NSS Results 2019
Introduction
The results for question 26 & question 27 of the National Students Survey (NSS) - “The Students’ Union (association or guild) effectiviely represents students’ academic interests.” & “Overall I am satisfied with the quality of the course” - is displayed here. The results for Northumbria University are displayed by:
- All respondents (Q26; Q27).
- Departments (Q26; Q27).
- Against all institutions (Q26; Q27)
- Against North-East Universities (Q26; Q27)
Question 26
Question 26: The Students’ Union (association or guild) effectiviely represents students’ academic interests.
All respondents
Figure 1: NSS Q26 - All respondents.
The % agreement for Q26 has declined by 1.8%, with 55.5% of students agreeing with Q26 in 2019 and 57.3% agreeing in 2018.
Departments
Figure 2.1: NSS Q26 - Departments % Agreement.
| Department | % Agreement (2019) | % Agreement (2018) | Difference % Agreement | % Disagreement (2019) | % Disagreement (2018) | Difference % Disagreement | No. respondents (2019) | Response rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Northumbria | 55.5% | 57.3% | -1.8 | 11.4% | 10.1% | 1.3 | 3474 | 78% |
| Accounting and Finance | 62.2% | NA | 14.9% | NA | 76 | 71% | ||
| Accounting and Financial Management | 55.1% | NA | 18.7% | NA | 108 | 73% | ||
| Applied Sciences | 57.8% | 54.1% | 3.7 | 10.9% | 10.6% | 0.4 | 200 | 87% |
| Architecture and Built Environment | 58.1% | 62.8% | -4.7 | 6.1% | 9.3% | -3.1 | 195 | 82% |
| Arts | 61.8% | 63.7% | -1.9 | 8.4% | 9.6% | -1.2 | 133 | 74% |
| Business* | 53.6% | 53.5% | 0.1 | 13.8% | 12.4% | 1.43 | 490 | 73% |
| Business and Management | 53.0% | NA | 11.4% | NA | 416 | 66% | ||
| Computer and Information Sciences | 46.9% | 55.9% | -9 | 13.3% | 13.4% | -0.1 | 151 | 70% |
| Corporate and Executive Development | 42.1% | NA | 18.4% | NA | 41 | 76% | ||
| Design | 52.3% | 60.0% | -7.7 | 3.9% | 8.1% | -4.2 | 295 | 88% |
| Enterprise, Innovation and Strategy | 54.7% | NA | 12.8% | NA | 122 | 77% | ||
| Geography and Environmental Sciences | 57.1% | 60.5% | -3.4 | 13.0% | 6.6% | 6.4 | 77 | 75% |
| Humanities | 61.0% | 56.8% | 4.3 | 5.9% | 13.5% | -7.6 | 118 | 71% |
| Law | 56.6% | 60.0% | -3.4 | 12.5% | 11.4% | 1.1 | 161 | 76% |
| Leadership and HR Management | 53.9% | NA | 7.9% | NA | 82 | 63% | ||
| Marketing, Operations and Systems | 51.8% | NA | 14.3% | NA | 178 | 74% | ||
| Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering | 55.6% | 53.1% | 2.5 | 11.1% | 8.6% | 2.5 | 75 | 77% |
| Mechanical and Construction Engineering | 54.6% | 53.1% | 1.5 | 12.0% | 14.4% | -2.4 | 225 | 86% |
| Nursing, Midwifery and Health | 49.9% | 55.7% | -5.8 | 14.6% | 9.8% | 4.8 | 490 | 74% |
| Psychology | 63.1% | 65.6% | -2.6 | 3.4% | 3.8% | -0.3 | 182 | 80% |
| Social Sciences | 51.3% | 50.6% | 0.7 | 10.3% | 11.0% | -0.8 | 160 | 74% |
| Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing | 48.5% | 60.9% | -12.5 | 19.0% | 6.9% | 12.2 | 246 | 83% |
| Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation | 69.7% | 56.5% | 13.2 | 14.0% | 9.2% | 4.8 | 276 | 77% |
- *Business refers to all non-law departments within the Faculty of Business and Law (Accounting and Finance, Business and Management, & Corporate and Executive Development in 2018; & Accounting and Financial Management, Leadership and HR Management, Enterprise, Innovation and Strategy, & Marketing, Operations and Systems in 2019 N 2018 = 533, N 2019 = 490).
Four departments within the Faculty of Business and Law are new so cannot be compared to the previous year (Accounting and Financial Management; Leadership and HR Management; Enterprise, Innovation and Strategy; and Marketing, Operations and Systems).
The largest reduction in % Agreement came from Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Computer and Information Sciences, and Design.
The largest increase in % Agreement came from Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation.
The largest increase in % Disagreement occured in Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing and Geography and Environmental Sciences.
The largest reduction in % Disagreement occured in Humanities.
