Student survey shows Coventry's best at boosting confidence

Satisfied students at Coventry University have voted their place of study best in the country for personal development in a newly published league table. 

Coventry has achieved the accolade in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2015, which is published today. Now in its eleventh year, the NSS is an independent review which gives final year undergraduates across the country the opportunity to rate how satisfied they are with their university experience. 

Coventry University, which ranks seventh overall in the UK amongst non-specialist higher education institutions† this year, was voted top for personal development, which measures how students feel their confidence, communication skills and ability to tackle problems have improved during their studies. 91% of students expressed satisfaction in this category (up from 90% in 2014). 

The university performs strongly elsewhere in the survey. It was voted joint first in the UK for the level of academic support on offer and joint second for the quality of assessment and feedback given to students.  It was also rated the leading modern university for teaching, academic support, and organisation and management of courses. In addition, it was ranked joint top modern university for assessment and feedback. 

Amongst Midlands universities, Coventry takes top spot for assessment and feedback, and is joint top for teaching and academic support. 

Vice-chancellor John Latham said: 

We strive to make sure our students have a great experience during their time here and the results from this latest survey indicate that we’re getting things right on that front. 

 

We’re especially pleased to have been voted top for personal development as we believe that this is one of the most important aspects of university study. We put a lot of effort into ensuring our graduates are well prepared for the workplace, offering courses with a strong focus on employability and making placement opportunities  - many of which are international - readily available. 

 

But we’re also keen for our students to develop their interpersonal skills and to become more self-assured. Any lecturer will tell you that one of the most satisfying parts of the job is seeing their students come out of their shell and grow in confidence over time. 

 

This commitment to developing our students professionally and personally alongside our growing reputation for research and our links with industry are central to our continued success.

 

In June, Coventry rose twelve places to 15th in the Guardian University Guide 2016 – its highest ever position – and it has won the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide’s ‘Modern University of the Year’ accolade for two years running in 2014 and 2015, as well as being the highest ranked modern university in the guide’s history. 

The University is now preparing for A-level results day and the clearing process. Prospective students can visit www.coventry.ac.uk/clearing for more information or they can call the clearing hotline on +44 (0)24 7679 1791, which opens at 7am on Thursday 13th August. 

Students who are interested in studying at Coventry can also to come along to the university’s dedicated clearing open day on Saturday 15th August to get a feel for the campus and the choices available to them. 

For further press information please contact Mark Farnan, marketing and communications, on +44 (0)24 7765 8245 or email mark.farnan@coventry.ac.uk. 

Notes to editors 

†Non-specialist institutions include general university institutions which cover a broad range of academic subjects. References in this press release are based around benchmarking like-for-like against these institutions, and do not include colleges, private institutions or those specialising in specific fields. 

The National Student Survey (NSS) 

The NSS covers nearly all final-year undergraduates studying for higher education qualifications at higher education institutions (HEIs) and further education colleges (FECs) in England and Wales, and HEIs in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The survey is funded by the four UK higher education funding bodies (the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Scottish Funding Council, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland), the National College of Teaching and Leadership and Health Education England. HEIs in Scotland and participating alternative providers fund their own participation in the survey. More than 300,000 final-year students responded to the survey this year, from 155 HEIs, 190 FECs and 5 private HE providers from across the UK. This represents a response rate of 71 per cent, the same as last year.

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