Student satisfaction with Economics remains high, according to 2023 National Student Survey results

This year’s National Student Survey (NSS) results show a continuing high level of satisfaction among Economics final year undergraduates across almost all themes in the survey.

Almost 90 per cent of Economics finalists say they would recommend Warwick to future students, 7 per cent more than the average across the university.

Other areas where finalists indicated strong satisfaction with their course include:-

• Course content: 92% of participants agreed that they had found their Economics course intellectually stimulating; while 90% agreed that the course had often challenged them to achieve their best work.
• Study resources: 91% of respondents agreed that they had been well supported with IT resources and facilities.
• Feedback and academic support: 91% of respondents agreed that they received assessment feedback on time; while 90% of finalists agreed that it was easy to contact teaching staff when they needed to.

The cohort of students taking part in this year’s NSS had arrived at Warwick under the exceptional circumstances of the COVID 19 pandemic. The Department was pleased to note that 88 per cent of the survey participants felt that information about Warwick’s mental wellbeing support services had been well-communicated.

The annual UK-wide survey gathers final year undergraduate students' opinions on the quality of their courses. The Department carefully analyses the feedback received from the NSS. Every year the quantitative scores and the comments made help shape the future of Economics in the Department and the University of Warwick.

Changes to the survey questions and the response scales make direct year-on-year comparisons not possible in 2023. The data, however, allows the Department to compare​ Economics to other courses at Warwick, and to benchmark its performance against other universities.

Detailed comparisons with other UK Economics departments will be made later this year; however, initial analysis comparing Warwick’s results to other Departments within the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, are very positive, with Warwick Economics ranking in the top 5 across two thirds of the questions.

Head of Department Ben Lockwood commented:

“As a department we strive to deliver an outstanding student experience. The feedback we receive through the NSS is one of the tools which helps us to understand and meet student needs.

“We are of course delighted to receive strong satisfaction levels in so many areas and we will look closely at the areas where, as a Department, we have done less well to see what changes may be required.

“I would like to thank all of this year’s finalists. They have certainly had a very different university experience to the norm and it is a huge credit to them that they engaged with new ways of teaching, learning and research with great resilience. The Department is absolutely delighted that 90 per cent of our finalists would recommend Warwick.

“I would also like to thank all of our staff who rose to the challenge of delivering Covid-safe teaching and learning, and those who work behind the scenes to keep everything running. These high satisfaction scores are a real tribute to your skills and commitment.”

15 August 2023