Highest student satisfaction rates in Leeds for third year in a row

University Centre Leeds’ (UC Leeds) student satisfaction rates have been ranked as some of the highest in Yorkshire for the third year running.

Just over 85 per cent of students rated their overall experience at the institution* as positive in the newly published 2022 National Student Survey (NSS).

Those results mean that UC Leeds has once again achieved the highest overall student satisfaction level of all of the city’s higher education providers.

There was a highest-ever, 75.4%, response rate from students this year and they ranked virtually every area at UC Leeds above the sector average. Teaching (90.4%), learning opportunities (88.6%) and academic support (87%) scored particularly strongly.

A testament to quality teaching and going the extra mile

Janet Faulkner, Dean of Higher Learning at University Centre Leeds, said: “These tremendous results are a testament to the continuing, and improving quality of our teaching and curriculum.

“Our staff are continuously looking at ways to enhance our courses and give students exceptional opportunities, so they leave here with the confidence and skills to aim high.

“Over the past year, we have welcomed a string of influential guest speakers and taken a group of learners to London for some invaluable experience at the Department for Transport. Other students have benefitted from an Erasmus+ trip to Greece, where their work in a hotel gave them an insight into the tourism, hospitality and food and drink sectors.

“Our students, as these impressive survey results indicate, clearly appreciate such efforts which is wonderful to see.”

Student satisfaction at Leeds Conservatoire

Leeds Conservatoire – which, like UC Leeds, is part of Luminate Education Group – is also celebrating student satisfaction ratings that rank it amongst the best in Yorkshire.

The conservatoire, which delivers expert music and performing arts education, achieved an overall satisfaction rating of 80% – significantly higher than its sector’s average of 70.79%. Students also gave high scores in many of the survey’s individual categories, including for Leeds Conservatoire’s standards of teaching (82%), academic support (78%), and learning opportunities (80%).

Leeds Conservatoire Principal, Professor Joe Wilson, said: “We are very proud of the excellent NSS results for Leeds Conservatoire. This is testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, and we would like to thank our students for recognising the conservatoire with this fantastic feedback.

“Our programmes are characterised by inspirational training with experts in a huge variety of specialisms, supported by bespoke workshops and masterclasses by visiting practitioners. Our facilities are industry-standard, our curriculum is designed around industry practice, and students have access to a wealth of professional partners and expert knowledge both within and outside our curriculum. 

“We value excellence and elite training in all forms of music and performance making, and so offer the broadest range of genres of any conservatoire in Europe, giving our students unrivalled opportunities for collaboration. We are the only UK conservatoire to offer degrees combining two performance/production disciplines, reflecting the increasing focus on multidisciplinary practice in the music industry and offering even greater opportunity for students to expand their creative vision.” 

Managed by the Office for Students, the NSS is one of the largest surveys of its kind and had almost 325,000 responses across the UK this year.

The survey gathers students’ opinions on the quality of their courses. That data is then used by prospective students to guide their choices, and by the education providers to shape and improve their offerings.

*University Centre Leeds is registered as Luminate Education Group, the name of its parent organisation, in the survey results.