Norland in top 10% in UK for student satisfaction for second year running
13 August 2020
Norland, one of the smallest institutions in the UK, has once again reached the top 10% for student satisfaction in the 2020 National Student Survey (NSS), the benchmark for measuring the quality of universities from the students themselves.
Norland, one of the only specialist early years education institutions in the UK, maintained a student satisfaction rating of 95%, ranking it amongst the top in the country. The world famous higher education college scored significantly above average in all categories, including teaching, resources, support, assessment and feedback, learning opportunities, the learning community and student voice. The response rate by students was 97%, way above the national average of 69%.
The NSS result follows the news that Norland was voted in the top two for best Independent Higher Education provider at the Whatuni Student Choice Awards last month for the second year running. Norland, which has been providing bespoke early years higher education for 128 years, won the award in 2019 and just missed out on the top spot this year.
View 2020 NSS results
Norland also holds a TEF Gold rating – the highest standard possible – in the national Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework assessment of undergraduate teaching. In 2019, Norland was granted taught degree awarding powers by the Privy Council, becoming the smallest undergraduate degree awarding institution in the UK, and the third degree-awarder in the city of Bath.
Norland Principal, Dr Janet Rose, says: “We are extremely proud of our team to achieve such strong results in the National Student Survey for the second consecutive year. This rating – alongside our TEF Gold award for teaching standards and our top two Independent Higher Education provider place at the Whatuni Student Choice Awards – is testament to the hard work of our academic and student support team, who consistently strive to make sure the experience our early years students receive is the highest possible quality.”
Mandy Donaldson, Vice Principal, Head of Academic Services and Registrar, added: “We are particularly proud of the NSS and Whatuni ratings as they are based specifically on feedback from our students, and how satisfied they are with studying at Norland and the support they receive. This year has caused a lot of uncertainty for students due to start at university in 2020 and we want to assure our new students that our exceptional student support will ensure a smooth transition to higher education. Above all, we’re pleased to be able to offer Norland students with the rarest of prospects for graduates – 100% guaranteed employment opportunities with children and families.”
Norland looks forward to welcoming its new and returning students in September. The College has put in place a raft of safety measures for students and staff, including specially created personal protective equipment packs, ‘bubble’ teaching rooms, temperature checks before entering buildings, new entrance/exit systems and halving its already small teaching groups. Other risk mitigation measures are being put into place to help protect the Bath community such as quarantine arrangements for overseas students. The risk mitigation measures mean that the vast majority of the teaching will be face-to-face and onsite with only minimal provision online.
