The National Student Survey (NSS)
Print versionAbout the National Student Survey (NSS)
Now in its seventh year, the National Student Survey (NSS) gives final-year BA students across the UK the opportunity to express their views on key aspects of their learning experience at their home universities.
The NSS is commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and is conducted by an independent body, Ipsos-Mori.
The survey consists of 23 questions grouped into a number of categories with space at the end for free text comments. All responses are anonymised.
The NSS is commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and is conducted by an independent body, Ipsos-Mori.
The survey consists of 23 questions grouped into a number of categories with space at the end for free text comments. All responses are anonymised.
What happens to the results
Results of the survey are made available to prospective students, to Higher Education regulatory bodies and to the general public, and are published by Unistats and by the national press.
The results will give potential applicants to our courses important information about the Philosophy Department, and will have a significant impact on the way the department is viewed by the outside world. It is therefore important for the future of the department, and for the well-being of future students here that you take the Survey seriously and provide a response that you have carefully thought through.
The survey will open on 16 JANUARY 2012.
Completing the survey will only take a few minutes.
You will find the survey online at: http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/ (this link will not work until the survey opens).
The results will give potential applicants to our courses important information about the Philosophy Department, and will have a significant impact on the way the department is viewed by the outside world. It is therefore important for the future of the department, and for the well-being of future students here that you take the Survey seriously and provide a response that you have carefully thought through.
The survey will open on 16 JANUARY 2012.
Completing the survey will only take a few minutes.
You will find the survey online at: http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/ (this link will not work until the survey opens).
What last year's students thought
91% of students were satisfied with the overall quality of the teaching in philosophy. We are proud of this good result.
92 % of students were satisfied with our teaching. Again we are very happy with this result, but hope we can improve further.
92 % of students were satisfied with our teaching. Again we are very happy with this result, but hope we can improve further.
What happened as a result
Assessment and feedback are still high on the College’s agenda this year: Professor Eeva Leinonen (VP Education) and Professor Paul Blackmore (KLI) led a College-wide review of assessment and feedback in 2011-2012. The College now has guidelines on the timing of feedback on assessed work and the quality of feedback students should expect.
The School and its student representatives have been working together to produce a set of recommendations for full implementation by September 2012 to ensure uniformity of good practice in how assessment and feedback are managed across the different departments of Arts and Humanities.
Timetabling is also high on the College’s agenda. In conjunction with the central timetabling team, the School has approved a fully co-ordinated schedule for the timetabling process for 2012.
The School Education Committee has also updated its guidelines on the role of the personal tutor, clarifying both the tutor’s and the tutee’s responsibilities to ensure the continued provision of good pastoral care in every department in the School.
The School and its student representatives have been working together to produce a set of recommendations for full implementation by September 2012 to ensure uniformity of good practice in how assessment and feedback are managed across the different departments of Arts and Humanities.
Timetabling is also high on the College’s agenda. In conjunction with the central timetabling team, the School has approved a fully co-ordinated schedule for the timetabling process for 2012.
The School Education Committee has also updated its guidelines on the role of the personal tutor, clarifying both the tutor’s and the tutee’s responsibilities to ensure the continued provision of good pastoral care in every department in the School.
The Department's Staff-Student Liaison Committee
While the National Student Survey will, we hope, be a true reflection of student satisfaction in the Department, YOU can have a direct input in the way we teach and organize your courses via your representatives on the Staff-Student Liaison Committee, which constantly monitors the quality of teaching and pastoral care. If you want to effect changes in your course, please talk to the representative of your year or directly to:
- Dr Raphael Woolf: raphael.g.woolf@kcl.ac.uk (Director of Undergraduate Studies)
- Professor Tom Pink: tom.pink@kcl.ac.uk (Senior Tutor)
- We responded to the need for feedback and pastoral care with a personal tutor system in which every student regularly sees his personal tutor to monitor his academic progress.
- You asked for more detailed information about modules before the start of the academic year. We put up online module syllabuses on the departmental website, including sample essay questions
- You asked for clearer and more detailed tutorial evaluation forms: we created a revised form and it was put into use for the autumn 2011 semester
Contacts
If you have any questions please contact:
- Sarah Cooper, Chair of School Education Committee, sarah.cooper@kcl.ac.uk
- Kate Marshall, Senior Administrative Officer (Student Experience and Education), kate.marshall@kcl.ac.uk
- KCLSU, enquiries@kclsu.org or 020 7848 1588
