National Student Survey (NSS) 2026
Finalists - have your say and take part in the National Student Survey (NSS), an annual survey of all final-year undergraduates in the UK. Make your voice heard.
What is the National Student Survey (NSS)?
The National Student Survey (NSS) is an annual survey of all final-year undergraduates in the UK. It gathers students’ opinions on the quality of their courses and their overall experience at university. It’s voluntary and carried out by Ipsos, an independent research agency.
Make your voice heard - complete the NSS here
6 reasons to complete the NSS
- It's your chance to give your views: The NSS is a national listening exercise – and all final year undergraduate students across the UK are strongly encouraged to take part. It’s important for you, for future students, for universities, and for the broader higher education landscape of the UK.
- It helps us improve what we do for students: The NSS gives us the opportunity to listen to what we are doing well and should keep doing, and where we can make improvements to better support students. The results are also looked at by a variety of external audiences with an interest in how we are doing, including our regulator, the Office for Students.
- It’s completely independent and anonymous: The NSS is run by Ipsos on behalf of the Office for Students. It’s anonymous, and all UK universities take part.
- It’s focused on final year undergraduate students only: As a final year undergraduate student, this is your unique chance to reflect over the past few years and give your views on what was good, and how we can improve.
- Your response really matters: All of our departments use your feedback and ideas to consider their programmes. We also analyse results at the wider university level to see where other areas come to light, such as with our libraries and IT services.
- It compares Exeter to other universities: We welcome the chance to compare our students’ responses with those at other universities - giving us a better sense of where we are doing well and where we could improve. The results also help new students choose where to study.
Plus, when you complete the survey you’ll have the opportunity to win, if you choose to enter our prize draw.
How do I complete the National Student Survey (NSS)?
You can complete it online from Monday 12 January until Thursday 30 April. Just go to the NSS website any time while the survey is open. Ipsos will email your own link on Thursday 15 January but you don’t need to wait for that and can fill it out via the NSS website. (If you need to stop part way through the survey, you can come back and complete it at a later date, your place in the survey will be saved.)
If you don’t fill it out, Ipsos will contact you by text message to ask if you will. Around three weeks later, Ipsos will contact students who have not filled in the survey by phone.
As soon as you have completed the survey, you will not be contacted by Ipsos again.
Prizes and grab your voucher
All eligible students can choose to enter our prize draw. One student will win £500, five will win £100 each, and a further five will receive a graduation package (gown hire and photography).
We are also giving any eligible student who completes the survey by Friday 6 February 2026 a campus food and drink voucher worth up to £3.
How do I claim my campus food / drink voucher?
There's still time to claim your voucher from our NSS stalls being held across our campuses in January and February, details below. You can complete the survey at the stall or beforehand - simply show us the confirmation email you're sent after completing the NSS to receive your voucher.
Stall dates and times
The Forum, Streatham Campus
11:00 - 13:00
January: Tuesday 27*, Wednesday 28, Thursday 29.
February: Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4, Thursday 5
*We apologise that due to the weather conditions and staff sickness, the stand on Tuesday 27 January did not take place in the Forum.
The Lower Stannary, Penryn Campus
11:00 - 13:00
January: Tuesday 27, Wednesday 28, Thursday 29.
February: Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4, Thursday 5
Cross Keys, St Luke's Campus
11:00 - 13:00
January: Tuesday 27, Wednesday 28, Thursday 29.
February: Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4, Thursday 5.
The NSS Questions
The NSS questions are easy to understand. There’s a scale for each question which you can choose. You can also add extra comments to the survey, should you wish. When answering, consider your whole experience at Exeter from when you first joined us, up to now. The questions are as follows:
- How good are teaching staff at explaining things?
- How often do teaching staff make the subject engaging?
- How often is the course intellectually stimulating?
- How often does your course challenge you to achieve your best work?
- To what extent have you had the chance to explore ideas and concepts in depth?
- How well does your course introduce subjects and skills in a way that builds on what you have already learned?
- To what extent have you had the chance to bring together information and ideas from different topics?
- To what extent does your course have the right balance of directed and independent study?
- How well has your course developed your knowledge and skills that you think you will need for your future?
- How clear were the marking criteria used to assess your work?
- How fair has the marking and assessment been on your course?
- How well have assessments allowed you to demonstrate what you have learned?
- How often have you received assessment feedback on time?
- How often does feedback help you to improve your work?
- How easy was it to contact teaching staff when you needed to?
- How well have teaching staff supported your learning?
- How well organised is your course?
- How well were any changes to teaching on your course communicated?
- How well have the IT resources and facilities supported your learning?
- How well have the library resources (e.g., books, online services and learning spaces) supported your learning?
- How easy is it to access subject specific resources (e.g., equipment, facilities, software) when you need them?
- To what extent do you get the right opportunities to give feedback on your course?
- To what extent are students' opinions about the course valued by staff?
- How clear is it that students' feedback on the course is acted on?
- How well does the students' union (association or guild) represent students' academic interests?
- How well communicated was information about your university/college's mental wellbeing support services?
- During your studies, how free did you feel to express your ideas, opinions, and beliefs?
- My higher education experience has helped me plan for my future career.
- My institution offered activities and resources designed to prepare me for the next step in my career.
- The skills I have developed during my time in higher education will be useful for my future career.
- My institution encourages good environmental practice.
- My course has encouraged me to think about environmental sustainability.
- I have had opportunities to take part in activities supporting environmental sustainability.
Thanks to previous students’ NSS feedback, we have:
Established a Pastoral Mentor in every academic department to provide a point of contact and support if you are facing challenges in your ability to succeed on your programme.
Invested over £1.5 million to upgrade the Audio Visual equipment across our campuses in 2025, including a new 30-person IT suite at Penryn campus and a brand new 120-seat computer lab in IC2 at Streatham campus.
Updated 88 teaching spaces last summer, with a transformed Virtual Reality Suite at St Luke’s and new active learning spaces in Washington Singer and the Old Library, and a brand new Moot Room for Law students in Penryn.
Improved study space in St Luke’s library, doubling the number of study spaces, creating zones for group, silent and quiet study and installing more desks with power outlets.
Invested in better prayer and multifaith spaces, building a new Multifaith Centre on Streatham campus, which includes a 50 person Muslim prayer room and space for reflection and multifaith events.
Developed guidance, Digital Skills resources and workshops on using AI confidently in your studies and assessments, and tools to explore how AI connects to your future career through the Career Zone.
Contact
If you have any questions please contact studentcomms@exeter.ac.uk.
Your data
As described in the conditions of enrolment from the University of Exeter, and as the survey is a task carried out in the public interest, your contact details have been transferred to Ipsos for the purpose of the NSS only.
Personal data is held in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
We can assure you that your responses to the NSS will be non-identifiable to us. Any personally identifiable data will be securely deleted by Ipsos after the survey closes and will not be shared with any third parties. More information on data usage is available on the NSS website.