Teesside rated among the best universities in latest national student survey

Students from Teesside have given a ringing endorsement of their time at university, with a series of positive results in an influential national survey.

Teesside scored above the overall sector average in the majority of areas in the National Student Survey (NSS) and, when compared to other North East universities, Teesside came top in seven out of 10 categories.

The NSS is an annual independent survey, conducted by the Office for Students (OfS), to gather final year undergraduate students' opinions about the quality of their university course and their learning experience. Results are used to help inform the choices of prospective students and drive positive change across the higher education landscape.

Across the sector, a total of 131 institutions were included in the survey, which asked for feedback on all aspects of the student experience.

Teesside ranked 13th out of 131 Universities for ‘Assessment and feedback’ and 18th for the ‘Students’ Union’.

Additionally, the university was ranked 25th for ‘Teaching on my course’, 21st for ‘Learning resources’ and 27th for ‘Freedom of expression’.

And Teesside students judged their experience best in the North East in 7 of the 10 categories, including ‘student voice’, ‘Students’ Union’ and Teaching on my course’.

There was also a particularly strong result for Teesside University Library, with the question ‘How well have the library resources supported your learning’ generating a 93.4% positive response rate – which placed Teesside in the top ten for that question.

Teesside University is committed to providing the very best student and learning experience and has invested £280m in recent years to transform its campus and enhance its facilities.

Its transformative approach to learning and use of digital technology also saw it become the first European higher education institution to be named as an Adobe Creative Campus, in recognition of its commitment to promoting digital literacy across all courses and areas of study. The University was also recognised as an Apple Distinguished School, highlighting the University’s success in creating an innovative learning environment.

Teesside University is also committed to listening to, and acting upon, student feedback and introduced the ‘Your Voice Matters’ campaign to provide a consistent approach for student feedback and enable more opportunities for students to get their opinions heard.

Professor Mark Simpson, Teesside University Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching), said: “We place students at the heart of everything we do and are delighted with the positive results in this year’s National Student Survey.

“Our Future Facing Learning strategy prioritises digital learning and has transformed the way we deliver our programmes at Teesside - ensuring our students have the skills and expertise to flourish in their future careers.

“We have also streamlined a lot of our activity to make it much easier for students to access services and support at Teesside.

“The positive results in the NSS are testament to all the work that we have put in and we will continue to drive innovation to do the very best for our student community.”

Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Teesside University, Professor Paul Croney, OBE, added: “It is vital that our students enjoy the best possible experience while with us at Teesside University. We welcome the positive results from the NSS and thank our students for taking the time to share their experiences with us.

“Our aim has always been to create educational opportunities that transform lives and we will continue to improve and build on the success of this year’s NSS. We are also delighted to see such a positive endorsement for our Students’ Union which performs a vital role in our University activity and the overall student experience.”

Michael Adewunmi, President Education and Chair of the Board of Trustees at Teesside University Students’ Union (TUSU), said: “We highly value all of the feedback we receive from students, but it is particularly pleasing to see over 75% of respondents to such an influential survey say they are happy with the events, services, spaces and support that TUSU has provided throughout their time here.

“I believe it is a very well-deserved tribute to the excellent collective efforts of our Elected Officers, Student Representatives and staff.”

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