Brighton and Sussex Medical School tops student satisfaction survey

Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) has become the top-ranked medical school in the annual National Student Survey.

The student satisfaction rate of 95 per cent compared with the national average of 86 per cent for medical schools.

The response rate to the survey was 92 per cent at BSMS.

At Sussex University 89 per cent of final year students said that overall they were satisfied with the quality of their course.

The university said that 1,861 – or 74 per cent – of its final year students responded to the survey and that the result placed Sussex equal 21st nationally for student satisfaction.

The figure for Brighton University was 86 per cent in the survey, the results of which were published today (Tuesday 13 August).

At BSMS 97 per cent of students were satisfied with the quality of teaching – 10 percentage points above the sector average.

Dr Inam Haq, director of undergraduate education at BSMS, said: “I am delighted with the results of this year’s National Student Survey.

“This reflects the enthusiasm and commitment of all our teachers and administrative staff to deliver consistently top-quality medical education here at BSMS.

“I am particularly pleased with the increase in satisfaction with assessment and feedback, demonstrating how we have worked effectively in partnership with our students to help them gain a better understanding of their educational and professional development needs.

“This is a great way to start the school’s 10th Anniversary year celebrations too.”

The medical school is run jointly by Sussex University, Brighton University, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Sussex students gave an improved satisfaction rating of 87 per cent to the university’s learning resources, which include the library and IT services.

This figure was up from 73 per cent in 2011 and placed Sussex in the top 30 for learning resources.

Professor Clare Mackie, pro-vice-chancellor (teaching and learning), said: “It is very pleasing that Sussex students are continuing to enjoy their time with us and rate their university experience so highly.

“The results suggest that our strategy of listening to students’ feedback and actively targeting improvements in specific areas of the student experience, such as the library, IT and careers, is paying off.”

Since 2011 the university has invested £1.3 million in new wifi for the campus and hundreds of new computers and has completed a £7.4 million refurbishment of the library.

Satisfaction with the library is now at an all-time-high of 90 per cent, up from 75 per cent just two years ago. Satisfaction with IT services has also risen since 2011, up from 72 per cent to 87 per cent.

Although satisfaction with assessment and feedback remains at 64 per cent, changes have been made that should lead to an improvement in the future, according to Professor Mackie.

She said: “Action to address this, including a restructuring of the academic year, which came into effect in 2012-13, will take some time to deliver results.

“This year’s finalists were also least affected by the widescale curriculum changes that we implemented in 2012-13.”

More Brighton University students than ever responded to the survey – 3,043 or 72 per cent. The figure was up 5 per cent on the previous year and almost 4 percentage points higher than the average for all universities in the country.

The survey results, published annually by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, showed Brighton improving or sustaining its ratings in all questionnaire categories.

Students were most satisfied with the standard of teaching, academic support, learning resources, personal development and work placements, which scored 85 per cent, 3 percentage points up on last year.

Some 87 per cent of respondents said that they would recommend the university, 6 percentage points more than the national average.

Professor Julian Crampton, Brighton’s vice-chancellor, said: “The results are very encouraging and show that the vast majority of students were happy and that they valued the quality and relevance of courses.

“Our aim is to ensure students graduate with skills required for their professional and personal development and to help them make significant contributions to economic and social progress.

“To this end we were particularly pleased to see that 88 per cent of students recognised that their courses had improved their career prospects.

“The university provides an excellent teaching and learning environment for students and this survey is a valuable tool in helping us understand what is working well and where we need to improve.

“We shall be studying the results in greater detail and feeding back some of the changes we will be introducing as a result of the 2013 survey to our students.

“More University of Brighton students responded to the survey than in 2012 and this too was encouraging.

“We urge all students to take part in this annual survey so that their views can help us make improvements when and where they may be needed.

“I would like to thank all our final year students who completed the survey and all staff for contributing to the quality of the student experience.”

The 23 questions asked in the core survey cover