August 7, 2018, by Prof 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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