The annual Student Academic Experience Survey, published jointly by Advance HE and the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), has become one of the key barometers of the undergraduate student voice.
This year’s results, published today (24 June), highlight the challenging time that institutions and students have faced over the past 15 months. Some of the findings make difficult reading, particularly in the light of the significant efforts made by staff across the sector to respond to the needs of students in a time of extreme challenge. However, listening to these concerns is an important exercise, and is critical to ensuring that the quality of the student experience is at the heart of the sector’s recovery from the pandemic.
Working on the survey each year, I often find myself anticipating the focus of the debate that the results will generate. More often than not, these talking points are positive, reflective of progress made in areas such as teaching quality or learning technology. This year however, the concerns around value-for-money seem likely to dominate a large part of the discussion. The notion of value is a complex one, as it is intrinsically linked to fees. Indeed, it could be argued that if the level of fees is seen as high, or prohibitive, then this is likely to dominate perceptions of value, ahead of the quality of the teaching and learning itself.
This year has seen the largest decline in perceived value we have seen (39% to 27%) – a decline felt across students of all backgrounds, across different locations and fee regimes. Indeed, the notion that only one in four students feel they have received good value is a major concern. If we look behind this potentially startling headline, however, we can begin to understand it better. Those students who did not receive good value cited three factors in particular (which are all interlinked) – tuition fees, volume of contact hours and the lack of in-person teaching. Essentially, many students felt that the level of fees they were being asked to pay was too high given that they had experienced a year without in-person teaching. It wasn’t necessarily the teaching itself that was criticised, but after a year of disruption there were many students who felt that paying full fees with no reduction did not represent value.
“Most courses are around the same price, so quality of teaching is well worth the value, however COVID undermines what we’re paying for because I’m sure in person it would be great, but online isn’t worth £9k+”
Another aspect that has come to the fore this year is the quality and frequency of feedback – both formal and informal. Indeed, through a new question this year, asking about how to improve the academic experience, improving feedback was the most frequently-mentioned issue. In the absence of in-person contact with staff, students appear to place a greater emphasis on having opportunities to receive feedback and discuss their progress. Against this backdrop, the survey this year highlighted that the volume of assignments is increasing, while it is taking longer for marked work to be returned – all placing emphasis on feedback as an area of concern.
“More personalised feedback/check ins would be great - the teaching groups are so large I doubt lecturers know any of us at all, so it is very difficult to feel like you are supported in your learning. It also means it is very easy for issues to get overlooked, and there is not much you feel you can do if you are struggling. Therefore, contact hours with someone who is knowledgeable about what you are studying would be helpful.”
In the light of some of the results this year going in the wrong direction, one of the most significant findings centres around whether students had considered leaving their course. Despite some of the challenges, less than one in three students had considered leaving – a relatively low figure, which implies that students still recognise the importance of how they are learning and developing while at university. There are a minority of students (11%) who would have preferred to defer for a year (knowing what they now know), but ultimately most students do not regret their choices they made – but they wish their experience had been different in some cases.
The past year has seen significant advancements in the use of online platforms for learning and teaching, and such has been the level of development, that there has been debate about whether the sector will ever fully return to the levels of in-person delivery that were in place before the pandemic [1]. While it appears that technologies have generally worked, and that some barriers around access to equipment and digital skills gaps have been overcome, results from our Survey this year suggest that despite this progress, in-person interaction continues to be what students value. When asked for how they would ideally prefer to learn, 57% said in-person, 31% preferred a blended approach and just 12% wanted to learn fully online. This may be in-part a reaction to an absence of in-person teaching and concerns about levels of fees, but it also implies that a return to the classroom will be welcomed by many and any move towards phasing this out may need to be handled carefully.
Now in its 15th year, the Student Academic Experience Survey provides students with a voice on a range of issues that generate debate and influence policy at all levels. Although the 2021 edition identifies that many students have often undergone a difficult experience due to the impact of the pandemic, it has also provided us with valuable insights as to what is of most importance in order to make the student experience the best it can be.
Student Academic Experience Survey 2021
Jonathan Neves is the Head of Business Intelligence & Surveys at Advance He is the lead author of the Student Academic Experience Survey report.
[1] https://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/forget-on-campus-vs-online-the-future-is-blended-say-universities-04-nov-2020