Nearly half of the universities ranked in the UK’s top ten for student satisfaction this year are part of the Cathedrals Group, as firt reported by The Church Times.
The national student survey, undertaken by the Office for Students, showed that Bishop Grosseteste University, a former Anglican teacher-training college in Lincoln, came number one for overall student satisfaction.
It scored highest in four of the seven different themes: learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, learning resources, and student voice.
Overall, 149 universities took part in this year’s survey, and four of the top ten belong to the group of 14 UK universities which are all church-founded institutions.
The other three Cathedrals Group universities in the top ten were the Liverpool Hope which was listed fifth, Plymouth Marjon, listed sixth, and St Mary’s Twickenham, listed eighth.
Four others were ranked in the top half of the results: York St John, the University of Chichester, Leeds Trinity, and the University of Chester were placed at 51, 54, 55, and 73, respectively.
The University of Oxford was ranked highest for teaching, Plymouth Marjon University for academic support, and St Andrews for organisation and management.
In 2022, after a consultation, it was agreed that the summative question on overall student satisfaction would be left out for English providers (it remains with Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish providers). To fill in the gap, Times Higher Education analysed responses to the 26 questions asked of all UK undergraduates for the provider by which they are taught.
John Blake, director for fair access and participation at the Office for Students, said: “This year’s cohort of final-year students have experienced significant disruption prior to and during their studies due to a range of factors, including the aftermath of Covid-19. This will no doubt have affected their overall student experience, and the fact that they have been studying under these circumstances is why I’m especially pleased to see that the overall figures across the sector mostly match or exceed last year’s outcomes.”
