Herts ranked second for student experience in latest postgraduate survey
The University of Hertfordshire has been placed second for postgraduate student experience, and achieved sector-leading scores across all areas of teaching, learning and development, in new postgraduate survey results.
The 2023 Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES), compiled by higher education and research charity Advance HE, ranked the University in the top five for every single section of the survey, including placing it as number one out of 85 institutions for skills development.
Altogether, 101 institutions took part in the PTES this year, with an overall sector response rate of 21.4%. At Herts, 4,234 students (29.5%) completed the survey, putting the University 8.1 percentage points above the sector for responses. Herts’ overall student satisfaction score was then 93% this year, compared to 89% in 2022, 80% in 2021, and the 2023 sector average of 83%.
Disciplines in the top quartile for student satisfaction included medicine and dentistry, psychology, engineering and technology, business and management and law.
Mairi Watson, Pro Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience, said:
“These are truly fantastic results which are testament to the work we have done over the last year to support our postgraduate students. Thank you to all colleagues who have been involved in the teaching, learning and support of our postgraduate taught students this year. It’s rewarding to see that our students have recognised and appreciated all the work that has been carried out to help them achieve their goals.”
The survey includes questions on students’ overall satisfaction, skills development, assessment, support, engagement, organisation, teaching, resources, and community. In particular, Herts scored strongly on questions about access to online and physical resources (ranked 2nd out of 84), assessment delivery and feedback (2nd out of 84), support (2nd out of 85) and community (2nd out of 101). Students also rated the University highly for its staff enthusiasm, course organisation and engagement.
Over 90 percent of students said that because of their courses, they felt better prepared for their careers, had been encouraged to think about what skills they needed for their careers and that their confidence to be innovative or creative had developed.
The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey is the only UK sector-wide survey to gather insights from postgraduate taught students about their learning and teaching experience. For more information, see the Advance HE website; or search our courses to start your postgraduate journey with Herts.