Cambridge University Students’ Union (CUSU) have highlighted ‘workload’, ‘student feedback’, and ‘marking criteria and examinations’ as “key areas of improvement” in the wake of the National Student Survey 2016.

The survey, which is carried out by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), found that 86 per cent of students in the UK are satisfied with their course – a rate matching last year’s figure. Seven per cent of students were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, while a further seven per cent were dissatisfied.

However, the statistics – both nationwide and for the University of Cambridge – do not indicate a major shift in satisfaction rates relative to last year. The rate of student satisfaction at Cambridge was also maintained. 90 per cent of 2,064 respondents saying they were satisfied with their course.

The National Student Survey seeks to ascertain the level of satisfaction in a number of different areas among final-year students at higher education institutions (HEIs), further education colleges (FECs), and alternative providers of higher education in the UK.

Students from 358 higher education took part in the survey, with the eventual number of respondents in the region of 312,000.

“The intensity of student workload presents an ongoing problem in Cambridge”, CUSU said in a statement responding to the findings of the survey, going on to note that “just over half of NSS respondents agreed that the workload on their course was manageable”, while “Only 37 per cent of students felt that they were given enough time to understand the things they were learning, and less than a third agreed that the volume of work on their course allowed them to complete assignments to their own satisfaction.”

CUSU also highlighted a gender disparity when it came to students coping with the Cambridge workload: “On average, female undergraduates felt under greater strain than their male counterparts. 48 per cent of women found their workload manageable, compared to 59 per cent of men, while 45 per cent of men and only 32 per cent of women did not feel that their course applied unnecessary pressure on them as students.”

An area which saw a slight improvement from last year nationwide was ‘assessment and feedback’, where satisfaction hit 74 per cent, up from 73 per cent last year. However, the area – which pertains to clarity of marking criteria, assessment arrangements, and the promptness, extent and helpfulness of feedback – remains one of the weakest areas surveyed in Cambridge and across the country.

“Within the six NSS core areas, Cambridge scored lowest in the Assessment and Feedback section, as in previous years”, CUSU said in their statement, going on to detail how “only 60 per cent of respondents agreed that the criteria used in marking had been made clear in advance. This result had not improved from last year’s and lies far below the sector average.”

Concerns were also raised about whether students’ feedback on their courses is being listened to, since while “almost nine in 10 students have had the opportunity to provide feedback on all aspects of their course, only 54 per cent agreed that this feedback was listened to and valued, and less than half understood how their comments were acted upon.”

CUSU says that they recognise that the University “has begun to address many of these issues”, and that they “look forward to contributing to the ongoing reviews of both student workload and examinations” and intend to “work closely with Faculties and student representatives.”

However, the National Student Survey also flags up further possible areas of concern for student unions, with by far the lowest level of student satisfaction coming in response to the statement: “I am satisfied with the Students’ Union at my institution.” Just 68 per cent of respondents in England agreed with the statement, suggesting organisations like CUSU have a way to go to win over the student bodies they represent.

Elsewhere in the results of the survey, the percentage of students nationwide who were satisfied with the way in which their course aids their ‘personal development’ has declined slightly, falling from 83 per cent to 82 per cent.