RGU leading the way in range of subjects

The University was rated by students as first in Scotland for Art, Building, Children’s Nursing, Pharmacy and Tourism, Transport and Travel in the 2023 survey. Overall satisfaction from RGU students for these subjects with overall satisfaction positivity scores of 90.7%, 89.3%, 87.8%, 88.6% and 93.5% respectively.

Further analysis has revealed that RGU came 2nd in Scotland on six of the questions asked by the survey. These include ‘How often do staff make the subject engaging?’ and 'How well have teaching staff support your learning?’ RGU ranks in the top 4 institutions in Scotland in 19 of the 27 questions asked in Scotland.

Professor Steve Olivier, RGU’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, said: “This is a fantastic set of subject level results coming from an important student survey.

“To be leading the way in Scotland in a range of different subjects is outstanding and highlights that the work being put in by our valued staff

“Results like these can only help us keep enhancing our student experience and ensure that future generations of RGU students are coming to one of Scotland’s leading higher education providers.”

Following a review of the NSS for the 2023 survey the UK funding bodies introduced an updated questionnaire and a new positivity score which replaced the previous percentage agree ranking.  The University has been ranked 2nd in Scotland and 9th in the UK for its positivity measure by Times Higher Education (THE).

The updated NSS asks 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.

The 2023 NSS was open to students from January to April this year with more than 500 higher education institutions taking part and almost 340,000 students across the UK responding to the survey.

It is an independent survey that gathers final year undergraduate students' opinions on the quality of their course and is managed by the Office for Students on behalf of UK funding and regulatory bodies and administered by the independent market research agency Ipsos MORI.

*Excludes colleges and small, specialist, and private providers.

• For Session 2022-23 the NSS was substantially revised.  Key changes include a new direct question format and change to a 4 point ‘% positive’ Likert scale for core questions (Rather than 5 point ‘% agree’ as in previous years).  NB: The Overall Satisfaction question retains the 5 point ‘% Agree’ scale.
• The Common Aggregation Hierarchy (CAH) provides a standardised hierarchical aggregation of HECoS codes.  The CAH is a comprehensive aggregation at each of three hierarchical levels or tiers, where a “parent” group at a higher level of CAH always comprises the full set of HECoS codes represented by related “child” groups of CAH below it.
• *For the purposes of institutional and CAH rankings comparable Scottish and UK institutions have been defined. This excludes colleges, small, specialist and private providers.  Any institutions that do not match this listing have been discounted from rankings analysis.
• Please note that Glasgow Caledonian has no Q28 data at subject level in NSS2023.