The 2024 National Student Survey (NSS) closed on 30 April.
About the NSS
The NSS is an external, UK-wide survey of all final-year undergraduate students, which takes place every year. As you near the end of your degree, it’s an opportunity to tell the world about your time at Sussex.
You can read more about the NSS on the National Student Survey website, including some frequently asked questions.
More information about the NSS.
Reasons to take part in the NSS
There are plenty of reasons to take the National Student Survey.
Your voice matters
By taking the survey, you’ll help future students make decisions about which universities to apply to, just like you did.
Play your part and help to shape the future for other students.
You could win a graduation package worth £150!
We are running a prize draw where you could win one of 10 graduation packages worth £150. Each £150 prize will cover the cost of gown hire, two guest tickets and a basic photography package.
This prize draw will run until the survey closes on 30 April 2024. The winners of these prizes will be picked at random by Ipsos. There is no link between how you respond and your chance of winning a prize.
The prize draw is only open to students who complete the survey online. Those who complete via phone after being contacted by Ipsos are not eligible.
Charity donation
The University will donate £1 to charity for every Sussex student that participates in the NSS. We will split this donation between charities chosen by students in a poll sent out in December:
- UNICEF (32% of the vote)
- Student Minds (24% of the vote)
- Rockinghorse Children’s Charity (22% of the vote)
- Surfers Against Sewage (15% of the vote)
- Little Green Pig (7% of the vote)
Free T-shirt
As a thank you for taking part in the NSS, students who show proof of completion (email confirmation) can collect a free t-shirt on campus. Look out for our NSS helpers at the Student Centre and the Library on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 11am and 2pm until 21 March.
From 22 March until 30 April, contact your School Office to collect your free t-shirt.
Spirit of Sussex Award
The NSS can be logged for 5 points in the Co-Creation and Evaluation category for the Spirit of Sussex Award.
Who can take part
You are eligible to take the survey if you are:
- in your final year of study on a course leading to undergraduate credits or qualifications (this includes students on an undergraduate degree or those in the final year of an integrated Masters course)
- on a flexible part-time programme (complete the survey in your fourth year of study)
- repeating your penultimate year (you complete the survey now, not when you progress to your final year)
- any undergraduate student who withdrew in their final year of study.
Completing the survey
You should have received an email from Ipsos around 1 February 2024 inviting you to complete the survey. This email contains a survey link unique to you.
You’ll need your eight digit student number (Registration number at the bottom of your student card and on Sussex Direct) to complete the survey.
You’re asked for some information to verify you’re eligible to take part.
It takes about five minutes to answer the core questions. If you complete the survey online, you may also be asked to complete two additional optional questions that have been designed by the University. Your responses to these questions will only be shared with the University and will not be published externally.
Once you have completed the survey, you will not receive any further contact from Ipsos. If you don’t complete the survey, you’ll get reminders from Ipsos by email or phone.
If you think you are eligible to take part in this NSS, but have not heard from Ipsos, email D.S.Cooper@sussex.ac.uk before 14 February 2024.
If you have withdrawn from your course
If you left Sussex early during your final year, you should still complete the survey as your feedback is equally valuable.
If you completed the survey in 2023, you should not complete it again in 2024.
Inappropriate influence
It’s really important that your responses to the NSS are a true reflection of your experience of studying at Sussex.
The University is not allowed to encourage or pressure you to respond in a way that does not reflect your genuine perceptions of your experience.
The University will remind you to complete the NSS and to consider your responses carefully and encourage you to give honest feedback.
To avoid what is known as “inappropriate influence” we will not, for example:
- pressure you to do the NSS or indicate to you that it is compulsory
- offer advice on how to interpret the questions or the response scales
- advise you how to respond
- take you through the survey on an individual basis or do the survey for you.
- tell you that negative responses to the NSS could make your degree look bad to future employers.
If you think you have been the subject of “inappropriate influence” you can contact the NSS helpline or contact the Office for Students via NSSallegations@officeforstudents.org.uk.
More about the NSS
The NSS is managed by the Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education in England.
We’re required to participate in the NSS as an ongoing condition of our registration with the OfS.
The NSS is conducted on behalf of the OfS by the polling company Ipsos. While we help promote it, all personal contact with you (such as by phone or email) is by them.
The results are used to compile a year-on-year comparison of data that:
- helps prospective students make informed choices about where and what to study
- enables participating universities to improve the student experience.
Contact details
In December, you should have received an email from us explaining that we share your contact details with Ipsos.
The details provided to Ipsos will only be used for the purposes of the survey and your details will be removed from its system when the NSS is completed in May 2024.
Your information will be stored in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The survey questions
There are 28 core questions relating to aspects of your student experience such as teaching on your course, marking and assessment, learning resources, and student voice. Read more about questions in the NSS.
Your answers are confidential and all responses are anonymised before we see them.
If you complete the survey online, you may also be asked to complete two additional optional questions that have been designed by the University. Your responses to these questions will only be shared with the University and will not be published externally.
Changing your survey comments
Ipsos accepts additional comments to the open questions. If you want to make additional comments, email thestudentsurvey@ipsos.com. You will be asked for some verification information.
You’re entitled to ask that part or all of your record is deleted. Any requests to change responses should be made by 30 April 2024. For more details, email thestudentsurvey@ipsos.com.
Opting out
Participation in the National Student Survey is voluntary. If you do not want to take part, you can opt out. Not taking part is not the same as opting out; you’ll need to actively opt out on the Ipsos website.
Publishing results
The NSS results are published on the OfS website and on the DiscoverUni website.