The National Student Survey (NSS) is a key initiative managed by the Office for Students (OfS) on behalf of the UK’s primary funding and regulatory bodies, including the Department for the Economy (Northern Ireland), the Scottish Funding Council, and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.
Designed to capture student feedback, the NSS serves as an essential tool in evaluating the quality of higher education courses across the UK. The survey plays a critical role in:
- Aiding prospective students in making informed decisions about their academic futures;
- Providing universities and colleges with valuable insights to enhance the student experience;
- Strengthening public accountability within the education sector.
With participation from all UK universities and many colleges, the NSS consistently achieves high response rates, reflecting its significance in shaping higher education policy and practice.
Understanding the 2021 NSS Survey
For the 2021 edition of the NSS, the OfS and other UK regulatory bodies introduced a new set of questions to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ experiences. This initiative aimed to provide deeper insights into how institutions responded to unprecedented challenges.
Students had the option to respond to these additional questions after completing the core survey, allowing them to share their perspectives on pandemic-related disruptions.
Key considerations regarding these new questions include:
- Given the exceptional nature of the academic year, it was crucial to gather student feedback on this specific aspect of their educational journey.
- The collected data aims to assist universities and colleges in understanding student perceptions of institutional responses to the pandemic.
- This information will not be used for course-level student decision-making, ensuring that providers can assess feedback internally.
- While national-level data may be published—similar to smaller sample opinion polls—any dissemination will only occur following rigorous quality assessments of responses.
- If any provider-level results were to be made public, it would only happen after thorough consultation and a structured representations process.
The NSS remains a vital mechanism for continuous improvement in higher education, ensuring that student voices contribute meaningfully to shaping the future of learning environments across the UK.