UK student satisfaction riding high at 80% as Swansea University wins top award #WUSCA
While uncertainty around Brexit has caused misery for millions, UK students have bucked the trend and say they are happier with university life than they were last year, according to league tables produced by website Whatuni.com and published on April 25th 2019.
This year, overall satisfaction among students was 4.04/5 (or 80.8%) among the 41,000+ students who participated in the annual review of 160 UK institutions – with 69 universities registering improved satisfaction ratings from their own students.
Swansea University gained top spot, winning University of the Year, while its Welsh counterparts outperformed their Scottish and English peers, clearing up across eight categories.
Simon Emmett, CEO of IDP Connect which owns Whatuni, believes that this result signifies the ongoing commitment of the higher education sector to the student experience. He said: “This year’s strong results are a clear indicator that despite the increasing cost associated with accessing a university education, students recognise and value the opportunities, support and teaching that they receive.”
Swansea also claimed first place under the International category and placed top three for the Course & Lecturers and Postgraduate categories.
Professor Paul Boyle, VC elect of Swansea University, said:
“We are thrilled to have been crowned the Whatuni Student Choice Awards University of the Year for the second time in five years. As the award is voted for by students, it makes it even more special as they are at the heart of all we do at Swansea.”
Speaking about the Students’ Union category, Shakira Martin, President of National Union of Students, said:
“Student views are vital in identifying the ways students’unions and NUS continue to deliver the activities and services that students need. We’re thrilled to celebrate some of the hard work of students’ unions at the Whatuni Student Choice Awards.”
Reflecting on the importance of student reviews, Martha Longdon, Student Experience Board Member for the Office for Students and Whatuni Student Advisory Board Member, said:
“Reviews and comments are vital to improving the student experience and provide an invaluable narrative of university life by allowing students to feedback on the issues they care most about. As students are increasingly seen as partners and co-creators in their education, this method allows them not only to offer detailed praise and concerns, but also the opportunity to suggest creative and innovative solutions which institutions may not have considered.”
The winners of all 15 categories were announced on Thursday evening as part of Whatuni’s Student Choice Awards (WUSCA) annual gala dinner in London, which was hosted by comedian Omid Djalili.
Top 10 best rated universities in 2019:
- Swansea University
- Aberystwyth University
- Loughborough University
- Bangor University
- Harper Adams University
- Leeds Arts University
- Edge Hill University
- University of Wales Trinity Saint David
- Nottingham Trent University
- Royal Agricultural University
Whatuni Choice Awards 2019 full results:
University of the Year
1st Swansea University
2nd Aberystwyth University
3rd Loughborough University
Accommodation
1st Loughborough University
2nd Edge Hill University
3rd Bangor University
City Life
1st University of Edinburgh
2nd Northumbria University, Newcastle
3rd University of Bristol
Clubs & Societies
1st Bangor University
2nd Loughborough University
3rd University of Exeter
Course & Lecturers
1st University of Wales Trinity Saint David
2nd Harper Adams University
3rd Swansea University
FE College
1st DN Colleges Group
2nd Blackpool and the Fylde College
3rd Solihull College & University Centre
Independent HE
1st Norland College
2nd Point Blank Music School
3rd dBs Music
International
1st Swansea University
2nd Aberystwyth University
3rd Bangor University
Job Prospects
1st Harper Adams University
2nd Hartpury University
3rd Loughborough University
Postgraduate
1st Aberystwyth University
2nd Swansea University
3rd Loughborough University
Student Support
1st Harper Adams University
2nd Leeds Arts University
3rd Bishop Grosseteste University
Students’ Union
1st University of Sheffield
2nd Loughborough University
3rd Cardiff University
Uni Facilities
1st Leeds Arts University
2nd Loughborough University
3rd Edge Hill University
Prospective Student Engagement
1st Goldsmiths, University of London
2nd Southampton Solent University
3rd University of Gloucestershire
Giving Back
1st Birkbeck, University of London
2nd Newcastle University
3rd Cardiff University
About the Whatuni Student Choice Awards – #WUSCA
Now in its sixth year, the Whatuni Student Choice Awards’ main categories are compiled entirely from student reviews. The reviews are a combination of electronic and physically collected reviews by the Whatuni team, who this year travelled 43,000 miles. The results are both quantitative (scores) and qualitative (free text) and the total reviews for 2018/19 collected were in excess of 41,000.
The reviews-based categories are: Accommodation, City Life, Clubs & Societies, Courses & Lecturers, Job Prospects, Student Support, Students’ Union, Uni Facilities, International, Postgraduate, Overall Experience (University of the Year), FE College and Independent HE.
The additional submission-based categories, as judged by the Whatuni Student Advisory Board, are Giving Back and Prospective Student Engagement.
To feature in the main table categories, institutions have to have taught degree-awarding powers. The threshold for featuring in the main categories is 150-200 reviews, depending on institution size. The FE College and Independent HE categories have lower thresholds.
About Whatuni: The biggest and most comprehensive university course comparison site in the UK and is part of IDP Connect. Whatuni uses up-to-date course data from UCAS, HESA, and The Complete University Guide table rankings, as well as its own data and insights collected throughout the year, including the 160,000+ student reviews that are currently hosted on the site.
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