FE colleges have topped the annual National Student Survey for satisfaction levels among their higher education learners.
The survey, carried out by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce), lists satisfaction ratings across 155 universities, 190 FE colleges and 13 alternative providers in the UK.
Four colleges - Newbury College, Richmond Adult Community College, St Mary’s College in Blackburn and Trafford College - recieved the maximum rating of 100 per cent satisfaction. Lakes College West Cumbria, Riverside College, Ashton Sixth-Form College and the Berkshire College of Agriculture also made the top 10, meaning just two universities were ranked in the leading 10 institutions.
Happy students
In Scotland the FE college with the highest level of satisfaction was Edinburgh College with a 71 per cent satisfaction rating.
Professor Madeleine Atkins, Hefce chief executive, said: “I’m pleased to see that the results of this year’s survey remain very positive, demonstrating the commitment of all higher education providers to deliver high quality teaching and learning for their students. The response rate is very encouraging and ensures that the student voice continues to inform enhancements in quality and in the information available to the next cohort of students.”
David Corke, director of education policy at the Association of Colleges, said: “The colleges that provide higher education work very hard to ensure they are providing a quality service to their students and the local community and it is gratifying to see that students themselves say they are pleased with the education they receive.
“Colleges specialise in providing technical and professional alternatives to the three year residential degree. They enable students to study closer to home with lower tuition fees, often with smaller class sizes enabling more individual tuition.”
FE SPECIAL OFFER: click here to try out a TES Further Education subscription for just £1 for four weeks.
Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow TES FE News on Twitter, like us on Facebook and follow us on LinkedIn
