Student surveys for the 2023/24 academic year are closing soon!

We greatly appreciate the time spent by staff to promote the surveys to students. The greater the encouragement from staff, the better the response rate from our students, and the greater the value of the data to the University.

This year, we are running our undergraduate and postgraduate surveys simultaneously, making it easier for staff to promote surveys across year groups and level of study.

How staff can encourage students to complete the surveys

Once the surveys are live, you will be able to direct your students to the Have Your Say webpage where they will be able to access the relevant survey for their level and year of study:

  • National Student Survey (NSS) for final year undergraduate students = Mon 5 February to Tue 30 April.
  • United Kingdom Engagement Survey (UKES) for first and second year undergraduate students in select departments = Mon 5 February to Thu 29 February.
  • Postgraduate Teaching Experience Survey (PTES) = Mon 4 March to Tue 30 April.
  • Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) = next run in 2025.
  • Internal Professional Doctorate Experience Survey (PDES) = next run in 2025.

As we approach the end of the survey period, please remind your students about the surveys during teaching sessions, by email and via any other communication channels that you regularly use to contact students. Please reassure students of the value of their feedback. This is their opportunity to provide their views about what they think the University does well, and areas where they think we could improve.

In addition, all students received a personalised email during the first week of their respective survey inviting them to complete the relevant survey. Reminders are sent periodically over the fieldwork stage. The Faculties, the School and Departments take the lead in promoting the surveys, supported by the Student Engagement Team working with The SU Bath. Together we will collectively encourage a high response rate across campus.

Further information and promotional resources for staff are available on the Surveys Data wiki page, including PowerPoint slides, flyers, posters and digital marketing materials, as well as data from last year's surveys. Separate pages for each survey can be found on the left side of the page.

Following best practice and adhering to OfS (Office for Students) guidelines

When promoting the surveys, please make sure that students are:

  • encouraged to give their honest feedback on what they liked and did not like about their course
  • not asked to fill in the survey while a member of staff is overseeing their responses or made to feel that their responses are being monitored
  • not encouraged to reflect in their answers anything other than their genuine perception of their experience

How the University uses survey responses

These surveys provide valuable data that help us to monitor student satisfaction. The data is used for a variety of purposes, such as:

  • assisting with quality enhancement, by helping the University to continually develop learning and teaching, student services and campus facilities
  • providing information to prospective applicants, enabling them to make informed decisions about what and where to study
  • supporting quality assurance for higher education - these surveys support the QAA audit and provide publicly available information about teaching quality

Thank you in advance to all those staff who will help us to achieve high student response rates this year. If you have any questions or would like further support, please email the Student Engagement Team on studentengagement@bath.ac.uk.