Exclusive:The two prestigious Scottish universities vowing action over 'very disappointing' student survey results

Senior managers at Glasgow University are establishing a task group to address the “concerning” findings from the National Student Survey (NSS) in 2024.

They are alarmed at a “further divergence” from other Russell Group universities, and the “contrast with comparator institutions”.

Edinburgh University, meanwhile, is also attempting to “enhance the student experience”, after survey results indicated “a need for improvement”.

Data from the NSS 2024 shows a drop in the performance at both universities against most measures when compared to 2023.

Glasgow and Edinburgh were both also below the Scottish and UK averages for all seven themes of questions - course teaching, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources and student voice.

The overall course satisfaction score at Glasgow was 75.9 per cent, down from 77.5 per cent in 2023, while Edinburgh’s was 70.4 per cent, having dropped slightly from 70.8 per cent.

Their figures were significantly below the 88 per cent satisfaction rate at St Andrews University, 85.5 per cent at Aberdeen University, 83.7 at Strathclyde University, 82.4 at Dundee University, and also below the 76.5 at Stirling University.

In terms of specific themes, a total of 83.3 per cent of surveyed students at Edinburgh, and 84.4 per cent of students at Glasgow, responded positively when asked about course teaching.

This compared to 92.3 per cent at St Andrews, 89.1 per cent at Aberdeen University, 88.4 per cent at Strathclyde University, and 88.3 at Dundee University.

For questions relating to “organisation and management”, 66.6 per cent of Glasgow University students responded positively, while Edinburgh’s figure was just higher at 68.7 per cent.

Again, these figures were both dramatically lower that the 89.3 per cent found at St Andrews, 83.2 per cent at Aberdeen, and 76.7 per cent at Strathclyde, while also below the 71.9 per cent at Stirling, and 71.7 per cent at Dundee.

A minute of a September meeting of Glasgow University’s ruling court shows how the results have caused concern.

It said: “Despite some positives, SMG (senior management group) acknowledged that this was a very disappointing set of results overall, particularly noting the further divergence in relation to Russell Group universities, and the clear shift in the direction of travel in contrast with comparator institutions.

“The trend over the last several years was concerning and needs to be addressed. A proposal to establish a Task Group to set in train actions which could be taken at University level to address the challenges identified through the NSS had been approved.”

At Edinburgh, meanwhile, a note of October’s court meeting said: “Court received a summary of the University’s results in the National Student Survey and the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey, alongside an overview of current work to enhance the student experience.

“Court noted that this on-going work directly addressed areas where the survey results indicated a need for improvement.”

The survey, published in July, is one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Just under 346,000 final year students responded this year, with more than 3,000 students responding to questions about both Edinburgh and Glasgow universities.

A University of Glasgow spokesperson said: “The University of Glasgow has a commitment to provide the very best experience for all our students, so that they can develop the skills and knowledge to be successful in their studies and their future lives and careers.

“The results of the National Student Survey inform how we continue to support our student community, and this year we have established a task group to ensure that we, alongside student representatives, continue to work together to deliver this support effectively.”

A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: “We want our students to have the best experience possible during their studies.

“We have put considerable effort into enhancing our student experience over the last few years, including introducing a new support model to provide students with more dedicated pastoral and academic guidance.

“We are also in the process of making further improvements through a series of University-wide projects and workstreams.

“We know there is a lot more work to be done and we continue to listen to feedback to identify areas where we can deliver benefits to our community.”