The National Student Survey (NSS) 2010 is giving over 300,000 students a chance to express their views about their university or college course.
Every students' opinion matters and giving your view can help make a positive difference to the way courses are run and delivered at your institution in the future.
The NSS invites students to rate their feelings on issues like feedback on assessed work, teaching quality and learning resources, giving a wealth of information to lecturers, tutors and representatives on what students are thinking and feeling.
This information will be used to help shape courses and change them for the better. The survey is run annually by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
Get involved
The National Student Survey has been running since 2005, and in some institutions, as many as 80 per cent of eligible students chose to get involved to make an impact on the future of higher education in last year's survey.
Any final year, undergraduate student studying a higher education course at a university or college can complete the survey anonymously online, by post or by telephone from 11th January 2010.
What's more, many of the results of each annual NSS are directly available to students, and potential students so that they can see what students thought of their course on UNISTATS.
Making a difference
Across the UK, universities, colleges, students’ unions and course reps have used the results of the NSS to encourage positive changes to the student experience and pinpoint areas for concern for students - and it has made a difference.
Since the NSS began, the results of the NSS have made institutions and colleges take student feedback more seriously, encouraging them to make changes to the areas that matter to students, such as gaining good quality feedback on their work, better access to their personal tutors, improved assessment practices and increased investment in resources, equipment and teaching spaces.
Prospective students and their advisors have also used results of the NSS to decide where and what to study. In addition, NUS uses the data to hone in on shared issues at universities and colleges and allow your student representatives to drive campaigns at a local and national level, which you can find out more about on by contacting your students’ union.
Further information:
For more information about the National Student Survey, and how it has helped to improve the learning experience for students, visit www.officeronline.co.uk/nss
Complete the National Student Survey online now
If you are a final year student on a higher education course in a university or college, visit www.thestudentsurvey.com to give your views.