The National Student Survey Information

The National Student Survey 2025: How it affects you

What is it?

The National Student Survey (NSS) is an independent survey that takes place every year and gives eligible final year students the opportunity to have their say on their time with us.

Why is it important?

All student feedback we receive is extremely valuable and helps us to improve the learning experience for current and future students.

When will the NSS take place?

All eligible students will receive an email from Ipsos MORI, the independent research agency commissioned by the Office for Students (OfS) to deliver the NSS, on Thursday 9 January 2025, which will contain a unique link to the survey.

The survey will close on Wednesday 30 April 2025. However, we’re running a prize draw for any eligable UCEN Manchester students who take part by Friday 28 February 2025 – there are 10 £50 Edenred vouchers up for grabs.

What do I need to do?

Complete the survey when you receive the email from Ipsos MORI. It should take no more than ten minutes, and you will be asked for some personal data to verify that you are eligible to take part.

What happens to the results?

The results are published on the national Discover Uni website and can be viewed by anyone. The results also receive media interest and are increasingly used by employers and other ogranisations to assess the quality of higher education providers.

How will we use the data?

We value all student feedback and use the NSS outcomes to improve the experience for current and future students.

Can anyone help me complete the survey?

Your Lecturer or a member of our Student Voice team will be able to answer any questions you may have about the survey, but they will not be able to directly assist you once you have started to complete it.

How will you be contacted about the survey?

Ipsos MORI should contact you by email first. The email will contain your unique link to the survey. Approximately three weeks later, Ipsos MORI will contact any students who have not filled in the survey by phone. Once you have completed the survey, you will not be contacted by Ipsos MORI for this purpose again.

As described in the conditions of your enrolment, and given the survey is a task carried out in the public interest, your contact details will be transferred to Ipsos MORI for the purpose of the NSS only.

All data is held in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. All your responses will remain strictly anonymous and at no point will you be identified. All information will be securely deleted by Ipsos MORI after the survey closes and will not be shared with any third parties.

Sexual Misconduct Survey

This year, the OfS has introduced an additional, confidential survey, which will also be conducted by Ipsos MORI. The Sexual Misconduct Survey seeks to understand whether higher education students have experienced either sexual harassment and/or sexual violence since they became a student, either within their higher education setting, or at other unconnected sites or events they’ve attended.

Your survey answers will help to build a national picture of the incidence of sexual misconduct experienced by higher education students and help institutions develop tools to tackle this serious issue.

Taking part in the Sexual Misconduct Survey

To make taking part in the Sexual Misconduct Survey simpler, the survey will be offered to you by Ipsos MORI immediately after you have completed the NSS.

This survey is completely confidential and entirely optional, and you do not have to take part or answer any questions you don’t want to.

You cannot complete the Sexual Misconduct Survey if you do not complete the NSS and both surveys will be live from Wednesday 8 January until Wednesday 30 April 2025.

Personal data is held in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. All your responses will remain strictly pseudonymised and at no point will you be identified. Any personally identifiable data will be securely deleted by Ipsos MORI after the survey closes and will not be shared with any third parties.

If you would prefer not to be shown the Sexual Misconduct Survey, you can opt-out by following the details laid out in the OfS Privacy Notice. This notice also explains more about how and why your data is used.

The data used for the Sexual Misconduct Survey is drawn from the data collected for the NSS. If you wish to know more about NSS data and processes, please refer to the Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about the NSS or Sexual Misconduct Survey, please speak to your Lecturer or a member of our Student Voice team. Alternatively, email thestudentsurvey@ipsos.com.

Winners of our 2025 NSS prize draw

Having taken part in this year’s NSS before the deadline for our prize draw (Friday 28 February), 10 lucky students were randomly selected by Ipsos Mori.
 
With this in mind, we’re delighted to confirm that the prize draw winners, who’ll each receive a £50 shopping voucher, are studying the following courses:

• BA (Hons) Musical Theatre 
• FdA Business Management 
• Foundation Counselling
• BA (Hons) Vocal Studies and Performance 
• BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Branding 
• FdSc Cyber Security 
• FdA Makeup Artistry (x2)
• BA (Hons) Film Production and Content Creation (x2).