College gains crucial ground in the National Student Survey

On the 21st June I stated that students in third level education in the UK 'feel undervalued, merely ushered through the system'. From National Student Survey results released on August 13th it would appear that recent graduates from Imperial College have broken free from this stigma.

1,634 students (approximately 80% of graduates) took part with 87% of participants qualitatively agreeing that overall student experience at Imperial College was satisfactory. Credit must be given to Imperial College Union, whose efforts galvanized a 10% rise in participation from the previous academic year. The response of Union President David Goldsmith proved optimistic, 'The Union is working closely with College leaders to build on this year’s progress...My Union colleagues and I are looking forward to working with Imperial to meet our shared ambition of making Imperial a world-beating learning environment.’ Similar praise was also voiced by Professor Debra Humphris, Vice Provost of Education at Imperial College.

On a departmental basis 9 of 14 faculties yielded an increase in satisfaction with Chemical Engineering and Earth Science and Engineering the outstanding candidates; both ranked first in their respective sectors for student satisfaction (ESE produced 100% satisfaction).

As I have always been eager to highlight, statistics only partially contextualise any developments within the College. Pivotal changes in the attitudes of student representatives and peers have proven to be the chief impetus. Among other notable measures Union presence within the Advisory Group reporting to the Vice Provost of Education has yielded an integral link between students and staff. The 'You Said, We Did' campaign put pressure on staff to initiate positive change on a departmental level, rather than on the College-wide arena.

These measures reach deep into the crux of the matter: cohesion. Infinitesimal changes merge and morph together to represent the net whole. Imperial Horizons extracurricular courses have contributed to a more panoramic academic experience for undergraduate students and continues to expand (humanities are no longer frowned upon!). SOLE surveys have exhibited the true power of a united student voice, with changes (and in some cases, omission) to course material. All these measures serve to highlight that interaction between students and Imperial College works on a two-way basis.

News of the NSS results is most welcome but there are limited drawbacks. Imperial College ranked a meagre 49th for satisfaction of students on a UK-wide basis and 16th within the Russell Group. The mutual exclusivity between relatively low student satisfaction and the University's renowned status as a top 10 academic institution on the global arena needs to be addressed. These two extremities need to be homogenised. Being a technical institution, Imperial College will always have to face the inevitability of high student stress levels. They may be able to learn lessons from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Having faced similar challenges, the American College celebrated an all-time high in student satisfaction in 2010.

My Union colleagues and I are looking forward to working with Imperial to meet our shared ambition of making Imperial a world-beating learning environment. Union President David Goldsmith

From my perspective all the blueprints are in place. We benefit form a well-funded, dynamic Student Union. Imperial College has invaluable links with other bastions of academic excellence that help secure the future of it s students. There is a well-stocked library second to none. Sport is thriving with facilities to boot. Cultural diversity among the student body is, as yet, an unrealised virtue. Integration between all these strengths will serve to accelerate what is an already encouraging positive trend in student satisfaction.

Some departments have already achieved this unity; we should look to extend it to Imperial College as a whole.