Satisfaction Guaranteed...? :: Wessex Scene Online

Satisfaction Guaranteed...?

13th February 2006
Gareth Hynes

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So the National Student Survey 2006 has arrived toting itself as a measure of students’ satisfaction with their courses, and soon enough almost all final years will receive an email asking them to complete it. Southampton University Students’ Union (SUSU) is urging people to fill it in. Andy Wilson, SUSU President, was quoted on page three as saying it is beneficial to all students. But is it really any good? And should you bother filling it in?

What you won’t have realised while reading the article on page three is that we’ve doctored Andy’s quote, or at least shortened it so much as to rob it of its meaning. The full version appears at the end of this article and provides a decent and truthful place to finish.

But going back to the questions above. Is it any good? Well, no, and for several reasons. The first issue is with ‘satisfaction’. How does one measure it?

A scale of 1-5, ranging from definitely agree to definitely disagree, has been ascribed to the 22 questions, all of which have been given the same weighting. This is, in itself, entirely unsatisfactory. Satisfaction is a difficult concept to define, let alone quantify. Satisfactory is a comparative term; in this instance it is used to compare what? Inevitably for most undergraduate students this will be a comparison of their life before university and their life now. Although this is the same for all students and thus all courses and universities, it is obvious that most institutions attract people from certain backgrounds. Southampton University is predominantly middle-class, Southampton Solent University not so much. Our experiences of the same thing will be different, informed by our backgrounds. One person’s satisfactory will be another’s incredible. Satisfaction is dependent upon expectation. Those people expecting more are less satisfied with a similar product than those expecting less. And, here it gets a bit complicated. This will be altered by the survey itself. If you go to an institution expecting to be made to feel satisfied (by seeing your university topping the poll), the chances of your actually being satisfied will be less than if you went with no such expectation.

Secondly, the survey reports on a self-selecting sample. The people who are enthusiastic enough to complete it are likely to be those with more extreme views, almost certainly positive; if you’re dissatisfied with your course you probably won’t take the time to tell people of the mistake you made in signing up for it. And those who quit courses or fail before their final year are not included.

Thirdly, the questions are ambiguous. "Staff are good at explaining things – strongly agree etc." is inadequate: it’s far too simplistic. Who can sum up all their experiences with all their lecturers over three years in one answer? In a question like this, people will generally answer positively, remembering those (few) good lecturers they’ve had and not wanting to misrepresent them.

Fourthly, timing is crucial. If you’ve just had a tough exam or your last essay was marked late, your satisfaction level will be less than at other times. A snapshot view of satisfaction is not good enough.

So, the survey is useless as an absolute measure of student satisfaction, and worse as a comparative measure. But should you bother to fill it in? Well, yes. Here, in full, as promised, is Andy’s quote: "It is in students’ best interests to take part in this survey. If you’re really smart, you’ll realise that by answering five to all the questions, Southampton’s reputation will be increased and when you graduate your degree will be worth more."