NSS results place QMU Students’ Union first in Scotland
This week, results from the National Student Survey (NSS), one of the largest student surveys in the world, showed that Queen Margaret University’s Students' Union (QMUSU) has been ranked first in Scotland and seventh out of the 130 Complete University Guide institutions for its representation of students’ academic interests.Ìý
The survey also showed that 72.66% of students at QMU are satisfied overall with the quality of their course, with several courses achieving 100% or very high overall satisfaction.ÌýÌý
The National Student Survey (NSS) is conducted by the Office for Students (OfS) on behalf of the UK higher education funding bodies. As well as capturing student views on the quality of their undergraduate degree, the survey gathers students’ responses to a series of questions relating to academic support, learning resources, teaching, management and assessment. Feedback from the students on the quality of their courses and their experience of university, helps to inform prospective students’ choices, provides data that helps universities improve the student experience, and supports public accountability.Ìý
QMU outperformed its benchmark in the following categories:ÌýÌý
- 81.8% of students on courses with healthcare, allied health and clinical practice placements rated QMU positively for receiving sufficient preparatory information prior to their placements, 11.2% above the QMU benchmark.ÌýÌý
- Students’ Union - Students were particularly positive about their experience of QMU’s Students’ Union with 80.35% students agreeing the SU represents students’ academic interests well (7.2% above QMU’s benchmark and 7.4% above the UK average), placing it first in Scotland for this category and seventh out of 130 universities in the UK.Ìý
QMU saw strong results in a number of other key areas:ÌýÌý
- 88.5% of students agreeing staff were good at explaining things.ÌýÌý
- 86.2% agreeing that it was easy to contact teaching staff when they needed to.Ìý
- 85.9% praising the library resources for learning support;Ìý
- 84.2% agreeing that they were given good opportunities to provide course feedback.ÌýÌýÌý
QMU’s Master of Nursing course achieved a 100% overall satisfaction score, while BA (Hons) Drama, BSc (Hons) Nursing, BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy and Master of Diagnostic Radiography also demonstrated notable success in this question, with overall satisfaction scores of 93.8%, 91.4%, 90% and 90% respectively.ÌýÌý
"We are pleased that the NSS results confirm another successful year of high student satisfaction across our portfolio areas, and demonstrate the high quality of teaching in place at the University and a strong representation of students’ academic interests. In particular, it’s fantastic that our Students’ Union has had such a positive impact on our students, which is a real testament to the hard work and dedication of the QMUSU staff."
Professor Butt concluded: “However, our work to continually enhance student learning and the student experience never stands still, and the NSS also flags areas for improvement. The NSS Working Group will further analyse the survey results and cross reference them with our internal student survey results, so we can identify and improve performance in key areas. From this, we will develop an action plan which will help us make course improvements and enhance the university experience for each and every student at QMU.â€ÌýÌý
Notes to Editor
The NSS is managed by the Office for Students (OfS) on behalf of the UK funding and regulatory bodies – the Department for the Economy (Northern Ireland), the Scottish Funding Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.Ìý
For further media information contact Emma Reekie, Media Relations and Content Officer, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, E: ereekie@qmu.ac.uk, copy to: pressoffice@qmu.ac.uk .Ìý
