Key insights from the 2024 student survey
Review areas of good practice and areas for improvement that have emerged from our latest annual student survey.
We run an annual survey to gather the views and opinions of all students studying at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. The results of our most recent student survey, which ran from April to July 2024, are in the process of being analysed and benchmarked – but some key insights are available to review now.
Areas of good practice
We are pleased to report an overall satisfaction rating of 80%, which compares well against recent postgraduate survey results from the wider Higher Education sector. Learning and teaching continues to be well-reviewed, with an overall satisfaction rating of 82%. 94% of survey respondents found their course intellectually stimulating, while 92% felt they were encouraged to ask questions and make contributions in class.
In 2023, respondents requested more support with dissertations and research, and we are delighted to see that our various initiatives in this area – including enhancements to our academic and research skills provision and events – are yielding positive results in 2024. Among doctoral research students, satisfaction has risen significantly in several key areas, with greater clarity reported around assessment, supervision, research skills and integrity. Master’s students also indicated a greater understanding of expectations, as well as appreciation for support received from academic staff.
Another key area to see year-on-year improvement is student support and wellbeing, with an overall increase in satisfaction, and higher numbers of respondents indicating that support provided in relation to academic skills and to health and wellbeing meets their needs. While we recognise that there is more to be done in this area, it is encouraging to see that some of our recent activities, such as changes to our reasonable adjustments process and the introduction of our first Skills Fest, are helping us to move in the right direction.
Areas for improvement
A number of key areas for improvement have also emerged from the survey results, and activity is already underway to explore ways to address these issues among our course committees and professional services teams.
For example, survey respondents requested more support with developing their digital skills. We are pleased to report that our digital education strategy is already working towards addressing this. Student digital fluency checklists were introduced for 2024-25 and further work to support digital fluency is taking place this year.
Respondents also indicated that more could be done to support induction and onboarding for new students. We hope that our recent enhancements to Welcome Week and the introduction of a new pre-arrival survey are already starting to improve this process – with a range of additional social events and activities, and various forms of support clear and readily available from the very start of the academic year.
Next steps
The annual student survey is a key component of our Trust’s engagement with students, and we take the results extremely seriously. The findings are discussed via our course committees and by professional services teams, and detailed analysis reports and action plans are developed, based on respondents’ feedback. You can review a summary of findings and actions from our 2023 student survey on our website.
In the new year, we will publish a more detailed summary of the results of the 2024 student survey, including benchmarking against comparable national results and presenting more examples of the actions we are already taking to address issues raised and continue building on progress to date. We encourage all our students to look out for opportunities to review and discuss these results with us through the various events, materials and updates we have planned. Watch this space!
Finally, the 2025 student survey will launch in the spring of next year, and all current students will be invited to participate and share their views on all aspects of student life at The Tavistock and Portman.