National Student Survey places York St John University 19th in UK

Students at York St John University have given an overall positivity rate of 82.3% in response to questions about their course, placing it amongst the top 20 universities in the UK.  

Analysis by Times Higher Education also shows that York St John is top in the North East and 13th of all English higher education institutions for students’ overall positivity about their studies. 

The National Student Survey (NSS), carried out by the Office for Students, is one of the largest of its kind in the world. This year’s survey, which was open from mid-January until the end of April, saw 339,000 students participate across 528 universities, colleges and private providers. Updated for 2023, the survey asks UK students questions related to their academic experience.  

The 28 questions cover seven different themes and York St John University’s scores were above the national average in all areas. Significantly higher than average scores were given for assessment and feedback (81.9%), academic support (87%) and learning resources (89.5%). 

94% of students responded positively to the question ‘How often have you received assessment feedback on time?’ and 92% responded positively to the questions ‘How good are teaching staff at explaining things?’ and ‘How well have the library resources supported your learning?’  

The response rate of 77.2% shows an increase in participation of 4.6 percentage points from 2022 and is significantly higher than the 2023 national average of 71.5%. 

Professor Karen Bryan, Vice Chancellor of York St John University, thanked students for their feedback and said: 

“Our NSS results show that our students feel they are being listened to, are positive about the academic support they receive, and are happy with the resources, teaching, assessment and feedback on their course. These high scores reflect the dedication of colleagues across the University to support and inspire students to achieve their best. We all work continuously to provide students with a good experience of studying at York St John University and I wholeheartedly thank all staff for their role in achieving this outcome.” 

The results of the survey are used to inform prospective students’ choices, provide data that supports universities and colleges to improve the student experience and support public accountability. More information on the 2023 National Student Survey can be found on the Office for Students website.