This study explores dissatisfaction and neutrality metrics from 12 years of a national-level undergraduate student survey. The notion of dissatisfaction is much less prevalent in the narratives surrounding student survey outcomes, and the underpinning metrics are seldom considered. This is despite an increasingly vociferous debate about…

The aim of this paper is to foreground network analysis as a statistical lens through which higher education institutions can articulate their own process of striving for teaching excellence, and how it is constituted in their own contexts. The paper offers an approach to analysis that extends the frontiers of methodologies in 'measurement' of…

Arbitrary placing cut-offs in data, i.e. binning, is recognised as poor statistical practice. We explore the consequences of using arbitrary cut-offs in two large datasets, the National Student Survey (2019 and 2022). These are nationwide surveys aimed at capturing student satisfaction amongst UK undergraduates. For these survey data, it is common…

Measures of student satisfaction are commonly used to compare universities. Student satisfaction with higher education institutions in the UK is assessed yearly using the National Student Survey (NSS). The most recent revision of the NSS suggests that the satisfaction questions form eight different subscales. The aim of this research was to…

The increasing prominence of neoliberal agendas in international higher education has led to greater weight being ascribed to student satisfaction, and the national surveys through which students evaluate courses of study. In this article, we focus on the evaluation of feedback processes. Rather than the transmission of information from teacher to…

The revamp of the National Student Survey (NSS) has led to the elimination of the final 'overall satisfaction' question for Higher Education Institutions in England. This paper develops an index approach that can effectively summarise student satisfaction, utilising a 'fuzzy poverty' methodology that assigns weights to dissatisfaction outcomes…

This study explores the relationship between satisfaction and engagement survey items through an institutionally based survey, drawing on the two largest higher education student experience surveys in the world. The UK-based National Student Survey (NSS) was designed to inform student choice and drive competition and the US-based National Survey…

This paper reports the key findings from two student surveys undertaken at our institution in the academic years 2020-21 and 2021-22. The research was based on the Bretag et al. (2018) student survey undertaken in various Australian universities. After discussions with both Bretag and Harper, we adapted the questions to our context -- a Russell…

This case study details the experiences of two researchers at a large university in the UK, in carrying out a series of cognitive interviews with students, to examine their interpretations of and responses to items on an institution-wide questionnaire. Cognitive interviewing refers to a set of techniques used to assess the ways in which…

Much is made of students generally rating assessment lower than other aspects of their educational experience. It is frequently cited in research literature as evidence for a general crisis in assessment, and it strongly influences institutional enhancement efforts and media coverage of student feedback. Focusing on the UK's National Student…

Has the National Student Survey 'customerized' the UK's university students? This article examines the 'customerization' of university students in the UK and the impacts of reciprocity and social exchange behaviour on National Student Survey outcomes. Using a multi-method qualitative approach, the findings suggest that the National Student Survey…

The UK National Student Survey (NSS) has high status on the agenda of UK universities. Its rise in status is linked to its influence on national rankings and associated funding streams referenced to the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). Consequently, many universities have implemented further assessments of student satisfaction, thereby putting…

High levels of stress, anxiety, negative thoughts and emotions are being increasingly reported amongst university students and all impact negatively upon academic performance and student satisfaction. A cross-sectional design was adopted to explore how personality traits and attitudes relevant to wellbeing (i.e. mindfulness, positive and negative…

In the neo-liberal context of a UK university, responding to student feedback in order to raise student satisfaction levels is important in improving National Student Survey (NSS) scores. This article focuses on the impact of a UK university's new student feedback questionnaire -- for individual modules -- which used the NSS questions. The…

There is a higher than chance representation of autistic people and people with elevated autistic traits in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) industries. Medical students, despite studying a STEM subject, have lower autistic traits than other STEM students. Medicine is heterogenous, covering technique-oriented specialties…