Student satisfaction at Warwick rises to 89%

According to the recent results of the 2014 National Student Survey (NSS), the overall rate of student satisfaction at Warwick University has increased by 2% since 2013.

Warwick recorded an overall satisfaction rate of 89%, up 2% from 2013. This places the university above the Russell Group average of 87.5% and comfortably above the national average of 86%.

Warwick improved its scores in five out of six of the survey’s main categories. The university’s lowest score was in the assessment and feedback category, but this was also the category in which Warwick’s score improved the most, increasing by 7% to 72%.

The rise in this category is likely to be the result of the university’s implementation of a four-week feedback deadline policy in 2012 as a response to complaints about departments’ lack of prompt assessment feedback.

Warwick’s highest scores were in the teaching and learning resources categories, which achieved satisfaction rates of 89% and 90% respectively. Satisfaction rose in both of these sections of the survey by 2% from the previous year.

There were a number of departments that performed notably well. Theatre Studies was the highest-ranked department, achieving an overall satisfaction rate of 97%, and the department of Economics was ranked first in the Russell Group.

Peter Dunn, spokesman for Warwick stated: “Clearly the area that students wanted us to focus on is assessment and feedback. We are pleased with the 7% increase in satisfaction there and we will continue to focus on that area.

The university is also making considerable investment in campus infrastructure that will directly benefit students, with a new teaching and learning building in planning and significant improvements to the transport infrastructure on and around campus.”

Dan Ewers, a second-year History undergraduate, spoke positively about the outcome, stating, “Overall, I am very satisfied with the university. I love the course, the student support is good and my experience has been a good one so far.

“The only thing I am dissatisfied with is the cost of buying course materials. Perhaps it would be useful to have a second hand website for course books or even to have our materials partially subsidised by the tuition fees we pay each year.”

Warwick University has recently announced its plans for a number of campus developments that are directly linked to the student experience.

Some of these, such as the proposal for the enhancement of the central piazza and the £15m teaching and learning centre, are likely to have a positive impact on Warwick’s results in future publications of the NSS.

The NSS is a yearly census available to most final year students at higher education institutes in the United Kingdom, designed to assess the quality of universities by requiring students to rate components of their course and university experience.

It aims to provide information to prospective students and constructive feedback to university departments. The results are also used in national league tables as criteria in determining a university’s ranking.