Newcastle University is the place to be according to its international students.

Latest results from the International Student Barometer (ISB) survey place Newcastle in twelfth place in the world in terms of the number of students who are so happy with their time at university they would recommend it to friends and family.

The ISB is the biggest survey of its kind, covering 203 higher education institutions and over 100,000 students, and its latest results from autumn 2011 show that Newcastle is performing exceptionally well in key areas.

Newcastle’s overall satisfaction score for 2011 is 91.4%, which is well ahead of the ISB average score, with nine out of ten international students recommending Newcastle University to others.

Students’ satisfaction with the support provided in areas such as Careers advice, finance, accommodation and computing services were also high, putting Newcastle seventh out of all institutions involved in the survey.

International students are becoming increasingly important to Newcastle University with 6,000 undergraduates and postgraduates from 120 different countries currently studying in the city, contributing an estimated £70m annually to the local economy.

Professor Suzanne Cholerton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Learning and Teaching, Newcastle University said: “The ISB results are a great achievement for the University and a credit to our staff who provide such excellent academic and personal support to all our students during their time with us.

“International students contribute greatly to the vibrancy and culture at Newcastle and this survey really helps us to track their opinions on what we offer so we can enhance our provision.

“It is testimony to the experience we offer at Newcastle that so many of our students would be prepared to recommend our University to their friends and family.”

In addition to support provided for international students, the ISB also focused on the learning, living and arrival experience for international students, with Newcastle achieving strong overall scores in all areas, scoring above 90% in the living and learning categories, which includes the quality of teaching and lectures, learning support, facilities and the campus environment.

published on: 23 May 2012