Student survey ‘encouraging universities to dumb down’

MINISTERS have ordered a review of an annual university student survey that is responsible for “dumbing down” higher education and causing the “spoon-feeding” of students.

The annual government-backed National Student Survey, which began in 2005, has created a “downwards pressure on standards” at universities, according to an official policy paper.

The survey, which asks students about their experiences at university, is commissioned by the higher education watchdog on behalf of the UK’S research funding councils, and the results are used in league tables and rankings.

But ministers say there are “valid concerns” that good scores can be achieved “through dumbing down and spoon-feeding students, rather than pursuing high standards and embedding the subject knowledge and intellectual skills needed to succeed in the modern workplace”.

Officials at the Department for Education said that while the survey could be a useful tool, its “benefits are currently outweighed” by the concerns about it. They say they agree that it is “open to gaming”, citing reports of some institutions deliberately offering final-year students incentives to answer positively.

The DFE paper said the Office for Students had been asked to carry out a radical review of the NSS. This aims to ensure that it does not drive the lowering of standards or grade inflation, as well as seeking to reduce the bureaucratic burden it places on universities.