7 - Engineering programmes in the UK: the student feedback experience

Abstract

In the UK, collecting feedback from students about their experience of higher education has become one of the key elements in national and institutional quality processes. Engineering students, like those from other disciplines, are encouraged to complete feedback questionnaires at all levels from individual course evaluation forms to institutional-level surveys and the National Student Survey. Engineering suffers more than most from poor recruitment, difficulties in motivating students and higher than average drop-out rates. This chapter explores the ways in which this may be reflected in student experience surveys. A review of student feedback surveys at national and institutional level indicates three key issues. First, engineering students seem to be noticeably poor at responding to student experience surveys. Second, engineering students have been slightly less satisfied with items relating to assessment and feedback than some other disciplines. Third, it is arguable that engineering students are less satisfied with aspects of their experience because of conditions that are local to individual institutions rather than anything specifically relating to the engineering student experience. This indicates that surveys carried out at institutional level provide a degree of detail and depth that is difficult to reflect at the broader, national level.