Welsh students rank OU in Wales the top university for student satisfaction

Graduates at OU in Wales graduation ceremony

Students across Wales have ranked The Open University in Wales as the top university in Wales for overall student satisfaction.

The 2024 National Student Survey (NSS) results published today (10 July) give The Open University (OU) in Wales an overall satisfaction score of 86.7% - up 3.4 percentage points from the previous year. This is compared to a Wales wide average of 81.4% for all universities.

'Our main goal is to support and enable our students’ success,' said Ben Lewis, Director of the OU in Wales. 'We have thousands of fantastic students across Wales, most of whom balance study with work and family life.'

What is the National Student Survey?

The NSS is an annual survey of almost half a million final-year undergraduates studying for higher education qualifications at publicly funded higher education institutions (HEIs) and further education colleges (FECs) in England and Wales, and HEIs in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The survey consists of questions that relate to aspects of the student experience – teaching, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, learning community and student voice.

'We have a valuable and constructive relationship with our student representatives. We prioritise meeting with them, and indeed listening to the voices of all our students across the nation. In recent months, we’ve held student café events in Cardiff, Carmarthen, and Llandudno to find out what’s important to them. We are responding to what they have told us.'

'The Open University offers an academic programme widely recognised as excellent. Our teaching staff are committed to helping students get the most from their learning and achieving their potential. They also lead on ground-breaking research which addresses some of society’s biggest challenges. This ranges across all the vital issues affecting the lives of people in Wales today. Examples of our research include active citizenship, fuel poverty, mapping out our urban trees, and tackling climate change.'

'We know our students make a choice to study with us. We value that choice and value their contribution to creating a vibrant, unique and successful University. Congratulations to our staff and students on a fantastic result which reflects their hard work and dedication.'

The Open University is the largest provider of part-time undergraduate higher education in Wales. It currently has over 16,000 students in Wales – over two-thirds of these are in employment while they study.

We know our students make a choice to study with us. We value that choice and value their contribution to creating a vibrant, unique and successful University. Congratulations to our staff and students on a fantastic result which reflects their hard work and dedication.
Ben Lewis
Director, The Open University in Wales