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UAL’s student voice and freedom of expression continue to excel in 2024 – National Student Survey (NSS)

UAL Graduation for the Class of 2023, Royal Festival Hall, 2023, UAL | Photograph: Dave Poultney
  • Written byPress Office
  • Published date 10 July 2024
UAL Graduation for the Class of 2023, Royal Festival Hall, 2023, UAL | Photograph: Dave Poultney
UAL Graduation for the Class of 2023, Royal Festival Hall, 2023, UAL | Photograph: Dave Poultney

University of the Arts London (UAL) has shown improvement across all areas within the National Student Survey (NSS) for 2024, according to results published today by the Office for Students (OfS).

For the second consecutive year, UAL has scored above sector average for student voice and freedom of expression, with 88% of students responding that they felt free to express their ideas, opinions and beliefs while studying at UAL.

UAL respondents also shared positive opinions on their chosen courses, with 89.1% agreeing that teaching staff explained topics effectively, and 81% feeling that their course challenges them to achieve their best work.

We are delighted to see such positive NSS results, marking continued progress for University of the Arts London. The increased scores in questions regarding the teaching and learning opportunities highlight our staff’s strong commitment and dedication to our students, as well as the excellent facilities available at UAL. It is particularly encouraging to see improved scores regarding student voice, demonstrating a heightened level of student trust, agency and receptiveness at UAL, in line with the results from our other student surveys. Paired with greater sentiment of freedom of expression, I firmly believe in UAL’s ongoing role in fostering a creative environment, positioning the University as a leader of arts education in the UK.

— Professor Roni Brown Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Education

Participation

Over 80% of UAL’s final year students took part in the 2024 NSS survey.

The NSS is an annual nationwide survey, one of the largest of its kind in the world. Nationwide, just under 346,000 responded to the survey, which represents a 72.3 per cent response rate.

Last year’s survey saw a revised format with new questions about mental wellbeing services, and in England, freedom of expression, as part of a wider review. The updated survey asks final year students in the UK questions about a range of factors related to their academic experience, including the teaching on their course, assessment, and feedback, and how well courses are organised. New direct questions with item-specific response scales were also introduced in 2023 to improve students’ understanding and to enhance the accuracy of results.

With the survey in its second year under the new format, UAL has been able to analyse trends in the data compiled from the past two years.

Explore the full National Student Survey 2024 data here.