NUS also welcomes its focus on close examination of the postgraduate student experience and funding arrangements.
The report recommends proposals to extend the National Student Survey (NSS) to taught postgraduate students, the commissioning of a postgraduate student experience survey, and better information for and about postgraduate applicants and students.
NUS also welcomed calls to the ongoing Browne Review of higher education funding and student finance to look at the costs of and barriers to postgraduate study.
Wes Streeting, NUS President said:
“The call for a greater focus on the postgraduate student experience, as well as the costs of and barriers to further study is both welcome and long overdue.”
“We are increasingly concerned that as postgraduate qualifications become more important in the labour market, the extent to which participation at this level is socio-economically skewed also becomes more important. Student support for postgraduates is poorly developed and this creates a significant barrier to access for many potential students who have the attainment to undertake further study. It is vital that the Browne review of fees and funding takes these recommendations on board”
“NUS has led the way on examining the student experience, campaigning for better data collection, and ensuring student take-up of the National Student Survey. We will continue to gather evidence on the effects on access and on the quality of the student experience of the current gap in postgraduate finance, and we call on others to do the same.”