Key messages for NSS 2013

  • The College’s Overall Satisfaction has increased to 87% (+1% from 2012). This is 2% above the sector average.
  • The College was ranked 55th in the sector for Overall Satisfaction.
  • For all question categories the College has a higher percentage satisfaction than 2012. The greatest increases were in Assessment and Feedback and Academic Support (both +4%), and for the Students' Union (+6%).
  • Of the 14 College subjects surveyed, 9 have increased their Overall Satisfaction from 2012, 4 have decreased and 1 remained the same. The range is from 80% (Life Sciences) to 100% (ESE) Overall Satisfaction.
  • The College had a higher level of Overall Satisfaction than the sector average in 9 NSS subjects.
  • The following College subjects were ranked 1st in the sector for Overall Satisfaction: Chemical Engineering and Earth Science and Engineering.
  • The overall College response rate was 81% (+10% on 2012) with 1634 respondents.

Institutional level results

Question category results

The College improved its reGraph showing the NSS2013 question category results for the Collegesults in all of the NSS question categories, maintaining the upward trend from 2011 to 2012.  This graph shows the percentage agree for the last four years in the eight question categories.  The Students' Union was a new category for 2012.

Graph showing the College's NSS 2013 results

 

 

 

 

This graph shows the results for the NSS question categories in 2013 broken down by the five possible responses to questions (Strongly Agree, Slightly Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Slightly Disagree, Strongly Disagree).  The percentage agree is the proportion of respondents answering Strongly Agree or Slightly Agree to a question.

Individual questions

The table below shows the 2013 results for the College for each NSS question, with the change in percentage satisfaction from the previous two surveys.  In 2013 the College had a higher percentange satisfaction than 2012 for 21 out of 23 questions.  Satisfaction for the remaining two questions was unchanged.

College NSS 2013 Results by question
NSS Question% Agree in 2013Change since 2012Change since 2011
 Teaching  88 +2  +5
 Staff are good at explaining things  90  +1  +4
 Staff have made the subject interesting  82  +2  +6
 Staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching  88  +2  +6
 The course is intellectually stimulating  91  +1  +2
 Assessment and Feedback  66  +4  +12
 The criteria used in marking have been clear in advance  75  +7  +16
 Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair  77  +2  +9
 Feedback on my work has been prompt  64  +4  +12
 I have received detailed comments on my work  57  +4  +11
 Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things
I did not understand
 57  +2  +11
 Academic support  79  +4  +6
 I have received sufficient advice and support with my studies  74  +3  +9
 I have been able to contact staff when I needed to  88  +4  +4
 Good advice was available when I needed to make study choices  77  +7  +9
 Organisation and management  83  +1  +4
 The timetable works efficiently as far as my activities are concerned  83  0  +4
 Any changes in the course or teaching have been communicated effectively  83  +1  +6
 The course is well organised and is running smoothly  82  0  +1
 Learning resources  95  +3  +5
 The library resources and services are good enough for my needs  96  +1  +3
 I have been able to access general IT resources when I needed to  97  +3  +6
 I have been able to access specialised equipment, facilities or rooms when I needed to  93 +5 +8
 Personal development  84  +1  +4
 The course has helped me to present myself with confidence  81  +1  +4
 My communication skills have improved  84  +1  +5
 As a result of the course, I feel confident in tackling unfamiliar problems  87  +1  +5
 Overall Satisfaction  87  +1  +2
 Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the course.  87  +1  +2
 Students' Union  77  +6  -
 I am satisfied with the Students' Union at my institution  77  +6  -
       
Response rate  81  +10  +23
 
This table summarises the College's NSS 2014 results

 

Sector comparison

Graph showing NSS 2013 results for the College and its main competitors This graph shows the NSS 2013 results for the College and key competitors by question category.

 

 

 

NSS 2013 overall satisfaction result for the College and key competitors

 

 

This graph shows a breakdown of the responses for Overall Satisfaction for Imperial and key competitors.


Comments

The National Student Survey (NSS) provides space for students to provide overall positive and overall negative comments about their experience. Details of the comments College students made can be found on the Comments page (internal only).


Subject level results

Select the link below to view the NSS 2013 results for that subject by Question Category, with comparison with previous years and the sector.

Faculty of Engineering

Faculty of Natural Sciences

Faculty of Medicine


Action plans

The College's action plans based on the results of NSS 2013 are available here: NSS 2013 action plans (internal only pdf).