Uni chief ‘delighted’ as Bristol slips to 106th for student satisfaction

You’ve ranked the University of Bristol 106th out of 160 universities in the country for student satisfaction, according to a leading national survey. 

Student satisfaction at Bristol is far below the national average and even below local laughing stock UWE, which came in at 90th on the list compiled by the Times Educational Supplement.

Top was Brighton and Sussex Medical School while bottom of the list was Plymouth College of Art.

Officially worse than UWE these days

A survey of 15,129 students that was conducted earlier this year by the Higher Education Policy Institute and the Higher Education Academy found that, while 87 per cent of respondents were fairly or very satisfied with their course, 34 per cent of students in England felt that they received poor or very poor value for money.

Professor Judith Squires, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education at Bristol said: “We are delighted to see such high gains in many areas, reflecting the hard work and dedication of colleagues across the institution.

She did admit: “There is room for improvement in certain subjects and areas of provision, but the University is committed to providing a high-quality and positive experience for all students.”

Judith Squires pictured at last December’s ASS protest

The most satisfied students in Bristol are studying German. They 100% satisfied with their degree programme and standard of teaching.

Student satisfaction remains a hot topic at Bristol, after a year of controversy saw rows between the student body and staff over the number of study spaces and provisions for humanities students.

The dispute peaked in December 2014, when an ill-fated protest movement headed by English Literature student George Robb handed over a manifesto of demands to Professor Squires outside the Will’s Memorial building.

Look how mental the protest was

In her response to the NSS results Professor Squires made it clear steps were being taken to address grievances over satisfaction.

She said: “We are working in partnership with students to achieve this, for example through the flagship Beacon House development, which will provide a new central study and learning hub, including an additional 350 study seats with separate areas for group working along with various student support facilities.”

One trend that remains clear in the NSS is that some Russell Group institutions do not live up to their elite status in the survey.

Adam Child, senior policy and strategy officer at Lancaster University, who has studied the NSS, said that the survey remained a “convenient proxy” for teaching quality while new metrics are developed.

“The Russell Group are not necessarily performing as well as they should,” he added.