LSE Students' Union calls for "drastic improvement" after disappointing LSE student satisfaction results

The London School of Economics (LSE) Students' Union has reacted with disappointment to the National Student Survey (NSS) results for LSE, which showed overall satisfaction of respondents had dropped from 77% in 2008 to 76% this year.

57.66% of eligible LSE students responded to the 22-question survey of third-year undergraduates. Only 76% of LSE students agreed to the statement "Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the course", worst in the Russell Group and well below the group's average of 85% [1], putting LSE 132nd out of 154 institutions surveyed [2].

LSE Students' Union General Secretary, Aled Dilwyn Fisher, responded, "These results represent another great disappointment for LSE. A quarter of LSE respondents now leave with a sense of dissatisfaction. Teaching standards, quality of feedback, and serious concerns over the student experience need drastic improvement. Despite tripling fees for domestic and EU students, and higher rises for international students, we have not received a commensurate increase in quality."

Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang, LSE Students' Union Education and Welfare Officer, and Chair of the Aldwych Group (the Students' Unions of the Russell Group), added, "Students come to LSE and Russell Group institutions expecting the best. There is no reason why LSE should lag so far behind its contemporaries. There should be no self-congratulation about an average figure of 85% for the Russell Group - that means 15% of respondents are not receiving what they deserve. The gulf between the focus on research and the neglect of teaching needs to be bridged. High quality research should not hinder learning - it should be passed on to students."

ENDS

NOTES
[1] The Russell Group is an organisation of the 20 best research-intensive universities in the UK, of which LSE is a member.

[2] LSE's previous results in 2005 and 2007 were 81% overall satisfaction, dropping to 77% in 2008.

CONTACTS

• Aled Dilwyn Fisher, LSE Students' Union General Secretary - 020 7955 7147 or 07817 588 923
• Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang, LSE Students' Union Education and Welfare Officer and Chair of the Aldwych Group - 020 7955 6709 or 07772 397 930