The University of Bath offers the best student experience in the country, according to the latest Times Higher Education (THE) Student Experience Survey.
Rising from second position in last year’s survey, the University of Bath secured this year’s top spot by meeting or exceeding the sector average in each of the 21 measures used to determine the overall results.
Last year’s winner, the University of Sheffield, drops to third place, while Loughborough University jumps up to second from eleventh place last year.
The University of Surrey and Newcastle University have also entered the top 10, while the University of Nottingham, University of Dundee and Durham University have all exited the top 10.
The THE survey, now in its tenth year, is unique in that in looks beyond the usual definition of the student experience – comprised largely of teaching, learning, assessment and feedback – to a broader definition, one created by students themselves that includes those aspects of university life that matter most to them.
John Gill, editor of THE, said: “One of the aims of the government’s higher education reforms was to increase competition between universities and intensify the focus on the student experience.
“Our survey, which is now in its 10th year, is perfectly placed to track what this has meant in practice, and which universities are performing particularly well in specific areas – whether in teaching and learning, or areas such as the standard of facilities, in which many institutions have been investing heavily.
“The easing of student number controls has led to significant expansion by some universities (several have increased their student intake by almost 50 per cent since 2012), and competition for students is set to increase further with the uncapping of student places this autumn.
“This is putting new pressure on the student experience as institutions change in size and shape.”
Almost 14,700 full-time undergraduates were polled in this year’s THE survey, which was conducted in conjunction with specialist youth market research agency YouthSight.
