The National Student Survey is useful but it's no substitute for a true student voice

As the National Student Survey for 2013 launches, Megan Sherman briefly considers its importance.

From time to time students will open Microsoft Outlook with a sigh, filtering through emails demanding time and information for survey responses. Dissertation and thesis writers offering edible and financial reward, the promise of input into the glorious progress of knowledge and information frequently hassle us. The National Student Survey, which launched yesterday, seemingly promises more laudable results than do obscure studies into exercise habits or attitudes towards the domestic cat. It claims to: provide reliable information for prospective University applicants; produce influential Higher Education public information; and “to give students a powerful collective voice to help shape the future of their course and university or college.”

The NSS spawns content for Unistats, a comparative tool which gives prospective students the chance to interpret statistics on the performance of Higher Education institutions and their attendant unions. Considering that the number of respondents has increased to half a million in recent years, it follows that a very basic, general and reliable picture of the quality of higher education should emerge, but just how far will this information match up to individual realities? If it relies on aggregates which don’t reflect the nuanced range of experiences and opinions, should something so arbitrary underwrite the choice of someone applying to University?

Another key claim of the national student survey is that its results “drive improvements across Higher Education Institutions in relation to the quality of teaching and the overall student learning experience.” Presumably, the more people that fill it in year on year, the more Universities and Unions are incentivised to satisfy student demands and make incremental improvements. With applications plummeting in the mood of the new Higher Education regime this need to have something positive to market may lead to concessions for students, but it could be the case that over time the University will just become more effective at managing their PR.

It’s far better that student opinion is recorded, aggregated and acknowledged than not at all and doing so unarguably produces useful public data and information, but this doesn’t necessarily go the lengths of empowerment claimed by the NSS website, which could lead us to believe it’s a substitute for progressive action. It’d be great if sweeping improvements to Higher Education could be made by students ticking boxes, but let’s not overestimate how highly our opinion is regarded in the upper echelons of our Universities. Overall, the NSS is useful and valuable but insufficient to count as a genuine student voice.

What do you think of the National Student Survey? Vote in our poll and let us know in the comments.