Nursing, Midwifery and Health and Social work, Education and Community Wellbeing both saw declines in % Agreement in 2019 compared to the previous year, and both are located primarily at Coach Lane campus. They also account for 20.8% of the respondents in this survey. Figure 2.2 shows the scores for Q26 for both these departments, as well as what score Northumbria would have received if the results from these two departments were the same as the previous year. This identifies that if Coach Lane scores were the same as the previous year, the % Agreement in 2019 would have been 57.12%, which is just 0.14% less than the % Agreement recieved in 2018 (57.26%). Thus, differences in responses from Coach Lane resulted in a 1.67% reduction in this score, which accounts for 92.3% of the reduction in % Agreement for Q26 between 2019 and 2018.
Figure 2.2: NSS Q26 - Coach Lane.
| Department | % Agreement (2019) | Difference % Agreement between all departments | % Disagreement (2019) | Definitely agree (count) | Mostly agree (count) | Neither (count) | Mostly disagree (count) | Definitely disagree (count) | No. respondents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All departments | 55.5% | NA | 11.4% | 709 | 1132 | 1100 | 238 | 141 | 3320 |
| All departments modified | 57.1% | 1.7 | 9.9% | 723 | 1174 | 1094 | 212 | 117 | 3320 |
| Only Coach Lane | 49.4% | -6 | 16.1% | 108 | 233 | 238 | 68 | 43 | 690 |
| Nursing, Midwifery and Health | 49.9% | -5.6 | 14.6% | 85 | 144 | 163 | 43 | 24 | 459 |
| Social work, Education and Community Wellbeing | 48.5% | -7 | 19.1% | 23 | 89 | 75 | 25 | 19 | 231 |
- All departments modified = results for Q26 if Nursing, Midwifery and Health and Social work, Education and Community Wellbeing answered the same as the previous year. This was calculated by gaining the percentage of respondents that answered - Definitely agree, Mostly agree, Neither, Mostly disagree, and Definitely disagree - for both these departments in 2018, and using these percentages in the 2019 data.
- Coach Lane = Nursing, Midwifery and Health & Social work, Education and Community Wellbeing.
All institutions
Figure 3: NSS Q26 - % Agreement at all institutions and differences between 2019 and 2018. 
Figure 3 presents the results of Q26 across all institutions. The data used has been benchmarked to allow for more reliable comparisons between institutions, therefore the values presented will differ slightly from the absolute values used in the previous figures (for more information on benchmarking in NSS, see: Office for Students).
Figure 3A shows the % Agreement for Q26 at each institution (x-axis) and the number of institutions that fall under that score (y-axis). This identifies Northumbria to be located at the centre of the distribution, so to have scored average in this question compared to all other institutions.
Figure 3B shows the difference in % Agreement for Q26 at each institution between 2019 and 2018 (x-axis), and the number of institutions that fall under that score (y-axis). This identifies most institutions to have scored worse in this question - with a mean difference of -0.65%. This also identifies the difference in % Agreement for Q26 at Northumbria to be average compared to all other institutions.
North-East University Comparison
Figure 4: NSS Q26 - North-East University Comparison.
| Univeristy | % Agreement (2019) | % Agreement (2018) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Northumbria | 55.8% | 56.4% | -0.68 |
| University of Durham | 53.1% | 54.0% | -0.94 |
| University of Newcastle | 55.1% | 55.6% | -0.51 |
| University of Sunderland | 55.7% | 56.2% | -0.48 |
| Teesside University | 54.7% | 55.6% | -0.87 |
Scores for NSS Q26 are similar across all North-East Universities, and all have seen a small decline in % Agreement from the previous year.
Question 27
Question 27: Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of my course.
All respondents
Figure 5: NSS Q27 - All respondents. 
The % Agreement for Q27 has declined by 1.7%, with 83.0% of respondents agreeing with Q27 in 2019 and 84.7% agreeing in 2018.
Departments
Figure 6: NSS Q27 - Departments.
| Department | % Agreement (2019) | % Agreement (2018) | Difference | No. respondents | Response rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Northumbria | 83.0% | 84.7% | -1.7 | 3474 | 78% |
| Accounting and Financial Management | 87.0% | NA | 108 | 73% | |
| Applied Sciences | 83.9% | 83.0% | 0.9 | 200 | 87% |
| Architecture and Built Environment | 82.0% | 83.4% | -1.5 | 195 | 82% |
| Arts | 85.0% | 86.2% | -1.3 | 133 | 74% |
| Computer and Information Sciences | 72.7% | 83.1% | -10.4 | 151 | 70% |
| Design | 85.4% | 88.9% | -3.5 | 295 | 88% |
| Enterprise, Innovation and Strategy | 72.1% | NA | 122 | 77% | |
| Geography and Environmental Sciences | 92.2% | 91.0% | 1.2 | 77 | 75% |
| Humanities | 91.5% | 91.4% | 0.2 | 118 | 71% |
| Law | 91.7% | 90.7% | 1 | 161 | 76% |
| Leadership and HR Management | 74.1% | NA | 82 | 63% | |
| Marketing, Operations and Systems | 72.9% | NA | 178 | 74% | |
| Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering | 86.7% | 87.1% | -0.4 | 75 | 77% |
| Mechanical and Construction Engineering | 72.4% | 76.0% | -3.6 | 225 | 86% |
| Nursing, Midwifery and Health | 85.5% | 87.0% | -1.5 | 490 | 74% |
| Psychology | 89.9% | 89.1% | 0.8 | 182 | 80% |
| Social Sciences | 81.1% | 84.3% | -3.1 | 160 | 74% |
| Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing | 76.3% | 84.5% | -8.2 | 246 | 83% |
| Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation | 92.0% | 82.1% | 9.9 | 276 | 77% |
Four departments within the Faculty of Business and Law are new so cannot be compared to the previous year (Accounting and Financial Management; Leadership and HR Management; Enterprise, Innovation and Strategy; and Marketing, Operations and Systems).
