Insights into interpreting the NSS

1. Insights into interpreting the NSS Mark Langan, Alan Fielding & Peter Dunleavy Manchester Metropolitan University Faculty of Science & Engineering Fielding, A.F., P.J.Dunleavy and A.M. Langan (2010) Effective use of the UK's National Student (Satisfaction) Survey (NSS) data in science and engineering subjects. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 33, 347-368. GEES NSS Workshop 2010

2. What makes a student satisfied? GEES NSS Workshop 2010

3. Research evidence based on a range of quantitative approaches using national dataset (science subject focus) • Discussion about implications of using NSS for decision-making in H.E. Structure GEES NSS Workshop 2010

4. Based on Course Experience Questionnaire and considered robust in terms of the statistical measures; internal consistency, construct validity and concurrent validity. Measures six dimensions: teaching; assessment and feedback (sometimes considered separately); academic support; organisation and management; resources; and, personal development. GEES NSS Workshop 2010

5. Five point scale with 21 ‘items’ and separate overall satisfaction rating (Q22) Thorough overview can be found in Surridge 2007 and Marsh and Cheng 2008. Take home message: the outputs are hierarchical in nature and not designed for simplistic league tables Note: satisfaction is a complex concept to measure and there are many approaches GEES NSS Workshop 2010

6. Data Level 3 (closest to Programme/Dept)NSS data from • 2007; • 2008; • 2009. Science subjects data pruned to remove subjects not taught at MMU (e.g. medicine). Still very large data sets (>40,000 cases per survey) GEES NSS Workshop 2010

7. NSS Questions Teaching (Teach) Q1 Staff are good at explaining things. Q2 Staff have made the subject interesting. Q3 Staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching. Q4 The course is intellectually stimulating. Assessment fairness (Fairness) Q5 The criteria used in marking have been clear in advance. Q6 Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair. Assessment feedback (Feedback) Q7 Feedback on my work has been prompt. Q8 I have received detailed comments on my work. Q9 Feedback has helped me clarify things I did not understand.

8. NSS Questions Support (Support) Q10 I have received sufficient advice and support with my studies. Q11 I have been able to contact staff when I needed to. Q12 Good advice was available when I needed to make study choices. Management & Organisation (Org) Q13 The timetable works efficiently as far as my activities are concerned. Q14 Any changes in the course or teaching have been communicated effectively. Q15 The course is well organised and is running smoothly.

9. NSS Questions Learning Resources (Resources) Q16 The library resources and services are good enough for my needs. Q17 I have been able to access general IT resources when I needed to. Q18 I have been able to access specialised equipment, facilities or room when I needed to. Personal Development (PD) Q19 The course has helped me present myself with confidence. Q20 My communication skills have improved. Q21 As a result of the course, I feel confident in tackling unfamiliar problems. Overall satisfaction (Overall) Q22 Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the course.

10. Satisfaction is % of students answering 4 or 5 to a question. e.g. Q 1 Biology MMU – 95% of students were satisfied Note that dissatisfaction may tell a different story. Satisfaction GEES NSS Workshop 2010

11. Subject differences (general/national) Subject differences confound simple comparisons, examples from 2009. Medians for Qs 7, 8 & 9 plus 13, 14 & 15. GEES NSS Workshop 2010

12. Subject differences (science/national)

13. Biology results (2008)

14. GEES NSS Workshop 2010

15. What answers are correlated with Q22? Approach • Use % in agreement with a question (answers 4 & 5 on 5 point scale) • Simple correlation (ignoring subject) • Correlation allowing for subject differences (ANCOVA) • Repeat for each year • Calculated for national dataset (three years) GEES NSS Workshop 2010

16. Annual national trends (ranks) Overall satisfaction is consistently related to: Teaching Quality, Support and Organisation. It only weakly related to Resources and Assessment, particularly feedback. GEES NSS Workshop 2010

17. Subject differences (Feedback Qs) GEES NSS Workshop 2010

18. Decision and regression trees use a supervised learning algorithm which must be provided with a training set that contains cases with class labels or values for classification. • We used a new variant of regression trees called FTA (software called ‘RandomForests’). Robust method with fewer constraints than traditional regression methods, for example allowing different factors to be explored in their influence on overall satisfaction within different subgroups. Predictive model (Forest Tree Analysis) GEES NSS Workshop 2010

19. Regression Trees (an example)based on http://www.dtreg.com/classregress.htmPredicts property value

20. Effectiveness of Q1-21 to predict overall satisfaction (Q22)

21. Predictive model (FTA shown as ranks) GEES NSS Workshop 2010

22. Top five predictors (best first) Q15 The course is well organised and is running smoothly. Q4 The course is intellectually stimulating. Q1 Staff are good at explaining things. Q14. Any changes to the course or teaching have been communicated effectively. Q10 I have received sufficient advice and support with my studies. GEES NSS Workshop 2010

23. Actual Predicted Residual SE1 SE2 SE3 Subjects Q22 ‘under-performers’

24. Q22 ‘as expected from Q1-Q21’

25. Q22 ‘over-performers’

26. University Groupings

27. Mean overall Q22 for university groups

28. Subject differences (e.g. mathematical content) • Institutional differences • False assumptions (e.g. enhancing feedback directly enhances Q22) • Institutional effects • Satisfaction is a complex measure related to L&T practices • Teaching and Organisation prominent Conclusions GEES NSS Workshop 2010

29. Ramsden quotes

30. “… [The NSS] is not a measure of satisfaction so much as a window into how our designs for learning are experienced by students. From these insights we assemble the practical measures we may take to enhance the quality of their experiences.” Quotes from Ramsden (2007) Higher Education Academy Annual Conference 2010

31. “... it is not simple to know what to do. Current experiences, unlike satisfaction, are a mixture of previous experiences and the environment as it is now... ... so sometimes we will need to adjust expectations or consider altering previous experiences in order to improve quality.” Quotes from Ramsden (2007) Higher Education Academy Annual Conference 2010

32. “I cannot agree with the idea, for example, that because students are slightly less positive about feedback on assessed work in the NSS than about the quality of teaching... ... we should rush to bully academics into providing more feedback more quickly.” Quotes from Ramsden (2007) Higher Education Academy Annual Conference 2010

33. “From this it also follows that students do not have a ‘right’ to be satisfied. They are themselves part of the experience. .. ... Students decide their own destinies and we can only add or subtract value at the margins.” Quotes from Ramsden (2007) Higher Education Academy Annual Conference 2010