12.09.07
NSS 2007: 1994 Group Universities keep students satisfied
The 1994 Group of internationally recognised, research-intensive universities has for the third year emerged as the leading group of universities in the 2006-07 National Student Survey.
The Survey is the most reliable guide to quality in UK universities. The average score for students' overall satisfaction across the group's 19 member universities (4.18) is significantly higher than the average for the sector as a whole (4.03).
1994 Group member universities are rated above average in each of the six categories surveyed, including Teaching, where the they score 4.15 compared with 4.01 for the sector as a whole, and Organisation and Management (4.02 compared with a sector average of 3.79).
The average for 1994 Group member universities for all six categories is 3.96, compared with 3.87 for the sector.
As a whole, the Group's member universities solidly outperformed other mission groups across the sector.
The 1994 Group's member universities have improved on their performance in 2006 in almost all categories, with overall satisfaction up from 4.10 to 4.18 and category average from 3.91 to 3.96. The improvement is greater between 2006 and 2007 than between 2005 and 2006.
Professor Steve Smith, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter and Chair of the 1994 Group, said:
"We are proud of our achievement. The Group's continued success in the National Student Survey is clear evidence of our shared commitment to high quality teaching and an outstanding student experience.
"It must be recognised that our commitment to the provision of the highest quality student experience comes at a cost both in terms of management time and in the provision of improved services and facilities. It must be recognised that this commitment places an ever-increasing strain on our limited resources. Despite this, our members remain determined to do their best to enhance the student experience through investment in members of faculty and in facilities for all of our students."
Notes to Editors
The 1994 Group was established in 1994 to promote excellence in research and teaching. It brings together nineteen internationally renowned, research-intensive universities.
The Group's members are small- to medium-sized institutions, and are generally campus-based.
They operate on a human and personal scale, maximising student-staff contact and ensuring an adaptable and inter-disciplinary approach to both research and teaching. Research-led teaching is key to the 1994 Group's mission, and a large majority of the top academics who achieved the Group's outstanding results in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise teach students.
Member universities are: University of Bath, Birkbeck University of London, Durham University, University of East Anglia, University of Essex, University of Exeter, Goldsmiths University of London, Royal Holloway University of London, Lancaster University, University of Leicester, Loughborough University, Queen Mary University of London, University of Reading, University of St Andrews, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of Surrey, University of Sussex, University of Warwick and University of York.
The 2005, 2006 and 2007 National Student Surveys were conducted by Ipsos MORI.
Results of the National Student Survey are available on the Higher Education Funding Council for England web site.