What’s the NSS?

CONTENTS

1. What is the NSS?
2. What data does it collect?
3. Is it important?
4. How is the NSS used in our league tables
5. Top universities for Student satisfaction  

What is the NSS?   

The NSS stands for the National Student Survey.

Conducted each year since 2005, it’s an independent survey that asks final-year undergraduate students’ opinions on the quality of their course.

It’s compulsory for most publicly funded higher education providers in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland to take part. The survey canvasses nearly half a million students across the UK. But while unis must give students a chance to give their feedback, it’s not compulsory for students to do the survey or complete all questions.  

What data does it collect? 

The NSS collects opinions on aspects of students' learning experience while at university. It covers the quality of teaching, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, and academic support. It also asks how well organised courses are, about access to learning resources, and whether students' feedback about the course is valued.

There is also a series of optional questions, which may vary depending on which nation you study in. They include mental health, freedom of expression, and feedback summing up your experience at university or college as a whole. There may be extra questions if you study for a healthcare degree.  

Is it important?  

The NSS is an influential and trusted source of information about higher education in the UK. It gives potential students an idea of what the learning experience has been like for current students. This allows them to compare course satisfaction at different institutions when deciding what and where to study.

As well as giving current students a powerful voice within the system, universities gain valuable information on what they do well – and what needs improving.

But the National Student Survey is not an objective measure of quality. The results are based on student opinion and will be influenced by an individual’s conscious and unconscious bias. 

How is the NSS used in our league tables? 

Data collected by the NSS is used for our league tables’ Student satisfaction measure. We collect the latest available data. This year’s student satisfaction measure is using NSS 2025. We collate an average from the responses to the first 24 questions in the survey. These questions focus directly on teaching and student feedback.

Adjustments are made for the subject mix at the university and divided by three. We do this to prevent the Student satisfaction measure from heavily impacting the overall university score. This is because the NSS survey data actually has quite small differences between many universities.

Find out more about how we calculate the rankings  

Top universities for Student satisfaction  

How important is Student satisfaction when choosing a university? Well, it shows how students who’ve just left rate their university’s teaching. Studies have shown that students who are satisfied are likely to do better than those who aren’t. If students feel listened to, academically challenged, and supported, they will be more motivated.

But it’s a subjective measure. Students at a high-ranked university may give lower scores if their expectations aren’t matched. Students at lower-ranking unis may give a high score if their expectations were exceeded.

So, while it’s good to see which unis do well for Student satisfaction, we suggest you use it along with other factors when you make your university choice.

Try sorting by Student satisfaction on one of our tables for yourself

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