Published today (23 March), the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2017 places Newcastle University 8th overall in the UK, cementing it as one of the leading institutions in the country for the experience it offers to its students.

Newcastle University scored outstanding marks for the academic provision and its students placed it third overall in the recommendations category (students who would recommend it to a friend). It was also ranked third in the societal experience category, which encompasses social life, community atmosphere, extracurricular activities, societies and good environment around campus.

Student satisfaction results are high across a number of experience areas, including high quality of lecturers, helpful staff, good support and welfare, and high-quality facilities. 

Excellent academic and personal support

Professor Suzanne Cholerton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching, Newcastle University, said: “We are delighted our students continue to rank their experience so highly. This consistently outstanding performance is credit to our staff whose excellent academic and personal support ensures our students get the most from their time studying and living here.

“The positive results are underpinned by our commitment to continue to deliver outstanding student experience and excellent environment for our students’ learning, teaching and research, as well as their personal and professional development.”

Jack Taylor, President of Newcastle University Students’ Union, said: “It is absolutely fantastic to see our students rate Newcastle University so highly. We are delighted that our students enjoy their time at Newcastle so much and we will continue to strive to provide a rounded and positive experience across all aspects of university life.”

Experience counts

Alex Holdsworth, Computing Science student at Newcastle University, said: “The teaching quality is outstanding on my course. Each lecturer will put time and effort into answering my questions efficiently and to a good level of detail. It is evident the lecturers are enthusiastic about the material they are teaching, which makes learning a very enjoyable experience.”

Biology undergraduate, Victoria Brobbey said: “It is very easy to join any clubs and societies you want and there are a wide variety of them so you can try things new things and most of them do not require you to have previous experience. These societies encourage people to take part in extra-curriculum activities which can aid them with their future careers for example becoming a committee member which helps them build on their leadership roles.”  

Top honours

The survey is based on the responses of more than 15,000 undergraduates rating their university across 21 measures based on a seven-point rating from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. The survey covers a wide range of student experience areas, such as: academic experience, university facilities, societal experience, student welfare, accommodation, industry connections, and security.

The Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2017 is the latest in a long list of independent student guides reflecting the high level of student experience and satisfaction at Newcastle University.

The latest National Student Survey (NSS), shows that 90% of students are happy with their time in Newcastle – placing it joint 12th in the UK when compared against comparator institutions.

In the latest International Student Barometer (ISB) Survey 2016, the University scored a satisfaction rating of 94% amongst its international students. The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2016 place Newcastle University among the best the UK for student satisfaction with an 88.4% score.