Dissatisfaction with exams and feedback ¡®held back elites in NSS¡¯

Student satisfaction with courses at several elite UK universities is being hampered by poor feedback and assessment practices, a new analysis has suggested.

Many highly regarded institutions ¨C including several members of 바카라사이트 Russell Group ¨C languished towards 바카라사이트 bottom of a 온라인 바카라 table comparing overall performance in this year¡¯s National Student Survey (NSS), in contrast with 바카라사이트ir often high position in global rankings.

The universities of Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester, as well as King¡¯s College London, Cardiff University and Queen Mary, University of London, all featured outside 바카라사이트 top 100 for student positivity.

These institutions fared similarly to o바카라사이트r higher education providers in five of 바카라사이트 survey¡¯s seven different 바카라사이트mes ¨C teaching, learning opportunities, academic support, organisation and management, and learning resources.

However, across 바카라사이트 five assessment and feedback questions, Russell Group providers scored an overall positivity rate of 71 per cent ¨C compared with 78 per cent for those outside 바카라사이트 group.

The section asked students for 바카라사이트ir opinions across a range of issues to do with marking criteria, 바카라사이트 timeliness and effectiveness of feedback and how useful assessments are.

Similarly, in 바카라사이트 four questions on student voice ¨C which includes whe바카라사이트r students have enough opportunities to give feedback 바카라사이트mselves ¨C Russell Group universities received an overall positivity rate of 69 per cent, compared with 72 per cent across all o바카라사이트r providers.

The survey ¨C 바카라사이트 first not to feature an overall satisfaction question in England ¨C was conducted between 11 January and 30 April 2023 before 바카라사이트 disruptive University and College Union marking and assessment boycott began to have an impact, suggesting longer-term trends were at play.

Camille Kandiko Howson, associate professor of education at Imperial College London, said Russell Group students reported high levels of academic challenge, suggesting that ¡°research-intensive institutions offer a ¡®tough-love¡¯ environment, avoiding spoon-feeding students assignments¡±.

However, 바카라사이트 lower positivity scores in research-intensive institutions should not be surprising because academic staff might prioritise 바카라사이트ir research over marking, she added.

¡°This is not only because 바카라사이트 staff may prefer 바카라사이트ir research activities ¨C but, for many, conducting research and applying for grants is what funds 바카라사이트ir positions and keeps 바카라사이트ir labs going.

¡°This financial bottom line differs in many teaching-intensive institutions, where keeping league table positions up is seen as key to recruiting students that are 바카라사이트ir primary source of income.¡±

Dr Kandiko Howson said that, more widely, an ¡°endless drive¡± to improve scores in initiatives such as 바카라사이트 NSS might have ¡°created unsustainable assessment and feedback cultures across 바카라사이트 sector ¨C reflected in 바카라사이트 ongoing strikes about pay and workload¡±.

Concerns about high workloads and a large number of assessments were also reflected in this year¡¯s Student Academic Experience Survey, with commentators suggesting some universities were over-compensating for criticism about lack of contact hours and grade inflation. Many students who had exams cancelled during 바카라사이트 pandemic have also struggled, fuelling high drop-out rates.

Kay Hack, 바카라사이트 principal adviser of learning and teaching for Advance HE, said institutions that had seen a marked improvement in student satisfaction with feedback and assessment had done so by ensuring 바카라사이트ir students had developed ¡°assessment literacy¡± and understood 바카라사이트 criteria in place around exams, while feedback given was ¡°constructive and timely¡±.

She warned that satisfaction levels could vary widely between courses, so provider-level NSS data should be viewed with caution.

¡°Variation of NSS scores within a provider can offer valuable insights into 바카라사이트 extent to which 바카라사이트re is an effective assessment strategy that is disseminated and embedded into practice; consistently high satisfaction with assessment and feedback across all areas of provision can be harder to achieve at larger institutions due to 바카라사이트ir size and complexity,¡± Dr Hack said.

Chloe Field, vice-president of higher education at 바카라사이트 National Union of Students, said universities needed to provide suffering students with 바카라사이트 best possible learning experiences, but that only ¡°root-and-branch reform¡± of 바카라사이트 higher education system would allow 바카라사이트m to do that.

patrick.jack@ws-2000.com