Top for student satisfaction

The University of St Andrews is top in the UK for student academic experience, according to the results of the National Student Survey 2019 published today (Wednesday 3 July 2019).

The National Student Survey (NSS) named St Andrews the UK’s top mainstream university, the eleventh time in the past 13 years that the Scottish university has been at the very top of the comprehensive analysis.

A high-profile census of nearly half a million students, the NSS is undertaken independently by Ipsos MORI and evaluates how satisfied students are with the quality of their higher education experience.

95% of St Andrews final year students surveyed gave the University top marks for the quality of the learning and teaching experience.

Vice Principal Education (Proctor) Clare Peddie said:

“I am delighted by the exceptionally positive feedback from our student community. This result confirms our commitment to the very highest standards of learning, teaching and student experience. The St Andrews experience is the experience of a lifetime; promising the highest quality support, direct contact with some of the best researchers in the world, an international and diverse community, unique traditions, a wide range of extra-curricular activities, and world-class facilities.”

“What really makes St Andrews special is the staff and students whose outstanding contributions make us bigger and more meaningful than our size suggests. We will continue to work hard together to make our students and alumni proud to call St Andrews ‘home’.”

Jamie Rodney, President of the Students’ Association, said:

“This news is a credit both to the hard work done by the staff at the University, and our unique student community. Student satisfaction is incredibly important, and all of us at the Students Association are really looking forward to building on this result going forward”

The University of Dundee is the only other Scottish university in the top five for overall satisfaction, strengthening evidence that Fife and Tayside is quickly gaining an international reputation as “Scotland’s intellectual gold coast.”

The NSS results follow an unprecedented performance by the University in the Guardian University Guide 2020 where St Andrews claimed second place in the UK league table, breaking the Oxbridge duopoly for the first time.