August 7, 2018, by Dr. Meghan Gray

2018 National Student Survey (NSS) Results in Physics

Guest post by Prof Michael Merrifield, Head of School


I am somewhat vociferously on record arguing that most university league tables are a complete waste of time – they are compiled by newspapers who have a vested interest in promoting volatility, and they combine disparate statistics in a way that makes no sense at all. But there is useful data out there that the School does use extensively. In particular, the National Student Survey (NSS) provides an important snapshot every year of how we are doing. The NSS is filled out by graduating students, and provides us with a wealth of information in the form of free text comments and answers to questions on issues ranging from how interesting the lecturers make their subject to the quality of library resources.

However, the part we always turn to first is the final question, Question 27, which asks the students whether they agree or disagree with the statement “Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the course.” Responses to this question give a pretty good summary of whether our students think their time with us has been worthwhile. The School of Physics and Astronomy has typically done well on Question 27, with 94% agreeing with the statement in 2016 and 96% in 2017, and I was delighted to see that this year’s graduates are equally happy, placing us fourth in the entire country.

The full list of how all physics departments fared on Question 27 is below. It is worth looking not only at the percentage of students who were satisfied, but also the number of responses, which gives an idea of both the size of the department and the likely uncertainty in the results due to finite numbers. Not quite all physics departments are included, as some did not reach the threshold of at least half of their graduates responding, but, among those who are listed, there are a few surprises!

 

University

Percent Agree

Number of Responses

1

University of Northumbria at Newcastle

98%

24

2=

University of St Andrews

97%

53

2=

Swansea University

97%

79

4=

University of Nottingham

96%

107

4=

University of Salford

96%

26

6

The University of Leeds

95%

101

7=

University of Dundee

93%

17

7=

Heriot-Watt University

93%

44

7=

The University of Surrey

93%

91

10=

The Open University

92%

107

10=

University of Southampton

92%

75

10=

University of Sussex

92%

49

13=

The University of Birmingham

91%

130

13=

University of Keele

91%

33

13=

The University of Lancaster

91%

77

13=

Loughborough University

91%

45

13=

Nottingham Trent University

91%

40

13=

The University of Warwick

91%

124

19=

Aberystwyth University

90%

47

19=

Coventry University

90%

10

21

Queen Mary University of London

89%

75

22=

Cardiff University

88%

62

22=

Queen’s University of Belfast

88%

71

22=

University of Strathclyde

88%

32

22=

University of York

88%

108

26=

The University of Kent

87%

67

26=

The University of Sheffield

87%

76

28=

University of Central Lancashire

85%

26

28=

University of Exeter

85%

118

28=

Royal Holloway and Bedford New College

85%

31

28=

University of the West of Scotland

85%

20

32=

The University of Bath

83%

89

32=

Coventry University

83%

12

32=

University of Durham

83%

150

32=

University of Edinburgh

83%

70

32=

University of Glasgow

83%

85

37=

University of Bristol

82%

89

37=

University of Hertfordshire

82%

28

37=

University of Portsmouth

82%

17

40=

King’s College London

81%

59

40=

The University of Leicester

81%

86

42

The University of Hull

80%

35

43

St Mary’s University, Twickenham

75%

12

44

University of Aberdeen

74%

17

45

The University of Cumbria

73%

11

46

University College London

72%

95

47

De Montfort University

64%

11

48

Imperial College

58%

158

49

University of Newcastle upon Tyne

50%

10

50

Kingston University

45%

11

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