The National Student Survey (NSS) has become one of the most important indicators of student experience in the sector, with almost 346,000 students responding overall in 2024. The results have very significant impact and inform prospective applicants, employers, the broader media and prospective staff, as well as our own community.

The University’s promotion of NSS 2025 will begin on Monday 27 January and run until the survey closes on Wednesday 30 April. Whatever your role, your support is crucial to the success of our campaign to engage students in the survey

The NSS is an important way for students coming towards the end of their undergraduate courses to tell the world about their time at Sussex.

How you can help

Academic and Professional Services staff across the University are involved in promoting the NSS to final-year undergraduates.

If you teach a final-year module, your assistance is essential for the success of the NSS campaign. Some modules in all courses will be asked to give time for students to complete the survey during a teaching session. These have already been identified by subject area leads. If you teach on one of these modules please ensure that the time is given, while letting students know the survey is optional.

Some of the other things you can do to help include: 

• reminding your students of the NSS in tutorials
• posting reminders on your Canvas module pages.

Please remember that the University is allowed to promote the NSS and encourage students to take part, but we are not allowed to try to influence how they respond – this is known as inappropriate influence.

Looking ahead to the survey period, Professor Kate O’Riordan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students, said: “Thank you for working together on this important project. I really appreciate your help in getting more students to engage with the survey.”

Resources available for staff

The full NSS 2025 Good Practice Guide and Help cards are available now on Box. Please familiarise yourself with these if you are involved in survey promotion. You can access the linked documents using your usual Sussex login details, or let internalcomms@sussex.ac.uk know if you experience an issue.

You can also view a schedule of planned central NSS student communications on Box. We encourage you to add your own local activity to this schedule in the lead up to, and during, the campaign.

As in previous years, the Student Communications and Campaigns team will provide a full folder of shared resources on Box in January. This will include a briefing pack, digital campaign assets and more.

You can visit the Staff NSS pages for further information and answers to frequently asked questions.

If you have a question about how the survey runs, please contact Denise Cooper, Deputy Director (Academic Services) in the Division for the Student Experience.

Why should students take part?

By taking the survey, our students can help future students make decisions about which universities to apply to.

As part of the University’s NSS campaign, we are running a prize draw where eligible students who participate online could win one of 10 graduation packages worth £150. Each £150 prize will cover the cost of gown hire, two guest tickets and a basic photography package. This prize draw will run until the survey closes on 30 April 2025.

The University will also donate £1 to charity for every Sussex student that participates in the NSS. We will split this donation between charities chosen by students.

As a thank you for taking part in the NSS, students who show proof of completion (email confirmation) can collect a free t-shirt on campus. We'll share more information about this in the Spring term.

The NSS can be logged for five points in the Co-Creation and Evaluation category for the Spirit of Sussex Award too.

Students can see more information about the NSS on the Student Hub.

Briefing sessions

Professor Graeme Pedlingham, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience) hosted an initial online briefing for School colleagues leading on NSS and course convenors on Wednesday 20 November.

A follow-up briefing session for all staff working on student engagement with the NSS will take place online from 9:30-10:30am on Wednesday 8 January 2025. Colleagues planning to attend should email Elliott Nikdel (E.Nikdel@sussex.ac.uk), Student Voice Manager, to be added to the calendar event.

We will also hold a special briefing session for final year convenors on Wednesday 15 January from 2:00 –3:00pm. Colleagues expected to attend this session will receive an invitation shortly.

About the survey

Managed by the Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education in England, and run by polling company Ipsos, the NSS is used to assess the quality of a students’ degree as a whole.

NSS results are made publicly available on the Discover Uni website to help prospective students, their families and advisors make informed choices about where and what to study.

Eligible students will be able to fill in the NSS online at www.thestudentsurvey.com during the survey period. The first formal contact Ipsos will make with students will be on Thursday 30 January.