Academic Quality and Partnerships

National Student Survey (NSS)

The NSS is a high profile annual census of all final-year undergraduate students across the UK. The survey asks students to provide feedback on their courses in a nationally recognised format. The survey consists of 28 core questions relating to the following aspects of student experience:

  • teaching on my course
  • learning opportunities
  • marking and assessment
  • academic support
  • organisation and management
  • learning resources
  • student voice.

As part of the main survey, students are also asked additional optional questions on:

  • mental wellbeing services
  • freedom of expression
  • environmental sustainability.

The results from the NSS are made available on the Discover Uni website which is designed to help prospective students make the important decisions of where and what to study. The results are also used by the University to identify what’s going well, where improvements can be made and to enhance the overall learning experience for current and future students.  

The NSS runs from Monday 27 January until 30 April 2025 and results will be available in the summer.

Eligibility to take part in the survey 

Our list of undergraduate students eligible to take part in the NSS in 2025 is generated from our HESA 2023-24 Student Data Return and includes undergraduate students expected to finish their course (including those on Integrated Masters courses) between 1 February 2025 and 31 January 2026. 

The eligibility criteria for the NSS are defined by the Office for Students (OfS) and are as follows:

  • Part-time and full-time undergraduate students
  • Final year students 

Students who are ineligible include: 

  • Any student who was eligible to participate in NSS 2024 (regardless of whether they responded) and is still enrolled at the University, such as those repeating their final year.

The eligibility criteria for students are listed in detail on the official student survey website. Students are also able to contact the NSS team by email to confirm their eligibility.

Any student who thinks they’re eligible to take the survey but hasn’t heard from Ipsos by the 3 February, should contact D.S.Cooper@sussex.ac.uk  as soon as possible so that we can explore their eligibility. Any additions to our survey population have to be approved by Ipsos/OfS and are governed by specific deadlines.

You should keep the following deadlines in mind:

  • Notify Student Data and Records of additions by 23 February 2025
  • Final external deadline for changes: 28 February 2025
  • No additions allowed after 1 March 2025 

Taking part in the survey 

Students will receive an email from Ipsos, the company that manages the survey on behalf of the Office for Students (OfS), on 30 January 2025 inviting them to take part in the survey. This email will contain a unique link which will take them directly to the survey. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. A first email reminder will be sent on 3 February for those students who have yet to complete the survey.

An SMS reminder will be sent by Ipsos on 6 February. Students who have not completed the survey by 11 February will be contacted by phone to participate in the survey.

Students can also go direct to The Student Survey website and enter their student details to participate any time until Wednesday 30 April 2025.

Opting out of the survey

If a student doesn’t want to take part in the survey, they’ll need to contact Ipsos directly and indicate that they wish to opt out of the survey. Unless a student deliberately opts out, Ipsos will continue to make contact throughout the survey window.  See Ipsos FAQs for further information.

Incentives for students taking part in the survey

Graduation package 

Students who complete the online survey by 30 April 2025 will be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win one of 10 graduation packages worth £150 each—covering gown hire, two guest tickets, and a basic photography package. Winners will be randomly selected by Ipsos after the survey closes. (Prizes are not available for phone survey completions after Ipsos contacts you.)

Free T-Shirt

Students who complete the NSS and show their NSS email confirmation to NSS Helpers either in the Student Centre or the Library (Mon, Wed, Thu, 11am–2pm) will recieve a free t-shirt as a thank you.

Charity donations

For every response received, the University will make a £1 donation to a charity chosen by our students. Individual schools are not permitted to make charity donations. 

School incentives

Schools may offer their own prizes if they wish to. Any School wishing to do so will be required to administer this locally and use School budgets. Any prize draw conducted by a school must adhere to the MRS Regulations and the local administrator must familiarise themselves with these regulations. 

The regulations require that any prize or incentive used to encourage participation in the NSS are proportionate and do not constitute or are not perceived to be a bribe. 

Where incentives or prizes are offered to encourage participation in the NSS, the students in your school must be clearly informed:

  • Who will administer the prize/incentive.
  • What the prize/incentive is.
  • How and when participants will be notified of the results.
  • When winners will receive the prize/incentive.
  • Whether there are any conditions attached to participation.
  • How and when winners will be announced.

Participants must not be required to do anything other than complete the NSS survey (fully or partially) to be eligible for a prize or incentive. Any winners of a local prize or incentive have a right to remain anonymous. If you want to do local news pieces about winners, you’ll need to gain the express permission of the students. If a winner declines to be identified, their anonymity must be maintained.

The NSS 2025 Good Practice Guide includes several ideas for improving response rates. We provide resources for staff and information for students on the Student Hub. 

Promoting the NSS

Find out more about promoting the NSS by taking a look at the NSS 2025 Good Practice Guide and the presentation slides (coming soon).

It’s really important that each student's response to the NSS reflects what they think about their course and their experience during their time at Sussex. The University is allowed to promote the NSS and to encourage students to take part. We’re not allowed to try to influence how students respond - this is known as inappropriate influence.

The Office for Students (OfS) defines inapropriate influence as 'any activity which may encourage students to reflect anything other than their true opinion of their experience during their course in their NSS responses'.

The OfS has published a guide about inappropriate influence and a useful help card.

If students are concerned that they have been inappropriately influenced they can notify the Office for Students NSSallegations@officeforstudents.org.uk 

What we're allowed to do
  • Run a neutral campaign that focusses solely on boosting responses in the NSS.
  • Encourage students to take part in the survey.
  • Give examples of where previous NSS feedback has resulted in positive improvements.
  • Allow students to give feedback regardless of their opinion.
  • Inform students that they are free to interpret the survey questions how they wish.
  • Ensure students have total privacy when completing the survey.
  • Give students space at the end of a teaching session to complete the survey.
  • Promote the NSS in Schools or Departments with low response rates.
  • Use incentives or prize draws to promote the survey.
  • Ensure all staff are aware of the NSS guidelines.
What we must do to avoid inappropriate influence
  • Pressure students to do the NSS.
  • Indicate that the NSS is compulsory.
  • Advise students how to interpret the questions or the response scales.
  • Advise or ask students to respond in a certain way.
  • Link the NSS to league tables.
  • Give any indication that a negative response to the NSS could make their degree look bad to future employers.
  • Take students through the survey on an individual basis or do the survey for them
  • Avoid expressing our personal opinions on the NSS or how it is used.
Sexual misconduct survey

Following completion of the NSS survey, students will be invited to participate in an optional Sexual Misconduct Survey (SMS).  This separate survey has been designed to help the OfS to understand whether university students have experienced either sexual harassment and/or sexual violence during their time as a student, either within the University setting, or at another site or events unconnected with the University.  The survey will help the OfS to build a national picture of the incidence of sexual misconduct experienced by students in HE and help universities to develop tools to tackle this serious issue.

The survey is entirely optional and students do not have to take part or answer any questions they do not want to. Students who decide to start the survey, can abandon at any point, but they will not be able to return to complete the survey without completely restarting the NSS.

Students who prefer not to be shown the SMS, can opt out by contacting Ipsos at thestudentsurvey@ipsos.com

The SMS survey will contain appropriate content warnings throughout and will be accompanied by details of national charities and organisations who offer help and support. Details of the University’s support services will also be listed.