What happens to survey results?
The university takes student feedback very seriously, and it is integrated into all our planning and decision-making processes.
Early Student Experience Survey (ESES)
The Early Student Experience survey ran in November 2022 and was completed by:
- 3951 students
- with a 50% response rate
Results at university level showed:
- Overall satisfaction of 94%
- 98% of respondents agreeing that "I was made to feel welcome during my first week"
- 91% of respondents agreeing that "I am happy with the way my course is taught"
- 92% of respondents agreeing that "Applying to the course was easy"
All student comments are read, and actions relating to feedback are taken forward by each college, Subject Network or at university level.
National Student Survey (NSS) 2023
The National Student Survey ran between February and April 2023 and was completed by:
- 675 final year students
- ...on 84 undergraduate degree and HN courses
- ...with a 67% response rate
Results at university level showed:
- Overall satisfaction of 81%
- We were 6th in the ranking for overall satisfaction in Scotland.
- We match, are above or significantly above our benchmarks in all but two questions.
- We performed above the sector in all question sets bar Learning resources where we were
only 1% below. - We performed above the Scottish and UK sector for the following question scales: Teaching on my Course, Learning Opportunities, Assessment and Feedback, Academic Support, Organisation and Management, and Student Voice.
- Four programmes received 100% overall satisfaction, with strong performances by several others.
All student comments are read, and actions relating to feedback are taken forward by each college, Subject Network or at university level.
Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2023
Results available shortly.
The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey ran between April and June 2023 and was completed by:
- students on 67 taught postgraduate courses
- from most UHI academic partners
Results at university level showed:
- Overall satisfaction of 92%
- UHI achieved the highest overall satisfaction rate of any Scottish institution for the second consecutive year.
- UHI was ranked 3rd in the UK for overall satisfaction. In 2021 we were ranked 4th.
- The University also achieved the highest satisfaction rate in Scotland in three of the nine areas of student experience.
- We also ranked highly for Assessment (6th in UK) and Teaching (8th in UK).
- UHI is ranked 2nd in the UK for Assessment, and 6th in the UK for Engagement.
- In three question sets were UHI was ranked in the top 25% - Assessment, Teaching and Organisation. In a further two we were ranked in the next 25% - Engagement and Support.
All student comments are read, and actions relating to feedback are taken forward at university or academic partner level.
Responses to student feedback in 2022 - 2023
Below are some of the actions which took place in 2021-22 as a result of student feedback:
| You said... | We did... |
|---|---|
|
reserving print books and ordering inter-site loans is too time consuming. |
the new Library Search facility allows students to place requests with a few simple clicks regardless of the book location. |
| why am I asked to login to library services when I’ve already signed-in elsewhere? | library systems and eResources now use the same single sign-on as other major services such as Brightspace and MyDay. |
| it would be good to have more opportunities to connect with other students. | programme teams are encouraging classes to make use of the Brightspace forum function, and to connect with class mates in other ways. |
| it would be good to have a greater range of subject - related student societies. | Staff development sessions have been arranged to provide teaching staff with the skills to support students to set up subject - related student societies. |
| you would like to engage with the university in more meaningful ways | through the Learning & Teaching Academy, a staff development session provided teaching and support staff with information on changes to student engagement. |
Responses to student feedback in 2021-2022
Responses to student feedback in 2021-2022
Below are some of the actions which took place in 2021-22 as a result of student feedback:
| You said... | We did... |
|---|---|
| There are WiFi issues in some areas at three academic parnters. |
The WiFi project improved the network accross the partnership. It was noted that at three partners there were problem areas in some parts of the buildings, so enhanced WiFi was provided. |
| Not aware of technology to support learning at a distance. |
The existing ‘one stop shop’ technologies support area of the website was updated with additional support for studying at home. |
| Some students did not have suitable technology to study online. | The Digital Poverty group sourced suitable devices and connectivity packages for loan funded by the SFC digital funding allowance. In addition, this scheme was supplemented with additional devices funded by the university to increase the coverage of the loan scheme. |
| You were often unaware of the online library resources available and how to find and use them to enhance their learning. | Communications on existing and new resources were enhanced. Checklists for staff to ensure student awareness introduced. |
| A need for help and assistance when using the online library service. |
A live chat function was introduced so that users can ask questions and seek help in real time with a member of library staff. |
| More online events and opportunities to connect with other students during COVID. |
HISA worked with the university to provide online events, while existing events such as HISA Con were moved online to allow greater participation. |
|
Better support of class reps during COVID.
|
Enhanced online and networked (VC) class rep training introduced as well as better identification of reps so that they can be supported by local staff. |
Responses to student feedback in 2020-2021
Responses to student feedback in 2020-2021
Below are some of the actions which took place in 2020-21 as a result of student feedback:
| You said... | We did... |
|---|---|
| You would assessment feedback to be uniform across modules. |
Explicit and clear assignment briefs published for all modules and clearly identified in Brightspace. Feedback guidance and sharing of best practice from module leaders introduced. New Module Leader Guidance Doc complied to include guidance on assessment and feedback. |
| Availability of physcial books. |
The university librarian and the SN Librarians will work with the Librarians at locations concerned to encourage modification of local purchasing policy and increase in required titles. |
| Students unsure of expectations regarding reading lists and supply of resources by the university | The reading list software Talis is to be rolled out to academic staff to create and annotate the lists directly (where wished). This will include students being advised on whether they should buy their own copy of a book that will be heavily used, whether they only need to read certain chapters, links to chapters in the Digital Content Store, and why they should read certain things. |
| Better Wi-Fi is needed for all students at all UHI locations. |
The university has made a major investment and replaced the Wi-Fi service making it more reliable, faster and easier to connect to than the old service. Performed a “not spot” survey of completed sites and filled in gaps where possible. Centre for Health Science’s Wi-Fi changed to the university’s new system. |
| You reported unreliable VC sessions. |
Our two Janet links were 1GB each but had become saturated. Jisc have upgraded to 10GB each. |
| You requested more opportunities for student community. |
Course spaces on Brightspace have been developed. Online capabilities to encourage peer review and collaboration introduded. Specialist staff from our Educational Development Unit are working with staff to introduce enhanced learning experiences within modules. |
| More social events. |
HISA are encouraging clubs and societies to network across academic partners, and are organising online events that all students may participate in. |
| Better support of class reps. |
New online and networked (VC) class rep training introduced in 2020 as well as better identification of reps so that they can be supported by local staff. |