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Wittenborg a Top Choice for Student Satisfaction - Results in from NSE 2017  - the Dutch National Student Survey 2017

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Which universities in the Netherlands are keeping their students the happiest?

The results from the 2017 National Student Survey (NSE 2017) show that student satisfaction levels at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences has not only improved across the board from 2016, but is also significantly higher than the national average. Wittenborg's unique education approach of Internationalisation in the Classroom has scored highly.

Wittenborg's results are in glaring contrast to the average situation at Dutch universities of applied sciences which has been described as “stagnant” for the first time in 4 years in a press release by the NSE. While Dutch students are most happy about their internship experience itself and the companies they work for, they’re the least happy about the career preparation they get from their institutes and the assistance during the internship.

Students scored Wittenborg’s general study programme a whopping 8.08 out of 10 – up considerably from 7.17 last year. The national average is 7.94 out of 10.

The institute got excellent marks for its internationalism (8.34) compared to the national average of 6.34 Internationalism is a new theme which was added to the survey this year. Students were asked to what extent their institute encourages them to learn about other cultures, how international the focus of programmes are and about the opportunities offered to study or do an internship abroad.

Wittenborg scores high (8.34) on the quality of its teachers - their expertise, availability, quality of feedback and guidance, professionalism and command of the English language. It was also commended by students for the small size of its classes. The lowest marks the institute got was for its internship programme , but with a 7.14, this was still way above the national average.

Another 'lower' score was Wittenborg's quality evaluation which deals with how the university uses evaluation outcomes and deals with complaints and issues (7.64). This compared to a national average score of 6.42.

Wittenborg also did well on the general skills (8.20) it transfers to students such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication skills, teamwork and debating. Same goes for practical skills (8.08) like analytical thinking, research methods and conducting applied research.

Nationally the National Student Survey shows that students at research universities are more satisfied than those at universities of applied sciences – with one exception: preparation for a professional career. From the survey it also seems that younger students and male students are happier than matured students and female students with their studies.

WUP 18/05/2017

by Anesca Smith

©WUAS Press