Sussex’s positivity ratings have risen in six out of seven themed categories in the 2024 National Student Survey (NSS). 

The latest results, released on Wednesday 10 July, show that we have continued to build on last year’s progress and received improved results for every theme compared with last year, apart from one, (assessment and feedback). 

This achievement includes being ranked 12th in the country (of HE providers ranked in the domestic league tables) for organisation and management; a rise of 13 places to 50th for academic support, and a significant leap of 21 places to 79th for learning opportunities. The top performing subjects at Sussex in 2024 are Ecology and Environmental Biology, History of Art, Liberal Arts, Mathematics, and Music - this is the first graduating cohort for Liberal Arts.

Delving into detail

Looking at the results in more detail, the University achieved an exceptional 92.6% in Q1, ‘How good are teaching staff at explaining things?’. For Q16, ‘How well have teaching staff supported your learning,’ we saw a 4.5% increase to over 85%. And for Q26, ‘How well communicated was information about your university/college's mental wellbeing support services?,’ there is a 5.3% improvement, from last year, to over 74%. 

For the ‘Teaching on my course’ theme, Sussex was rated top five in the UK for a number of subject areas including  History of Art, English Language, Physical Geographical Sciences, Genetics, Development Studies, and Psychology & Health. 

Reflecting on the results

The results, which are published by the Office for Students (OfS), are based on surveys that gather final year undergraduate students’ opinions on their experience of their course and the support provided by their higher education institution. 

Our Vice-Chancellor, Sasha Roseneil, said: "The NSS provides us with invaluable insights into the student experience at Sussex, and I am thrilled that this year’s results reveal improvements across almost all themes. Participation in the NSS increased considerably this year – from 68% to 74% of final year undergraduates – which means that these results are a more robust reflection of our students’ evaluations of their time at Sussex. Thank you again to all staff who played a part, however big or small, in helping us achieve both this improved response rate and better results overall. 

"We will be closely analysing the benchmarked data, as it highlights our strengths and, crucially, where we must intensify our efforts to ensure our students have the best possible experience at Sussex.

"We are actively reviewing our educational offer and its supporting structures through Curriculum Reimagined, and essential work is being carried out as we continue to enhance and upgrade our physical and digital infrastructure. It is encouraging to see these improvements reflected in this year’s results. While much work remains, it shows very clearly that we are moving in the right direction."

Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience) Graeme Pedlingham said: “The NSS is a unique window into the experience of our final year students during their time at Sussex.  We are hugely grateful to all colleagues for helping to ensure that as many students completed the survey as possible, enabling us to hear a diversity of student voices.

“Collectively, they have faced significant challenges during their time here, including the fallout of a pandemic, last year’s marking and assessment boycott and periods of industrial action, and rocketing living costs in a challenging economy. The world is a less peaceful place than when they started their courses.  

“In the context of these challenges, our NSS results show that students are overwhelmingly positive about their time at Sussex, and that they place a high value on the excellent learning opportunities we provide here, alongside improving support structures.” 

Next steps

Now that the full results are in, all Schools will be able to review these for their area and continue developing and delivering plans that take forward the progress in this year’s results. Student Experience teams will also use the extensive data provided to help improve the experiences of our students, and further build upon areas where we are performing well. 

More detailed analysis and agreed actions will be shared with teams as soon as possible.