UNIVERSITY VIEW

THE excellent experience of our students is of paramount importance to the University of South Wales.

The National Student Survey, which has been in operation since 2005, is one of the important sources of information on how our students have felt about their experience of their degree.

In 2018 the survey captured the views of more than 320,000 students at 413 UK universities and colleges. It considers how they feel about their teaching, assessment, support, how their course is organised and resourced, and how their voice is heard during their studies.

The results provide evidence in relation to teaching and assessment quality, which are monitored by the sector’s funders and are of interest to quality assurance and professional bodies. The response to the survey is extremely high – in 2018, 80% of final-year USW undergraduates had their say.

For us, the results have shown the biggest improvement for any Welsh university and have contributed to Wales having greater student satisfaction than the other home nations. We are particularly pleased that our students are more satisfied than others in the UK with their assessment, how they are supported, the sense of community at USW, and how they feel their voice is heard and responded to.

In my role as head of planning and performance, I lead the survey’s operation and the analysis of the results for the university. I am particularly proud of subject areas such as mathematics, human resource management and geography, which consistently lead the sector, with students reporting 100% satisfaction with their courses.

Perhaps the best element of my role is being able to read the comments of students, who can tell us everything, positive and negative. In 2018 there were more than 2,500 comments. These range in volume and sometimes in randomness. We get many comments on the quality of coffee and the weather, but most are extremely useful to the university in order to improve.

This year the number of student comments about how their experience at USW has changed their lives has not only moved me, but also reminded me why I chose a career in higher education.

With the new academic year approaching, we are reminded of the role that the University of South Wales and others like it play in not only providing further qualifications locally and globally, but also in ensuring an inspiring educational journey that our students will never forget.

■ Paula Keys is University of South Wales head of planning and performance.