Words Jack Williams
The National Student Survey (NSS), released last week, has placed Sussex in the top 20 for student satisfaction. This was the University of Sussex’s third consecutive year in the top 20; Sussex has managed to maintain its place amongst some of the UK’s top universities including St Andrews, Oxford and Cambridge.
Last year saw Sussex students provide its largest survey participation in history, with around 1,900 final year students completing the NSS.
A spokesman from the university credited Sussex’s place in the top 20 to the impact of repeated advancements of university facilities. He said, “A £7.7-million refurbishment of the Library, completed in 2011, received a positive response from 86 per cent [of participants]”.
This year’s NSS was the first in its seven year history to include ratings of students’ unions; whilst Sussex NSS results have placed the Students’ Union in the top 20 within satisfaction results, NUS President
Liam Burns has highlighted that this hasn’t been the case at all universities. On a national average, 66 per cent declared in the survey that they were satisfied with their students’ union. Liam Burns has said “these initial results pose challenges and identify scope for continuous improvement.”
Wesley Meade, a first year student studying History and Politics, claims his two-week experience here reflects the University’s beaming scores in the NSS.
He said: “I’ve only been here two weeks and already I’m knocked off my feet at the quality of teaching at the university”.
A second year student asserted: “If the excellent performance of the university is anything to go by, then you’re far more likely to see a saint in Parliament than you are to see a peeved disgruntled student at the Eat Central cafeteria.”
