Students on the campus. Photo Sven Menschel An increased number of students report that the atmosphere within their programmes is good in the National Student Survey (Dutch acronym NSE). They also more frequently feel safe to “be themselves” at their educational institute.
Higher education was severely impacted during the COVID-19 crisis when everything had to be done remotely. However, students appear to evaluate their programmes more positively since.
General
University students are generally very satisfied with their institution: 81.3 per cent are satisfied, and only 4.6 per cent are dissatisfied. Four years ago, these percentages were 78.6 and 6.2 per cent, respectively. These data are based on almost 260 thousand students’ responses to the survey with questions on their study programme. Almost one in three higher education students assessed their teachers, facilities, the atmosphere and so forth.
According to a press statement released by the National Centre for Study Choice, which produces the NSE, the agriculture and natural environment sectors score highest with 84.4 per cent of satisfied students. The education and economics sectors score lowest with 69.9 and 70 per cent, respectively.
Atmosphere
Atmosphere is frequently rated highly. 78 per cent of the university students are satisfied with the atmosphere. One in three is even very satisfied in this department. On the other hand, there are also students who are “very dissatisfied” with the atmosphere. Although these percentages are slowly decreasing over the years, this decrease is now very small: less than one per cent of the students hold this opinion.
Students also report that they feel more able to “be themselves”. For this question, the same applies. The positive assessments slowly climb to 85.5, while the percentage of students who do not feel safe enough to be themselves is dropping, 3.4 per cent now, against 3.9 per cent four years ago.
The COVID-19 crisis affected the overall sense of satisfaction among students. Before the pandemic, 84 per cent of students were ‘generally’ satisfied with their programmes. Although the percentages are recovering, they are still lower than before. According to the NSE makers, this comparison can not be made as the questionnaire was altered in 2021. But the question on general satisfaction still features first on the survey.
Assignment
The National Centre for Study Choice designs the NSE at the behest of the Ministry of Education. The advisory board is made up of representatives of universities, colleges, private institutes, and student organisations such as ISO and LSVb. The outcomes enable prospective students to compare programmes on sites such as Studiekeuze123 or the higher education Keuzegidsen. Moreover, programmes may use the outcomes to reflect on their performance.
