September 02, 2020 - 951 views
Higher Education lecturers at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai were celebrating recently, having received not one, but two extremely positive sets of results from two separate national surveys.
The National Student Survey (NSS) gathers students' opinions on the quality of their courses, which helps to inform prospective students' choices; provides data that supports universities and colleges to improve the student experience, and supports public accountability.
Every university in the UK takes part in the survey, as do many further education colleges, and response rates are consistently high.
This year, the survey shows significant increased levels of student satisfaction at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, with overall student satisfaction scoring an impressive 85% - a 4% improvement compared with last year, and well above the National Benchmark for Wales - and the Grŵp is delighted to have gained the highest overall satisfaction rating of all HE institutions in North Wales.
When asked about the teaching on their course, student replies indicated an overall satisfaction rate of over 86%, more than a 5% increase since last year, with a number of courses including the Foundation Degree in Art and Design gaining a staggering 100% student satisfaction rate including teaching and academic support.
The largest increase in satisfaction rates was seen in response to questions regarding learning resources, with almost 86% of students agreeing or strongly agreeing that they had the resources they needed to support their learning, an increase of over 11% from last year.
Overall, of the 25 questions asked within the survey, 23 of those saw an improvement in the levels of student satisfaction.
When invited to comment further on their Higher Education experience at the Grŵp, one graduate said, "I love how the tutors were always helpful to me during my course; they supported me and gave me advice when needed. I have also come to know many great students; they have also been helpful and friendly. The course is fun and inspirational."
To add to the positive news, data from the new Graduate Outcome Survey showed that 82% of Welsh students now have permanent contracts with their employers following HE study, which is 8% higher than the UK average.
Published bythe Higher Education Statistics Agency for the first time this year, this survey has replaced the DLHE Destination of Leavers in Higher Education, and takes place 15 months after graduation to determine what employment or other activity a graduate has progressed to after completing their course.
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai Higher Education Manager Jo Owen said, "I am thrilled to see that the hard work of our Higher Education students, and the staff who support them, has produced such positive results. We are very proud to be able to offer a wide range of degrees to our students, as many are not able to move away to study at University due to commitments at home.
"It is truly an honour to be able to support them to move forward in challenging themselves to gain a degree and work locally.
"We are also proud to offer a wide range of bilingual Higher Education courses supported by Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, and have been delighted to see an increased uptake of these courses in support of the Welsh language standards.
"It is also heartening to see in the new Graduate Outcome Survey that the unemployment statistics for our graduates are the lowest in Wales at 2%, and that 82% of our graduates are gaining permanent work contracts, compared with 74% of graduates across the UK."
