Harper Adams once again ranks in top ten universities for overall student satisfaction as 2021’s National Student Survey results revealed

Posted 15 July 2021

Harper Adams University has again been ranked in the UK top 10 universities for overall student satisfaction - despite National Student Survey scores dropping across the whole of the country as a result of the pandemic.

The NSS 2021, results of which have been published today, gathered views from students completing their studies this summer, on a range of factors including how well they were taught and supported, access to facilities and the overall ‘feel’ of the learning community.

From a response rate of 87%, Harper Adams University achieved an overall satisfaction score of 84.2% from its taught students. This represents in a fall in satisfaction from previous years – but echoes the picture across almost all universities, which were unable to deliver a “normal” student experience because of Covid-19 measures.

An Office for Students briefing, issued alongside the results and looking at the UK as a whole, states: “The agreement rate for all scales has fallen since 2020, disrupting a previously stable time series”. The briefing notes that the decline is particularly marked for the ‘learning resource’ and ‘learning community’ scales, both of which were a challenge for students kept away from their campus by pandemic restrictions.

However, Harper Adams fared well, with the measures for ‘learning opportunities’, ‘academic support’ and ‘learning community’ all scoring above its ‘overall satisfaction’ rating. Agriculture students, in particular, gave high scores for the learning community and learning opportunities.

Another particular highlight for Harper Adams was the 100 per cent satisfaction score for ‘teaching and learning on my course’ given by Food Technology and Product Development students.

Responding to the national picture presented by the survey this year, Universities Minister, Michelle Donelan, said: “Our universities have shown real innovation and resilience in adapting to this pandemic, which is shown by the majority of students rating their overall experience of their courses positively.”

Commenting on the outcome for Harper Adams, Vice-Chancellor Dr David Llewellyn said: “We were pleased to learn that the hard work of everyone at the University during a very disrupted academic year has been recognised by our students in their positive response to this year’s National Student Survey. 

“I should like to pay tribute to the Harper Adams staff, who did all they could to ensure that our students continued to receive an outstanding education to equip them for their future careers, despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic.”