Annual Student Survey: What is it? And Why should I fill it out?

The Annual Student survey is a 10 minute survey we ask you to fill out twice a year (yeah, we know we said "annual") - in your first term and then later on in the year. The Annual Survey, answered by students from across the university, captures the thoughts and opinions on the academic experience so far in the academic year.

Basically, this means we have the opportunity to listen to your experiences as a student and find out your thoughts and opinions about University and how we can make your academic journey better.

But why should I fill it out?

It's a great question - and we'll tell you why.

One of our aims for the next academic year is to have a greater level of transparency with students, by making a greater commitment to highlighting what we do, and what has come out of your survey responses. 

We want you to know what we do with the data you provide us with and let you know the changes we make because of it. 

In March 2022, there were 776 eligible responses for Insights to explore. This survey collected data around these themes: 

• Learning Experience
• Careers
• Community

Our Insights department looked at this data and did an analysis. They decided to provide a deeper level of analysis. With this in mind, Insights explored comments from Postgraduate, Mature, Distance Learning and International students. Despite being a smaller part of the student population, it is important to understand the voices of all students. 

If you would like to read the full report, please click HERE. The report is visual, and easy-to-read. For some of the key takeaways from the Annual Survey, please see below:

• 83% of respondents feel they have the skills needed for beyond university
• 64% of respondents feel part of a community
• 74% of respondents rated their learning experience 7 out of 10 or higher
• 66% of respondents have a plan for once they graduate 

As you can see, the data highlights a lot of positivity amongst the student population. When rating learning experience, students commonly voted positively about their time at Portsmouth. With this Annual Survey, UPSU has highlighted how well supported the student population is - as well as having strong levels of support for the academic experience.

However, there were also constructive comments given by students from across the University. This is being acted on by UPSU, by being more open with the student population and aiming to host more events each academic year to encourage a sense of community on campus. With community being a common theme throughout the Annual Survey, the data highlights that both the University and UPSU can do better with improving the university experience for every student.

As always, Insights are eager to capture your feedback - which you can do by answering our survey questions when you receive emails about them. If you would like to more informally chat about our work in Insights, please do not hesitate to email us at insights@upsu.net!