The largest reduction in % Agreement came from Computer and Information Sciences and Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Computer and Information Sciences.
The largest increase in % Agreement came from Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation.
All institutions
Figure 7: NSS Q27 - % Agreement at all institutions and differences between 2019 and 2018. 
Figure 7 presents the results of Q27 across all institutions using the same method as Figure 3.
Figure 7A shows the % Agreement for Q27 at each institution (x-axis) and the number of institutions that fall under that score (y-axis). This identifies Northumbria to be located at the centre of the distribution and to match the mean score across all institutions, thus to have an average % Agree score across all institutions.
Figure 7B shows the difference in % Agreement for Q27 at each institution between 2019 and 2018 (x-axis), and the number of institutions that fall under that score (y-axis). This identifies most institutions to have performed slighlty better in this question - with a mean difference of 0.43%. Northumbria scored about the same in this question, with a difference of -0.06, therefore Northumbria has performed slightly worse than most other institutions in Q27.
North-East University Comparison
Figure 8: NSS Q27 - North-East University Comparison.
| Univeristy | % Agreement (2019) | % Agreement (2018) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Northumbria | 83.6% | 83.6% | -0.05 |
| University of Durham | 85.9% | 85.6% | 0.27 |
| University of Newcastle | 85.0% | 85.0% | 0.01 |
| University of Sunderland | 83.4% | 83.4% | -0.03 |
| Teesside University | 83.2% | 83.4% | -0.18 |
Scores for NSS Q27 are similar across all North-East Universities, and all have seen only small changes in % Agreement from the previous year.
YUYS Campus Analysis
Awareness of Sabbatical officers and Student representatives
Figure 9: YUYS 2019 - Awareness of Sabbatical officers and Students representatives by campus. 
Figure 9 shows that more respondents are aware of Sabbatical officers and Student Representatives at Main City Campus than Coach Lane Campus.
Effectiveness of representation
Figure 10: YUYS 2019 - Effectiveness of representation by campus. 
Main City Campus and Coach Lane respondents similarly rated the effectiveness of each of the three levels of NSU represesntation, with Northumbria Students Union rated the lowest and Student Representatives rated the highest. Coach Lane respondents rated the effectiveness of Sabbatical officers and Student Representatives slightly higher than Main City Campus respondents, whilst Northumbria Students Union was rated slightly lower.
Positive impact
Figure 11: YUYS 2019 & 2017 - Positive impact by campus 
* 2019 results only contain data post the edit to KPI questions.
Fewer Coach Lane respondents agreed that Northumbria Students’ Union has had a positive impact on their student life than Main City Campus respondents.
NSS Correlation Analysis
NSS questions have been correlated with each other at a departmental level across the three latest years (2017 - 2019; N = 56). Data for some questions is not available prior to 2017, hence why only these dates have been used.
Student Voice, Student Union, & Overall satisfaction
Figure 12: NSS - Correlation matrix for Student Voice, Student Union, & Overall satisfaction 
* Section 8 = Student voice (Q23, Q24 & Q25 combined).
Figure 12 shows that Q26 of NSS - “The Students’ Union (association or guild) effectively represents students’ academic interests” correlates weakly with Student Voice (correlation coefficient = 0.38), both as a section (S8) and for each of its component questions (Q23, Q24, Q25). By contrast, Student Voice correlates moderately high with Q27 - Overall satisfaction (correlation coefficient = 0.7). There is also a slight correlation between Q26 & Q27 (correlation coefficient = 0.60).
Of all the question in NSS, Q27 had the greatest correlation with Q26 (Figure 13.1 & 13.2). Q26 correlated relatively weakly with all questions (when compared to correlations between other questions), but most weakly with questions within the Assessment and Feedback section (Q8 - Q11) and Q7, Q22 & Q23.
Correlation Matrices
Figure 13.1: NSS all questions - Not clustered 
Figure 13.2: NSS all questions - Not clustered & correlation values 
Figure 13.3: NSS all questions - Clustered 
* Hierarchical cluster analysis has been undertaken to group clusters of questions that correlate highly with each other together (see Q27 and Q13). This further identifies wekaly correlate with other questions.