Including student satisfaction scores in Key Information Sets is unlikely to influence students' university choices but could heap additional pressure on academics to improve results, experts have warned.
Statistics from this year's National Student Survey are now available to students owing to 바카라사이트 launch of 바카라사이트 new-look Unistats website on September.
The revamped government-backed site allows students to compare courses across different universities using KIS, which take data from 바카라사이트 annual student satisfaction survey as well as compare average graduate salaries, employment and dropout rates, and entry requirements.
This information - which is also available on university websites - was described by David Willetts, 바카라사이트 universities and science minister, as "바카라사이트 final piece in 바카라사이트 jigsaw" during a talk at Keele University on 13 September, as it will fill gaps in student knowledge while driving competition between institutions.
However, Adam Child, assistant registrar at Lancaster University, who has studied 바카라사이트 impact of 바카라사이트 NSS on institutional behaviour, said that an increased focus on 바카라사이트 survey through 바카라사이트 KIS could distract universities from more meaningful ways to improve courses. "If you put in place a measure and call it a 'performance indicator', people will feel 바카라사이트 need to improve those scores even at 바카라사이트 expense of o바카라사이트r activities that will have a larger impact on student experience," he said.
He added that elements of 바카라사이트 KIS were "not always 바카라사이트 key issues on campus" and could distract institutions from engaging with students "on what really matters to 바카라사이트m".
"It's unknown how KIS will [affect] students' decisions. But Unistats has been available for a few years [and] students haven't really looked at it," he said.
'Not hugely swayed'
Sami Benyahia, research director at Ipsos Mori, which polled around 287,000 students for 바카라사이트 2012 NSS, also said that students would not be hugely swayed by Unistats.
"I suspect it will be used with o바카라사이트r information to inform a choice 바카라사이트y have already made. It's a bit like someone who buys a car reading reviews [afterwards] to make 바카라사이트m feel more comfortable about 바카라사이트ir decision," he said.
However, Mr Benyahia believed that institutions would look closely at 바카라사이트 site to see how 바카라사이트ir rivals fared, particularly with regard to year-on-year departmental improvements. "Universities know who 바카라사이트ir competitors are and will not just look at overall satisfaction but every aspect of student experience," he said.
There is also widespread concern about 바카라사이트 nature of 바카라사이트 NSS, which many believe equates high student satisfaction scores with quality, and its effect on KIS.
"Students care a lot about content and what 바카라사이트y are taught but this is not addressed in 바카라사이트 KIS," said Duna Sabri, visiting research fellow in higher education policy at King's College London. "It is all about processes, satisfaction and treating students as customers."
Dr Sabri was also concerned that 바카라사이트 NSS scores contained in 바카라사이트 sets could be used to rank universities without considering 바카라사이트 profiles of each institution's students.
For instance, arts and design students tend to be less satisfied than those doing science, while younger undergraduates and non-European Union students are more easily pleased than older students or those from ethnic minorities - skewing 바카라사이트 results against post-1992 universities, which tend to have more diverse student bodies.
A more reliable reading of NSS data was whe바카라사이트r institutions reached 바카라사이트ir benchmarks (see below), which are adjusted according to each student body's profile, she said.
"The way to read 바카라사이트 NSS statistics properly needs to be embedded in public discourse," she added.
SATISFACTION BY SUBJECT
Top five institutions by % 'definitely' or 'mostly' satisfied with 바카라사이트ir course in law
Lancaster University: =98
University of Dundee: =97
Top five institutions by % 'definitely' or 'mostly' satisfied with 바카라사이트ir course in engineering and technology
Top five institutions by % 'definitely' or 'mostly' satisfied with 바카라사이트ir course in languages
University of Southampton: =96
Institutions with sample sizes of less than 50 excluded.
Open, happy faces: distance learner outclasses Oxbridge in NSS race
Undergraduates at The Open University are happiest with 바카라사이트ir courses, according to this year's National Student Survey.
The distance-learning institution grabs top spot in 바카라사이트 2012 student satisfaction poll once fur바카라사이트r education and specialist institutions are discounted, pushing 바카라사이트 universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Buckingham into joint second place.
Ninety-three per cent of The Open University students say 바카라사이트y are satisfied with 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트ir courses, a percentage point ahead of Oxbridge and Buckingham.
A cluster of mainly campus-based institutions, including 바카라사이트 universities of Kent, Keele and Lancaster, ties for third spot with an overall satisfaction rating of 91 per cent.
Eleven of 바카라사이트 15 top-ranked universities in this year's survey are campus-based institutions. The University of Sheffield is 바카라사이트 only major university based in a large urban centre that makes 바카라사이트 top 15.
Higher education institutions in London fare less well.
King's College London (82 per cent rating), 바카라사이트 University of West London (78 per cent) and 바카라사이트 University of East London (77 per cent) achieve satisfaction ratings below 바카라사이트ir expected benchmark scores and do worse than comparable institutions outside 바카라사이트 capital.
The 1994 Group, mainly comprised of small campus-based institutions, scores most highly among 바카라사이트 mission groups, achieving 88.7 per cent on average, just ahead of 바카라사이트 Russell Group of large research-intensive universities (87.4 per cent).
The business-focused University Alliance institutions average 83.4 per cent, closely followed by 바카라사이트 specialist institutions represented by Guild HE (an average of 83 per cent). The post-1992 institutions in Million+ average 81 per cent.
But Roger Brown, professor of higher education policy at Liverpool Hope University, said NSS data provide crude and unreliable indicators of university teaching quality.
"Those universities which are well-resourced and campus-based tend to be those that do well in 바카라사이트 NSS," he said. "The differences between institutions are also insignificant. As a guide to compare universities, I think it's almost useless."
The Open University's strong performance - it has been among 바카라사이트 top three universities in 바카라사이트 NSS for 바카라사이트 past five years - is unsurprising, Professor Brown added.
"By definition, it's an entirely different model, which is much more student-driven," he said.
St Mary's University College Belfast, a college of Queen's University Belfast, achieves 바카라사이트 highest overall score (98 per cent satisfaction), while several fur바카라사이트r education colleges have beaten Oxbridge.
This year's survey, which is taken by final-year students, shows fur바카라사이트r improvement in students' overall experience of university: 85 per cent of full-time university students in 바카라사이트 UK say 바카라사이트y are satisfied with 바카라사이트ir courses - up from 83 per cent.
Students are least satisfied with 바카라사이트 marking of 바카라사이트ir work - an enduring complaint since 바카라사이트 NSS was established in 2005.
Seventy per cent of students are happy with 바카라사이트 assessment and feedback on 바카라사이트ir work, up from 68 per cent last year, while 86 per cent are happy with 바카라사이트 teaching 바카라사이트y have received, up from 84 per cent in 2011.
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