1. Student Satisfaction Surveys 2008 At the University of Essex and Beyond

2. Surveys In 2008, we will again run satisfaction surveys for all students at all levels: • The National Student Survey (NSS) for final year undergraduates • The Student Satisfaction Survey (SSS) for all other taught students • The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) for research students

3. Publicity • Launch announcement and reminders by email (targeted where possible) – sent by central admin for first 2-3 weeks. • Further targeted reminders from Departments and/or course reps. • Publicity materials (posters etc.) used by SU and distributed to departments • Stall in the Squares • Prize draws – for those completing SSS and NSS online • Student Media

4. National Student Survey • Run nationally by Ipsos-MORI: • Online from 4 February • Paper survey starts 25 February • Telephone interviews from 10 March • Survey ends 30 April • Publicity run by QEO, SA and the SU • Response rate data available by scheme groups • Departments will be able to target low response groups

5. Student Satisfaction Survey • Run by Systems Admin.: • Online from 4 February (same as NSS) • Paper survey starts 25 February (as NSS) • Closes 21 March (end of term) • Publicity also linked with NSS • Response rate data available by scheme • Departments will be able to target low response groups

6. Postgraduate Research Experience Survey • National (opt-in) survey run using Bristol Online Survey (BOS) facility: • Online only survey from 3 March • Closes 30 April • Add out own questions (GTAs/GTDs) • Publicity by email • Student data is not passed to BOS so only global response rate information • Results will be comparable with sector

7. Publicity – timetable

8. Publicity - Departmental • Departments are welcome, and indeed encouraged, to engage with students in promoting the surveys • Display publicity materials • Care should be taken not to bombard students with reminders, be aware of what others are doing • Some good practice: • Engage students, a few minutes at the end of a lecture is more effective than email • Create a buzz, use the peer group (through course reps) and feed back on the impact of the last survey • Be positive about the survey but neutral about the outcome, attempting to influence the outcome can lead to a negative reaction from participants.

9. Results • NSS results will be available by department this year, for internal use only • Results at the scheme level may also be available for NSS and SSS for larger schemes or groups • SSS results should also be available sooner than in past years