Sheffield students ‘happiest’ with course quality

Results show 90 per cent of students there were satisfied with their course.

The tables show many of the region’s universities performing strongly.

Hull University was the region’s second highest ranked with 89 per cent of students satisfied while at York the figure was 87, at Leeds it was 86 and at Huddersfield it was 85.

The annual poll reveals that undergraduates at Brighton and Sussex Medical School are the happiest, while those studying at Ravensbourne, a specialist design and communication college, are among the least satisfied.

Students at Cambridge are happier than those at Oxford. The survey questioned around 265,000 final-year students studying at 154 universities and 99 further education colleges across the UK.

They were asked about every aspect of their university experience, including teaching, assessment, support and resources. The findings, published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England show 83 per cent of students are satisfied with their course, up from 82 per cent last year. However a third of students are unhappy with their assessment and feedback.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: “The real worry is that cuts to the higher education budget will leave staff with even more demanding workloads at a time when students and their families start to expect more for the extra bucks they are being forced to shell out for a university education.”