Physics department second-worst performance in the NSS
Poor results revealed in a department meeting; Medicine tops London unis
Imperial’s Department of Physics department has ranked the second worst in the UK in the National Student Survey (NSS) results this year, according to a meeting between faculty members and returning students on Monday.
The department was in the bottom three of 47 Physics departments nationally in all but one of the NSS themes – in two of which it came dead last.
| NSS Themes | Positivity (%) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching on my course | 79.5 | 46/47 |
| Learning Opportunities | 71.5 | 47/47 |
| Assessment and Feedback | 45.7 | 47/47 |
| Academic support | 75.5 | 45/47 |
| Organisation and Management | 56.7 | 45/47 |
| Learning Resources | 87.2 | 38/47 |
| Student Voice | 53.5 | 45/47 |
The table shown is sourced from a presentation that the Department of Physics showed students on Monday 7th October. Of note is the fact that Learning Resources is the highest ranking theme. Conversely, Assessment and Feedback scored a positivity score of less than 50%.
The results come as another blow to Physics at Imperial in a series of consistently low results in the NSS. The department stayed in the bottom five in overall student satisfaction from 2017 to 2022 – ranking the worst Physics provider in the country in 2020 – Felix reported in February 2023.
Physics was also one of four departments impacted significantly by the marking and assessment boycott last year, organised by the Imperial branch of the University and College Union (UCU) following pay rise disputes between the College and trade union representatives.
Students faced delays in marking and receiving results for some modules, with some then-first- and second-year Physics students not receiving marks for their summer exams until late December.
This led to the issuing of temporary passes, with the understanding that if students had failed, they would have to sit resits: either that August, before results had arrived, or at the end of the following academic year.
The Faculty of Medicine featured on the other end of the spectrum, with Imperial top-ranked in all NSS themes across medicine programmes in London according to a College press release – including a 30 percentage point increase in “Assessment and Feedback” over the previous two years.
President Hugh Brady said: “Close collaboration with students, robust assessment and meaningful feedback are among the strengths of our School of Medicine”.
“Our inspiring, research-rich medical education plays a vital role in training the next generation of doctors and clinician-scientists, for the benefit of the NHS and society as a whole.”
