Students dissatisfied with teaching standards in higher education

A recent nationwide survey has found that a fifth (19.6 per cent) of students described the teaching standards at their universities as “poor”.

The survey, undertaken by the Student Hut, asked more than 3,400 students in its user-base to rate, review and score their university course modules.

Alongside “poor teaching standards”, a fifth (20.8 per cent) of students also complained about the lack of support offered outside of lectures and seminars.

24.3 percent of students surveyed at Warwick were disappointed with the University’s teaching standards.

Only 17.1 percent believed that there was not enough support outside of their lectures and seminar classes. In comparison to the support offered by other universities, Warwick University fared relatively well.

The survey found that at Cambridge University, 30 per cent of students felt that they weren’t provided with sufficient support to help them with their studies and stress.

Dan Lever, founder of Student Hut, remarked: “Students need access to more information before they make decisions about university.

“If they feel that experiences are not living up to expectations…then we are not doing enough to help them.”

When asked about the University’s teaching standards, Will Harvey, a first-year Mechanical Engineering undergraduate, commented: “As a whole I am pretty satisfied with my course’s teaching standards.

“Obviously there are some lectures which can be disappointing but in general I’m happy with what is on offer.”

In contrast, Raveena Kaur, a first-year Politics student, stated: “Whilst there are no doubt some good lectures, it is always so hit-and-miss, there is no consistency to the teaching standards on my course.”

She added: “I think it is bad how the lecturers are always striking – it puts our education at risk.”
Mr Lever hopes to develop Student Hut as a university equivalent to “Trip Advisor”.

He believes that the “pooling of information highlights problems areas, so that universities can take measures to improve the quality of the course modules that they offer.”