Latest news from Loughborough University
| 23 August 2006 | PR 06/96 |
National Student Survey: Loughborough continues to impress its students
Loughborough University has again excelled in the National Student Survey.
Loughborough comes first as the favourite university in the country among full-time students, when data from all the universities that took part in the 2005 survey are combined with the 2006 results released today (23 August).
In the National Student Survey final-year students were asked to rate their satisfaction, out of a maximum score of 5, in seven areas of their degree programme – teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, personal development, and overall satisfaction.
In the 2006 survey, when an average score is taken across all seven measures of assessment, Loughborough is ranked in the top five universities among full-time students, gaining a score of 4.10. For the second year in succession, Loughborough was also unbeaten in the ‘learning resources’ category with a rating of 4.3.
In the individual subject areas for 2006, average scores over the seven measures of assessment place Loughborough top of the tables in six subject areas:
- Physical Science (top in 2005 and 2006)
- Mechanically-based Engineering
- Civil, Chemical and other Engineering (top in 2005 and 2006)
- Technology
- Architecture, Building and Planning (top in 2005 and 2006)
- Communications and Information Studies (top in 2005 and 2006)
Furthermore, Physical Science at Loughborough (which incorporates the Departments of Physics and Chemistry) topped the 2006 tables in each of the seven areas of assessment, gaining an overall satisfaction score of 4.6 and an averaged score of 4.49.
The areas listed above relate to subjects taught in nine departments at Loughborough:
- Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Civil and Building Engineering
- Human Sciences
- Information Science
- Institute of Polymer Technology and Materials Engineering (IPTME)
- Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
- Physics
Using the combined survey data for 2005 and 2006, the average scores over the seven measures of assessment place Loughborough top in nine subject areas among full-time students - six more than any other university. The subject areas are:
- Medical Science and Pharmacy
- Physical Science
- Computer Science
- Mechanically-based Engineering
- Civil, Chemical and other Engineering
- Technology
- Architecture, Building and Planning
- Management
- Communications and Information Studies
“We are delighted to have performed so well in both the surveys and that we remain one of the students’ favourites,” said Professor Morag Bell, Pro Vice Chancellor for Teaching.
“These results reflect our exceptional record for quality in teaching and learning and our commitment to the overall student experience.”
ENDS
For all media enquiries contact:
Judy Smyth, Public Relations Officer,
T: 01509 228697, E: J.L.Smyth@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors
1. Loughborough’s first and second place rankings in the 2006 National Student Survey individual subject areas across the seven assessment criteria:
| Teaching | Assesssment |
Academic Support |
Organisation & Management |
Learning Resources |
Personal Development |
Overall Satisfaction |
Average Score |
|
Architecture, Building &
|
2nd |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
||
| Civil, Chemical and Other Engineering | 2nd |
2nd |
2nd |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
| Communications and Information Studies |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
|||
| Computer Science | 2nd |
1st |
||||||
| Economics | 2nd |
2nd |
1st |
|||||
| Electronic and Electrical Engineering |
1st |
|||||||
| Finance and Accounting | 2nd |
2nd |
2nd |
2nd |
2nd |
2nd |
||
| Management | 1st |
1st |
2nd |
1st |
2nd |
1st |
2nd |
|
| Mathematical Sciences | 2nd |
|||||||
| Mechanical-based Engineering | 1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
|||
| Media Studies | 1st |
1st |
||||||
| Physical Geography and Environment Science |
2nd |
|||||||
| Physical Science | 1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
1st |
| Politics | 1st |
1st |
||||||
| Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology |
2nd |
1st |
||||||
| Sports Science | 1st |
2nd |
||||||
| Technology | 1st |
1st |
1st |
2nd |
2nd |
1st |
1st |
2. The subject areas used in the NSS do not map consistently onto the academic departments at Loughborough and the degree courses which we offer. In some subject areas, where the number of students or survey responses was small, there is insufficient data for a result for Loughborough to be published. Further details on the degree courses included in each NSS subject area can be found at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/admin/ar/general/tqi/
3. The National Student Survey is published as part of the national Teaching Quality Information (TQI) site – a collaborative project between the four UK funding bodies and the National Union of Students (NUS). It brings together key sources of official information about the quality of higher education in UK institutions, with a view to making more information available and accessible to university applicants and their advisers. The web site is intended to help potential students compare institutions and subjects and make more informed choices about where to study, and for the first time provides up to date feedback from institutions’ current students on the quality of their course.
4. The National Student Survey results used in this press release exclude privately funded institutions and specialist higher education institutions.
5. Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence in teaching
and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement.
Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance Agency place
it in the top flight of UK universities; the National Student Survey ranked
Loughborough equal first among full-time students; and industry highlights
the University in its top five for graduate recruitment. Around 40% of
Loughborough’s income is for research, and 60% for teaching. The
University has been awarded five Queen's Anniversary Prizes: for its collaboration
with aerospace and automotive companies such as BAE Systems, Ford and
Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries; for pioneering research
in optical engineering; for its world-leading role in sports research,
education and development; and for its outstanding work in evaluating
and helping to develop social policy-related programmes.
In 2006 Loughborough celebrates the 40th anniversary of its University
Charter, awarded on 19 April 1966 in recognition of the excellence achieved
by Loughborough College of Advanced Technology and its predecessor Colleges.
Loughborough University of Technology was renamed Loughborough University
in 1996.