A new report by the National Union of Students (NUS) is thought to be the first attempt by the body to qualify student's experiences in Higher Education.
Funded by HSBC, the first Student Experience Report surveyed 3,125 students across 146 Universities, on topics including quality of teaching and standard of hall accommodation. It is now intended that the survey will become an annual process.
NUS President Wes Streeting said: “This report gives us an unprecedented insight into the experiences and concerns of students. We look forward to working with tutors, institutions and the government to address the issues raised by students through this survey.”
The report covers everything from choosing a course, accommodation and welfare services to student employment and bullying.
When it comes to accommodation, 84 per cent of students are happy with their accommodation, with 55 per cent happy with the choice of accommodation offered by their institution. This figure was significantly affected by type of university, though.
In the category of bullying, sexual harassment and safety, 7 per cent of students said that they had experienced bullying, but 71% of these students said that they did not report it to their institution. 12% of students had experienced crime whilst at university.
Wes says it's very encouraging that the vast majority of students are pleased they decided to go to university. "It can only be beneficial to our society and economy for more people to fulfil their potential through higher education, and we hope that the experience of current students will encourage more people to apply in future.
“However, we are concerned that opportunities for poorer students remain restricted. Fees and spiralling living costs are forcing those from poorer backgrounds to choose a university close to home – this has to be taken into account in the forthcoming review of higher education funding. We cannot allow fees to continue to exacerbate this problem.
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