We spoke with staff at the University to ask what the NSS boycott is about, and here are the responses:
1) What is the National Student Survey?
The National Student Survey (NSS) is an annual feedback mechanism to allow undergraduate finalist students to share their views on their time at university. Students are asked a number of questions relating to their teaching, assessment and university experience and a summary of the results is published.
2) Why is the National Student Survey important?
The National Student Survey is a crucial measure of students’ satisfaction, and helps staff to identify areas where improvements are needed to courses. The University annually considers the responses from students and makes changes where needed to ensure the best student experience.
3) What is the NSS boycott about?
The boycott is part of a campaign by the National Union of Students (NUS) to break the link between the National Student Survey (NSS) and the government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The campaign has been voted in by approximately 20 students' unions across the UK; however, the University of Sussex Students’ Union (USSU) have confirmed that they are aiming for a 10% reduction in the University’s overall response rate.
4) What is the University doing about the boycott?
The University is sympathetic both to the Students' Union campaign, and to the concerns of students about their fees and the burden of student debt. The University has made it clear from the outset of the survey that a 10% reduction in our overall response rate can be accommodated to allow the Students’ Union to get their message across and have an impact.
5) What are response rates currently?
At the time of writing, the response rate is around 20% below that of the same time last year. From this response rate, and after speaking with staff across the University, we are confident that the Students’ Union boycott is achieving the 10% target reduction on the University’s overall NSS response rate.
6) How could student incentives be affected?
The University is offering the same incentives for all students as in previous years, where every student who shows their NSS completion email to their School Office (or the Library Info Hub) will receive a £5 food and drink voucher for SussexFood outlets and £5 print credit added to their accounts. Additionally for this year, as the new Vice-Chancellor wishes to offer students a parting “Sussex Experience”, we have introduced a prize draw incentive for students to win money towards their graduation package.
7) What if I don’t want the food voucher incentive?
You can post your voucher at a box at your School Office, where it will be donated to the University’s three selected charities:
- Young Peoples BME Project – BMEYPP
- Brighton Housing Trust
- Sanctuary on Sea
Read more about the charities on the University’s NSS webpage.
8) What about money for Schools?
The other bonus for completing the survey is earning student experience money for the School, where up to £2,000 is available to improve the student experience on reaching a certain threshold response rate. For this year, in light of the Students’ Union boycott, the threshold rates have been reduced by 10%, and so Schools can earn £1,000 for reaching a 60% response rate and £2,000 for reaching a 70% response rate.