LEAGUE TABLE PERFORMANCE and THE NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY Senior Management Advance, Cambridge 18 th – 20 th September, 2011

LEAGUE TABLES There are 5 main UK league tables (see later) They use publicly available information They are going to be produced - whether we like it or not More are likely to appear, with the introduction of the Key Information Set (KIS) They will get more focussed – 40 th out of 120 sounds better than 40 th out of, say, 80

Why are league tables important? 60%+ of students view them as important 69% of students who chose Aston rate them as important One of the top 3 factors in students’ decisions to decline Aston.... and their importance will increase, because of increased fees

Comparisons are already being made between 2012/13 fees and league table rankings Aston ? Source: University of Hertfordshire, THE 18 th August 2011)

UK league tables Five major UK league tables: Times Telegraph Guardian Sunday Times The Complete University Guide Each has: overall university rankings; and subject group rankings (e.g. Pharmacy or Mechanical Engineering)

BAD NEWS: Aston is sliding down the UK league table rankings

What’s important in the overall rankings?.....the top 6 factors represent 78% of the score. Top 6

What’s important in subject group rankings? the top 4 factors represent 83% of the score

GOOD NEWS: it’s not difficult to get from 32 to 15 in the Sunday Times league table To get from 32 nd to 24 th First & 2:1’s: increase from 66% to 71% Graduate employment: increase from 90% to 92% NSS average satisfaction: increase from 74% to 76% NSS overall satisfaction: increase from 86% to 88% To get from 24 th to 15 th Improve NSS by another 3% NSS average satisfaction: increase from 76% to 79% NSS overall satisfaction: increase from 88% to 91% We can (and need to) do it !

ACTION PLAN League Table Group is to be restructured and focused Chaired by Helen Higson Senior school representatives who will make things happen More action-orientated: targetted improvements cascaded down within Schools Focused agenda - taking each attribute in turn

THE NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY (NSS) Carried out each Spring Final year students only 22 questions 21 in 6 groups 1 for “overall satisfaction” 6 groups are: teaching assessment and feedback academic support organisation learning resources personal development For Aston, in 2010/ eligible students 1289 respondents (72%)

How has Aston fared in NSS? Average satisfaction % and NSS ranking GOOD NEWS: Aston has moved from 72 nd in ‘10 to 49 th in ‘11

NSS 2011 vs. 2010: Average satisfaction by School (% Agree) GOOD NEWS: All Schools show an improvement

Aston NSS performance by subject (‘% agree’ by subject vs. number of respondents ) Some subjects need to improve a lot – we need good practice in every school NSS Ave Average satisfaction

Aston NSS performance by school (‘% agree’ by school vs. number of respondents ) EAS and ABS have large student numbers – any improvements will greatly increase our NSS ranking LHS ABS EAS IDS LSS Average satisfaction NSS Ave

BAD NEWS: our teaching and assessment are poorly ranked NSS SATISFACTION (QUESTION GROUPS) Number of questions % agree Ranking (of 124) Teaching on my course483%76th Assessment and feedback564%91st Academic support378%46th Organisation and management382%18th Learning resources378%46th Personal development384%11th Overall satisfaction186%36th Average2278%47th Note: 124 institutions - but many are not very comparable

GOOD NEWS – modest improvements make a big difference to the NSS rankings NSS SATISFACTION (QUESTION GROUPS) % agree Ranking (of 124) % to get to 20 th place Increase Needed Teaching on my course83%76th89%6% Assessment and feedback64%91st72%8% Academic support78%46th81%3% Organisation and management82%18th82%- Learning resources78%46th85%7% Personal development84%11th83%- Overall satisfaction86%36th88%2% Average78%47th80%2%

ACTION PLAN – TOP 20 NSS POSITION IN 2012 Student Experience Strategy Group Chaired by Adèle MacKinlay Five action-orientated work streams (see below) High-impact action to be implemented in autumn term (if we are to influence 2012 NSS results) 3-5 other priorities / work streams to be implemented throughout 2011/12 Collaboration with League Tables Group Feed into LTC, Senate, Council

STUDENT EXPERIENCE STRATEGY GROUP TOP 20 IN 2012 NSS

SUMMARY League tables are important and used by Aston/most applicants our average ranking has fallen from 20 th to 32 nd over 5 years the League Tables Group will be restructured and re- focussed action plans by School/Subject Group the NSS is a critical element NSS we need to get back in the top 20 above all, we must improve our ratings for: “teaching on my course” “assessment and feedback”

ADVANCE BREAK-OUT GROUPS Academic Excellence (four groups, each led by the Executive Dean for their School)  What one (transformational) action will be implemented in the School during the 2011 autumn term (thus enabling impact on the 2012 NSS)?  What 3-5 other actions will be prioritised for implementation throughout the 2011/12 academic year? Personal Support (one group led by Trevor Knight)  What 3-5 actions can be prioritised for implementation that will have the biggest impact on further improving both academic support to students and our employability work/position? Practical Support / Campus (one group led by Adèle MacKinlay)  What 3-5 actions can be prioritised for implementation that will have the biggest impact on further improving the welfare support and facilities we offer our students? Student Voice / Marketing, Brand, Communication (one group led by David Farrow and Mega Ibrahim)  What 3-5 actions can be prioritised for implementation that will have the biggest impact on increasing engagement of Aston students with the University and ensuring that we are communicating with students in an engaging and student-centric way?