Student surveys

Surveys in Michaelmas term 2024

Student Barometer: first wave (new starters only) open 19 November to 13 December 

The Student Barometer Survey will run in two phases at Oxford in the 2024/25 academic year with new starters being surveyed on arrival related issues in the first phase in Michaelmas (opening on 19 November and closing on 13 December) and all students (except final year undergraduates, who will be surveyed in the National Student Survey) - including new starters again - surveyed on learning experience, living experience and support services in late Hilary/early Trinity 2024. The Barometer is fully supported by Oxford SU and has no role in league tables or external monitoring. Following a break last year, the Student Barometer will now run every two years at Oxford. Read a summary of Oxford's 2022 Barometer survey results.

U-Flourish (Student Wellbeing) Survey: open 29 October to 29 November 

The U-Flourish Survey is a collaboration between the Department of Psychiatry and the University Student Welfare and Support Service aiming to better understand the determinants of student wellbeing and academic success and evaluate the mental health support needs of students.  For first-year undergraduate and graduate students, U-Flourish involves completing a 15-minute online survey in Michaelmas, and a shorter follow-up survey in Trinity.  For returning students who have participated in previous years, follow-up surveys will also be sent in Michaelmas and Trinity.  Participating students can enter a draw to win one of five iPads.

Digital Education Technologies Feedback Channel: 14 October 2024 to 5 July 2025

The Digital Education Technologies Feedback Channel aims to continuously collect feedback from students regarding their experiences with digital education technologies such as Canvas, Panopto, ORLO, Microsoft Teams, and the MyOxford app.  The channel is open from 14 October 2024 and will run through to 5 July 2025.

University-wide surveys

Assessment Survey

The Assessment Survey seeks anonymous feedback on taught students' experience of assessment at Oxford. Eligible students are only e-mailed invitations with personalised links to the survey after they have finished their last exam of the year, with e-mails starting in late May and the survey closing in early July.  Feedback will help continue aspects of assessment that have worked well, and make changes where there is opportunity for improvement. 

College WiFi

University IT Services would like to know student views on the quality of WiFi in colleges. This is to help ensure that this service meets the needs of all students. Results from this year will be compared with results from 2020 to determine the impact of changes made in this period. The 2022 survey closed on 31 December. 

Digital Education Technologies Student Feedback Channel

The Digital Education Technologies Student Feedback Channel is run by the Centre for Teaching and Learning and aims to shape and improve the use of digital education tools at Oxford.  Feedback is used to help improve the use of facilities like Canvas, Oxford Reading Lists Online (ORLO), Panopto and MS Teams.  Previously a survey running in Trinity term, it is now a feedback channel open throughout the academic year.  The survey last opened in late April 2024 for Trinity term and remained open until  30 June. You can find out how the Centre for Teaching and Learning responded to feedback from the 2023 survey here and the 2022 survey here.

Student suggestions are considered by the relevant support teams. If actionable, they will be attended to as soon as possible or put on a wish list for development and subjected to further scrutiny. 

National Student Survey (NSS)

The National Student Survey is a national survey of all students at UK universities, run by the Office for Students. It is aimed mainly at final-year undergraduates, and feedback not only contributes to improvements in the facilities, resources and teaching on offer to current students, but also helps prospective students choose the right institution and course for them. 

10 reasons to complete the National Student Survey | University of Oxford

It usually takes place between January and April each year. If you are a final year undergraduate student you will receive reminders by email to take part in the survey when the window is open, or can click on the National Student Survey to complete it using your student number from your University card.

The 2024 survey was open from 26 January and closed on 30 April with a 57.41% response rate, meaning that public data from Oxford (and other institutions that passed the 50% response rate threshold) now appears on the Office for Students website and will also be used to inform prospective applicants on the Discover Uni website.  

PGR Supervision Pulse Survey 

The 2023 version of this survey ran from 2 October to 1 November 2023 - here are the highlights of the results:

•  A very short survey (8 questions) was sent to all currently enrolled and active PGR students in October 2023. 15% responded, down slightly from a response rate of 22% in 2022.

• Around 40% of respondents were in their final year, with 3+ years of experience to reflect on (up from around a third of respondents last year).

• Almost 50% had a single supervisor (up from 44% in 2022).  

• 90% of respondents said they had regular supervisory meetings, with the majority (almost 90%) agreeing that these are of the right frequency (the equivalent figures for 2022 are 76% and 96% respectively).

• Three quarters always or usually have access to their supervisor(s) outside these scheduled times (very similar to 2022).

• Over 70% said that that their supervisor(s) always or usually provide sufficient, timely, constructive, helpful feedback on work and progress, with two thirds of these saying “always” (up from 64% for always/usually in 2022, with a similar two thirds of these “always”).

• Around 1 in 10 would NOT feel comfortable discussing concerns about their work/academic life with their supervisor(s) (similar for 2022). This is an area we are keen to understand and explore with PGRs further.

• Just over 1 in 5 would NOT feel comfortable discussing concerns they had in their personal life which might impact their studies with their supervisor(s) (similar for 2022). Again, this is an area we are keen to understand better.

