St Andrews top for student experience

The University of St Andrews is top in the UK for student academic experience, according to the results of the National Student Survey 2021 published today (Thursday 15 July 2021).

The National Student Survey (NSS) named St Andrews the UK’s top mainstream university, the thirteenth time in the past 15 years that the Scottish university has been at the very top of the comprehensive analysis.

More than 93% of St Andrews final year students surveyed gave the University top marks for the quality of the learning and teaching experience. St Andrews was the only mainstream multi-faculty institution to achieve above 90% satisfaction rating.

Vice-Principal Education (Proctor) Clare Peddie said: “Today’s results are great news for the Scottish higher education sector, with St Andrews among five institutions in the top ten.

“I am delighted by the positive feedback from our student community. This result reflects our commitment to the very highest standards of learning, teaching and student experience at what has been a particularly difficult time for us all.

“By working collaboratively with our students, we continue to develop and deliver an experience that, while it may differ from previous years due to the pandemic, still offers our students the highest quality support, innovative learning and direct contact with some of the best researchers in the world.

“While it may not have been the student experience many hoped for, our academic and professional service staff have worked tirelessly with our student community to deliver the global learning and teaching experience St Andrews is renowned for.”

“There is always more we can all do. This past year has been a learning curve for us all, however, our positive relationship with our students and desire to provide the very best for our community means we will continue to listen, learn and build on feedback.”

St Andrews was the first university in the UK to launch an innovative Can Do initiative, a collaboration with the Students’ Association to support students, and staff, with creative solutions and resources to attend and develop educational and extracurricular activities in a safe way. The Can Do initiative supported student societies and clubs to develop Covid-safe activities and socialising.

Lottie Doherty, President of the Students’ Association, said: “This brilliant news is a credit both to the dedication and collaborative approach of the staff at the University, the Students’ Association, and our unique student community who have worked together more than ever to deliver the complete St Andrews experience in difficult circumstances.

“Student satisfaction is incredibly important to us: this past year we have worked to support students learning online around the world.

“Our unique Can Do initiative also provided a Covid-safe student experience to members of our community, who in many cases were thousands of miles from home for the first time and experiencing unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic. The Students’ Association is looking forward to building on the initiative and learning from the past year to continue to provide students with an excellent University experience.”