NSE 2021: insights into studying during the pandemic

23 Jun 2021 00:01 | Institutional Research

Today saw the announcement of the results of the National Student Survey (NSE) 2021. Some 61% of students are satisfied or very satisfied with their degree programme. More contact and further intensification of guidance should be the focus over the next few months.

After a two-year absence, the National Student Survey (NSE) has been held again. The survey period ran from 18 January to 14 March 2021. Some 37% of AUAS students completed the questionnaire. Comparison with previous years is difficult because this year’s survey was conducted under unusual circumstances (coronavirus, online education) and because the survey was completely revamped this year. Nevertheless, the survey provides valuable information that the AUAS study programmes will set to work on. NSE 2021’s results are in line with the results of three surveys that AUAS conducted among students last year.

Concerns and appreciation during lockdown

AUAS students are particularly satisfied with the involvement and contact aspect. This shows appreciation for the sterling efforts made by lecturers and other staff to give students as much attention and guidance as possible under the difficult circumstances of studying almost exclusively online. Students rated the study guidance 3.62 (on a scale of 1-5).

Nevertheless, 1 in 8 students indicate that they were not satisfied with the study programme last year. This shows that it has not been possible to mitigate all the adverse effects of the lockdown. A similar picture emerges at other universities of applied sciences in the Randstad region and elsewhere in the country. As things currently stand (end of June), it looks like there will be far fewer restrictions in place for education at the start of the new academic year. AUAS will do everything in its power to get back to providing students the education and guidance they are hoping for and counting on receiving.

More contact and extra guidance

Various surveys reveal that students are craving contact with each other and with teaching staff again. In due course, AUAS will be providing them with extra guidance (e.g. peer-to-peer, student counsellors) and, where necessary, ensuring that backlogs are tackled successfully.

In addition to the questions put to all students in higher education, AUAS also asked them about a number of specific topics. AUAS students were relatively satisfied with the aspects ‘Equal treatment’ (3.75) and ‘Challenge and commitment’ (3.61). The aspects ‘Distance Learning’ (3.17) and ‘Study Programme Flexibility’ (3.13) were not rated quite so highly.

Student satisfaction is one of the three important performance indicators for the education at AUAS. The other two are study success and connection to the job market (measured by the HBO Monitor).