• Around 20% said that they have had significant issues regarding their supervisory relationship (a slight increase from 18% last year); and

• of these, half say that they were unable to get the support needed to resolve these as they didn’t know where to go to get help (a slight decrease from 53% in 2022). This is an area of concern to us and we are aiming to understand better why this is the case and how we can help reduce issues and better signpost help and support. 

• More in depth results including analyses by gender, division and year of study will be made available to the Research Degrees Panel in HT24, for discussion and action.  

If you are experiencing any issues with your supervisory relationship you can contact the following staff for advice:

Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) )/Director of Doctoral Research (or equivalent) in your department/faculty in the first instance, to discuss formal and informal approaches to resolving supervisory concerns (if you are unsure who your DGS is or feel the DGS may have a conflict of interest (e.g. if they are your supervisor and you don’t have a named alternative) please contact your graduate studies administrator for advice on who to speak to).
 
Your college advisor.

If you want to talk to someone about welfare related matters or have concerns over issues relating to mental health, please contact: Student Welfare and Support Services ([email protected]) or visit https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare

You can also contact the Oxford SU Advice Service who can flag further sources of support: https://www.oxfordsu.org/advice-wellbeing/

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey  (PTES)

The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is run across over a hundred UK institutions and coordinated by Advance HE. It is the only national survey of postgraduate taught students’ experience of learning and teaching and so is the only way for us to compare how we are doing against the national average and to make changes that will improve postgraduate students’ experience in the future. In 2024, the survey was open at Oxford from 23 April to 16 May. Results will be available in late 2024. If you would like to know more about the survey, please visit the PTES website.

2022 results

• The Oxford PTES 2022 survey was open between the 24th of March and the 17th of June. There were 4,387 active PGT and PGCert students invited to take part and 440 responses received, resulting in a response rate of 10%. The survey sample is broadly representative of the wide Oxford PGT population.

• Seventy-one percent of respondents were satisfied with the quality of their course, a slight increase from 2021 but lower than the level reported in 2020.
• PGT students were the most satisfied with resources (89% and higher than the sector) and teaching (77%). They were the least satisfied with the assessment (60%) and the organisation of their course (67%).
• Many PTES 2021 scores affected by the pandemic increased, or bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, including satisfaction with the staff contact time, opportunities to discuss work with other students, and both physical and remote access to resources.
• Over 80% of the respondents were satisfied with the University’s response to the pandemic, a substantial increase compared to 2021 and in line with the national responses.
• Students seem to be more happy and satisfied with life than anxious. There was evidence that those with a disability have lower wellbeing scores than those without, but no difference in anxiety levels. There was no consistent evidence for difference in wellbeing or anxiety scores between student genders, residence statuses, divisions or full-time vs part-time study mode
• Twenty percent of respondents have considered leaving their course, a substantial decrease since 2021, and comparable to the pre-pandemic 2020 results as well as the Sector and Russell Group averages. Those with a disability or studying full-time were more likely to consider leaving. Main reasons given were mental/emotional health and the course not meeting expectations.

2021 results

The University has opted to make the Postgraduate Taught/Research Experience Surveys (PTES and PRES) our primary method of obtaining feedback from postgraduate students.

• PTES 2021 was launched in HT 21 and was open between 23 March and 17 June. There were 6,351 active PGT and PG Cert students invited to take part and 794 responses were received, resulting in a response rate of 12.5%. The survey sample is representative of the wide Oxford PGT population.
• Generally Oxford scored lower than the Sector and a selection of the Russell Group institutions in all areas of student experience but dissertations. It is likely that the pandemic and remote teaching influenced some of the most pronounced decreases.
• Overall, 69% of respondents agreed they were satisfied with the quality of their course. This is markedly lower than 76% in 2020 and is likely to be caused by the remote teaching in HT 21.
• Teaching staff (75% satisfied) and dissertation support (77% satisfied) are regarded very highly by students. The Assessment and Feedback did not see any substantial decreases since last year. Online library resources (68%) and access to course specific resources (68%) were also rated high.
• Items such as contact time (49% satisfied), engagement with peers (50%) and support at the beginning of the course (50%) were rated relatively low and lower than in 2020.
• Only 59% of respondents agreed they received the support they needed from the University in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. The awareness of various University provisions due to Covid-19 was rather low (fewer than 50% of respondents for most of them). However the vast majority of those who used them, found them helpful or very helpful.

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES)

The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) is run across over a hundred UK institutions and coordinated by Advance HE. It is the only national survey of postgraduate research students and so is the only way for us to compare how we are doing against the national average and to make changes that will improve postgraduate students’ experience in the future. In 2024, the survey was open at Oxford from 23 April to 16 May. Results will be available in late 2024. If you would like to know more about the survey, please visit the PRES website.

2021 results

The University has opted to make the Postgraduate Taught/Research Experience Surveys (PTES and PRES) our primary method of obtaining feedback from postgraduate students.

