The Office for Students has published arrangements for the 2026 National Student Survey (NSS), which will gather feedback from final-year students across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland during the spring term.
About the NSS
The National Student Survey is the largest annual survey of student satisfaction in the UK. It asks final-year undergraduates to rate their course, teaching quality, learning resources, assessment and feedback, academic support, student voice, and overall satisfaction. Results are published publicly and are used by the OfS as part of its regulatory assessment of universities.
Relevance for Prospective Students
For students choosing between universities or courses, the NSS results are one of the most useful publicly available tools. Unlike league tables — which weight research output heavily — the NSS focuses entirely on the student experience. Satisfaction scores can be compared for specific courses at specific institutions, which is more informative than whole-university averages.
Using NSS Data
NSS results are published on the Discover Uni website alongside other course-level data including graduate employment rates and average salaries. The scores for a specific subject are more relevant than the university overall. The "assessment and feedback" and "academic support" categories are often where student experience varies most between institutions.
Broader Considerations
Rankings and satisfaction scores are useful starting points but should not be the sole factor in a decision. Open days (in person or virtual), conversations with current students, location, cost of living, and career support services are all worth weighing alongside survey data.
