Newcastle University

The latest results from the National Student Survey released today (Wednesday 17th August) place Newcastle tenth in the UK among its peer group. In total 89% of students said they were satisfied with their time at Newcastle, well above the national average of 83%, and a two per cent increase on last year’s figure.

The independent survey, carried out by Ipsos-MORI on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), asked final year undergraduates about their level of satisfaction with their place of study.

At Newcastle over 2500 students responded to the survey and 89% of those said they were satisfied with the quality of teaching on their courses. In fact, fifteen individual subjects taught at Newcastle University came in the top ten nationally for overall student satisfaction with Chemical and Process Engineering and Speech Sciences both achieving a 100% satisfaction score.

Suzanne Cholerton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching at Newcastle University, said: “These results are extremely pleasing and demonstrate Newcastle University’s commitment to ensuring a very positive experience for our students. We continue to invest in those areas which we know students value as part of their education and which make them highly employable. In a recent national survey, the employment of our students within six months of graduating was the fifth best among our peer group of comparator universities in the UK. Combined, the results of these two surveys show that Newcastle is an outstanding university at which to study.’’

“However we are not complacent and recognise that the increase in tuition fees for entry to university in 2012 will place increased demands on the educational experience. We are working hard to be fully prepared for the changes and committed to giving students the best possible experience at Newcastle University.”

One student who is delighted with her time at Newcastle University is Charlotte Smout, 22, from Whitley Bay. She graduated with a Masters in Chemical Engineering this summer and is due to start a job with major oil company ExxonMobil in September.

She spoke about her time at Newcastle and about what makes the University so special for students. “Newcastle was in the top five in the country for the course I wanted to do, so it was my first choice to come here and I have had no regrets.

“There is such a good atmosphere in the department I was in and the University as a whole.

“All the staff are really accessible, their doors are always open so you always feel you can ask for help if you need it, they have a lot of time for the students.

“The facilities are great, from the library to the computer labs I was always able to get on with work when I needed to and there was also plenty of support when I was looking for a job at the end of my course.

“I felt supported all the way through my course and now feel ready to launch into my career.”