• The PRES 2021 survey was open between 24^th of March and 17^th of May 2021. All active PGR students (7,139) were invited to take part. There were 744 replies received resulting in a response rate of 10.4%. The sample is broadly representative of the divisional split in the Oxford PGR population.
• In general, it is clear that DPhil students were affected by a pandemic to a much lesser extent than PGT students. Overall, 73% of respondents were satisfied with their experience of their research degree programme. This is lower than 79% in 2020. However, 71% of respondents were confident they would complete their programme on time, which remained the same as last year.
• In general PRES scale scores in 2021 have decreased slightly since 2020, but the only marked decrease can be noticed for research culture, especially lack of opportunities to discuss research with peers. Supervision (82%) and Research skills (79%) remain the highest rated scales. Resources are also rated very highly (75% satisfied) including online resources.
• Respondents from the Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions tend to be less satisfied with their programme in general compared to other divisions, particularly in areas such as access to course-specific resources and training to develop their research and transferable skills.
• There was a varied level of awareness among respondents of the University’s Covid-19 provisions. The majority (69%) were aware of the additional extension and suspension rules and 60% were aware of the Scholarship Extension Fund. Far fewer were aware of wellbeing workshops and additional counselling sessions. The uptake of these provisions was generally low (between 13% and 2% of respondents) but the vast majority of those who experienced them found them helpful.
• Respondents’ wellbeing scores decreased slightly during the pandemic but so did the anxiety levels. Females were likely to display higher anxiety levels overall, but males were becoming more anxious the longer they were on the programme. Those residing in Oxford had lower wellbeing scores than those staying somewhere else in the UK or abroad.

All of this provided useful information to feed into our research, teaching and quality panels and help us to understand postgraduate experiences and enable the University to consider how we can look to improve programmes and the support received whilst studying at Oxford.

Student Barometer 

The Student Barometer was previously run annually at Oxford but now runs every two years, returning in Michaelmas 2024 after a break in 2023.  It last ran from 17 November - 17 December 2022 and surveyed all taught undergraduate and taught postgraduate students (postgraduate research students were surveyed separately in 2023).  In 2024/25 the survey will run in two parts, with freshers surveyed on the arrival experience in late Michaelmas and all students (except final year undergraduates, who will be surveyed in the National Student Survey) surveyed in late Hilary/early Trinity 2025.

The survey enables the University to benchmark feedback on the student experience from application to graduation, against those of 120 other universities.

The results and the comments submitted are analysed on a confidential and anonymous basis by a wide range of departments/faculties, colleges and central services across the collegiate University as we consider both the quantitative and qualitative feedback provided. Students' comments are very insightful and provide us with an evaluation of your student experience so far and an impetus for change and improvements. Read a summary of Oxford's 2022 Student Barometer survey results.

U-Flourish (Student Wellbeing)

The U-Flourish Survey is a collaboration between the Department of Psychiatry and the University Student Welfare and Support Service aiming to better understand the determinants of student wellbeing and academic success and evaluate the mental health support needs of students at Oxford.

First-year undergraduate and (in 2023 for the first time) first-year graduate students are invited to complete a 10-15 minute online survey in Michaelmas, and a shorter follow-up survey in Trinity.  In Michaelmas 2023 the survey was open from 24 October to 24 November. For returning students who participated in previous years, follow-up surveys are also sent in Michaelmas and Trinity.

If you have any questions please contact [email protected]

Other regular surveys

Departments and faculties carry out surveys on individual courses and use lecture questionnaires to gain feedback on the quality of lectures. The views of students are also represented by undergraduate and postgraduate Joint Consultative Committees (JCC).

Colleges collect feedback from students through tutorial evaluation questionnaires, college questionnaires, students and tutors/college advisers meetings, and annual meetings between students and their senior tutor and/or head of house.

'Your Learning Matters' Student Feedback Channel

In addition to formal surveys, the University and Oxford SU have been working together to get a better understanding of students’ studying and other experiences. An open feedback channel was launched in Trinity term 2020, enabling students to share their feedback about how learning and wider Oxford experiences had been via a short Oxford SU online form.

The Student Feedback Channel gives students a chance to give examples of where things are going well, and make suggestions for improvements. The channel was launched again at the beginning of each term in 2020/21, and opened again on 31st January 2022.  It is now part of the Diversity of Student Experience Research Project, an in-house inquiry into how students from diverse backgrounds participate in learning at Oxford.  In 2024 the channel was open for UG and PGT students in Hilary term from 8 January to 15 March and reopened for Trinity term on 15 April 2024 and closed on 21 June.

Students can fill it in more than once, and at any time in the opening window. Students’ ideas and feedback are anonymised and communicated back to staff, supervisors and tutors across the University. 

Surveys for leavers

The Graduate Outcomes Survey

Graduate Outcomes is a national survey of graduates 15 months after they leave university; the survey asks all leavers about their employment, further study, or other activities. The information you provide helps to inform prospective students’ choices, develop higher education policy, and enables universities to make improvements for their students. Find out more on the Graduate Outcomes website.