When the coronavirus crisis broke out last year it put paid to the National Student Survey: students weren’t given a chance to evaluate their study programs, facilities, lecturers or their overall educational experience.

The year before there were technical problems with the survey. At the time, the universities of applied sciences pulled out in annoyance. Thus, the most recent student evaluations available for higher professional education were from three years ago.

Decline

In the interim period, it looks like student satisfaction has significantly declined. Asked to evaluate their educational experience ‘overall’, 78.6 percent of university students said they were satisfied or very satisfied. Two years ago the figure was 84 percent.

At TU/e this figure stands at 81 percent this year, compared with 88 percent two years ago. Generally speaking, TU/e is performing averagely in terms of student satisfaction, scoring a little less well than the University of Twente and a little better than its other direct competitor, TU Delft. Midway through the last decade TU/e ranked as high as second, behind the ever high-scoring Wageningen University. It is striking, however, that the average rating awarded by TU/e students for their program was then lower (3.8) than it is this year (3.9). 

According to the Studiekeuze123 Foundation, who conducted the poll, you shouldn’t really make this comparison. A new list of questions was used this time so that “straightforward comparisons” with prior years are not really possible.

But the survey still uses a scale of 1 to 5 for very satisfied to very unsatisfied, and the first question still asks for an evaluation of the overall educational experience. Little has changed in that regard, despite the more concise formulation of questions.

Damage?

Therefore, the shift is noteworthy. Taking into consideration the coronavirus crisis, you might say: it’s not so bad, it’s great that higher education has managed to limit the damage. Or you could say: look at how deeply the coronavirus crisis has affected students.

Studiekeuze123 does neither one nor the other. The tone of the press release is dominated by enthusiasm based on the high numbers of students who are satisfied with their study programs: still over 70 percent for higher professional education and university education together, and that’s without including a pretty large portion who are neutral.

Studiekeuze123 is an independent organization, but has been tasked with the survey by the Ministry of Education. They are also instructed to approach the sector for input. The press release has been approved by an advisory committee representing universities and universities of applied sciences, a spokesperson says.

Studiekeuze123

The results of the NSS are used on the eponymous website Studiekeuze123, where prospective students can compare different study programs. The magazine Elsevier and various programme selection guides for higher education also make use of the data.

The details of the NSE can be found via the special NSE dashboard on the site studiekeuze123.nl. TU/e's results for 2021 and previous years can also be seen via TU/e's own BI Portal, for those who have applied to IMS for access.