July 2024
Strength of university's student voice recognised in National Student Survey
By Melanie Hall
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University College Birmingham’s commitment to listening to the voices of its students has been recognised in the National Student Survey 2024.
The University scored 84.5% in the annual survey for taking on student feedback to improve courses and for clarity and fairness of assessments and marking, six percentage points higher than the sector average.
The institution also scored 77.1% in the student voice section of the survey on students’ experiences of higher education, three percentage points higher than the sector average. This follows the University winning best university with the best support in the region at the 2024 Whatuni Student Choice Awards.
Questions to students where the University particularly excelled included ‘to what extent are students’ opinions about the course valued by staff’?, ‘how clear is it that students’ feedback on the course is acted on?’ and ‘how well does the Guild represent students’ academic interests?’
The University also scored higher than sector average for how engaging staff make teaching and how well they support students in their learning, as well as how well courses developed students’ knowledge and skills for the future.
Inclusive and positive
Crucially, with mental health at the forefront of the higher education agenda, the University scored four percentage points higher than the sector average when students were asked how well the University’s mental wellbeing support services were communicated.
Overall, University College Birmingham scored higher than the sector average in six out of the seven key themes of the survey.
Professor Helen Poole, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching, Learning and Digital), said of the results: “What stands out is our sheer commitment to listening to our students to make their overall university experience exceptional, from their courses to their mental health, as well as their graduate outcomes.
“The University has also been working hard to introduce alternative ways to teach and assess students to ensure everyone has the best chance to achieve their goals, which also shows through in this year’s survey results. I’d like to say a big thank you to all students and staff for making our university such an inclusive and positive place to study and thrive.”
More students voted
In terms of individual courses, more than 50% of the degrees at University College Birmingham, many of which are accredited by the University of Warwick, received a score of over 85% for academic support.
Students were even more invested in sharing feedback this year, with the response rate from University College Birmingham students rising from 76% in 2023 to 81% in 2024. The national response rate was 72.3%, equating to 346,000 students
There have been many accolades for University College Birmingham over the past year. In 2023, the University was ranked first out of 101 higher education institutions for postgraduate student support and resources in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES), the largest survey of its kind in higher education.
The University was also recognised by the Office for Students’ (OfS) Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) for delivering excellence in teaching and learning focusing on the areas that students care about the most: teaching, learning and achieving positive outcomes from their studies.
As well as winning best university and best student support in the West Midlands in the 2024 Whatuni Student Choice Awards, the University also won best postgraduate and international in the region.
If you like the sound of studying with us, please contact our Admissions team, who will more than happily talk you through our full range of courses and how to apply and enrol with us.
"What stands out is our sheer commitment to listening to our students to make their overall university experience exceptional, from their courses to their mental health, as well as their graduate outcomes."
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