). If you require resources beyond those that are linked on this page, please visit EvidenceNet for further exploration of the NSS.
EvidenceNet is also a place to submit material of your own. We hope that as you undertake enhancement work, you consider writing a short case study using the case study submission form
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