National Student Survey

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The National Student Survey (NSS) is a yearly survey of final-year undergraduate students in the United Kingdom. It began in 2005 to ask students about the quality of their degree programs. It provides seven scores, including an overall satisfaction score, to help compare and improve courses.

Ipsos MORI runs the NSS for the Office for Students and other UK funding bodies. Initially, the survey covered England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland joined later. Since 2008, some Further Education Colleges with directly funded higher education students can take part.

There has been controversy because the NSS results are used in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). In 2017 many student unions and the National Union of Students supported a boycott, arguing the NSS promotes marketisation of education. The Royal Statistical Society said there was no reliable link between NSS and TEF. Oxford University Students' Union has continued its boycott through 2022.

Data collection starts with universities providing student contact details. Students are invited by email in January or February to complete an online survey; they can opt out. To reduce non-response bias, non-responders may be contacted by post or phone. The core questions cover learning experiences; some NHS-related questions cover placements. Universities can add their own questions for their students, kept private.

Results are published on the Office for Students site and on Unistats, with extra results for prospective students. NSS scores feed into the Teaching Quality Information dimension and appear in university league tables along with other measures. The survey has helped push improvements in feedback, tutoring, assessments and facilities, but its role in TEF remains debated and controversial.