G O S I A K U L E JP R O J E C T C O - O R D I N AT O R ( S U R V E Y S )T H E H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N A C A D E M Y

PTES – The first glance at the interim results from the first Postgraduate Taught Experience

Survey

Background

The one off PGT Survey commissioned with York Consulting in 2007 (survey and focus groups)

Summary report available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/ourwork/research/surveys/PGTSurvey.pdf

The need to close the gap between NSS and PRES Growing importance of PGT students Specific cohort (large number of international students, OU) Successful PRES methodology

Development

Objective: Develop an easy-to-use tool for collecting comparative information about the taught postgraduate student experience, to inform enhancement.

Steering group (HEIs representatives, UKCGE)Design principles:

Student-centred, Voluntary, Useful, Anonymous, Easy to use, Flexible, Cost effective, Secure

Based on PRES methodologyThe questionnaire builds up on the NSS, PRES and PGT surveysPlanning: Steering group 2007-09Pilot: July-Aug 2008; 6 HEIs

2,238 replies (13% response rate) Revised questionnaire and HEIs feedback

How does it work?

Academy

HE Institution BOS

Academy

• Provide core questionnaire

• Coordinate (the same start/end dates, monthly bulletins)

• Collaborative agreement

• Advice on data analysis

• Collect feedback

• Sector wide report (anonymised dataset)

HE Institution

• Purchase BOS licence

• Launch PTES (additional questions)

• Collect data (emails)

• Analyse data • Institutional

report• Response to

survey results

BOS

• Provide technical support and guidance

• www.survey.bris.ac.uk

Core questions

MotivationQuality of teaching and learningAssessment and feedbackDissertationOrganisation and managementLearning resourcesSkills and personal developmentCareer and professional developmentOverall satisfaction

Questionnaire

Includes many questions from NSS (for comparison) and some from PRES (dissertation, demographics)

Questions for particular groups of students: Campus based vs distance learners Student support services International students

Demographic questionsDegree registered for; age; gender; discipline (41 JACS), department, start date; full/part time; face-to-face/distant learner; domicile; paid employment; source of funding; highest qualification on entry

PTES 2009

PTES 1st national administration advertised beginning of February 2009

HEIs to sign up until end of March 200930 HEIs (interim results from 29 HEIs) signed upPTES went live w/c 20 AprilCurrently 9,119 replies (11% response rate)Will remain open until 26 June 2009Final report Autumn 2009Interim results – 8,362 replies

The cohort

29 HEIs

6%1% 1%

7%1%

2%

8%

4%

8%

7%

2%1%2%0%3%5%2%4%

1%

3%5%

5%

4%

4%1%

3%8%

0%4%

Qualifications

78% are registered on MA courses9% Postgraduate Certificate9% Postgraduate Diploma4% Other

Age and gender

25 years old or

younger

26-30 years old

31-35 years old

36-40 years old

41-45 years old

46-50 years old

51-55 years old

56 years old or older

Age

0.362784645413

143

0.212621990891

347

0.121275211450

878

0.095380611581

0019

0.086011711125

5693

0.063370201691

607

0.036434612882

2381

0.022121014964

216

3%

8%

13%

18%

23%

28%

33%

38%

% o

f stu

dent

s

42% are female58% are male

Discipline

Management 11%

Business 8%

Education studies 8%

Law 6%

Psychology 4%

Teacher Training 4%

Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology 4%

Politics 3%

Computer Science 3%

History and Archaeology 3%

Medicine and Dentistry 3%

Biology and related Sciences 3%

Social Work 3%

Finance and Accounting 2%

Other subjects allied to Medicine 2%

Architecture, Building and Planning 2%

English-based studies 2%

Mechanically-based Engineering 2%

Civil, Chemical and other Engineering 2%

Art and Design 2%

Nursing 2%

Electronic and Electrical Engineering 2%

Physical Geography and Environmental Science 2%

Communications and Information studies 2%

Economics 2%

Mode of study and mode of delivery

57% study full time and 43% study part-time73% are primarily face-to-face learners

Domicile

67% Home students12% Other EU21% Non EU

Employment

Just over a half are in paid employment (55%)Out of those:

23% work up to 20 hours per week Only 9% work between 21 and 30 hours per week 68% work over 30 hours per week

The main source of funding

Self-funded (e.g. loan, family)

59%Employer20%

Institution (e.g. bursary,

scholarship)8%

UK Gov-ernment

5%

Other3%

Overseas Government2%

Research council1%

EU Government1%

Charity0%

The highest qualifications on entry

72% undergraduate degree or equivalent18% Postgraduate degree5% Other qualifications4% below undergraduate degree1% professional experience

A. Motivation

1) To progress in my current career path (52%)2) To improve my employment prospects (49%)3) For personal interest (44%)

4) The overall reputation of the institution (39%)5) The location of the institution (37%)6) The institution's reputation in my chosen subject area

(34%)

B. Quality of teaching and learning

‘Teaching quality on my programme is consistently good’ – 39%

‘Teaching quality on my programme is variable but generally good’ – 52%

Only 2% said the teaching quality is consistently poor

B. Quality of teaching and learning

% Agree

The course is intellectually stimulating 84%

Staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching 83%

Staff are good at explaining things 82%

The teaching and learning methods are effective for this type of programme 80%

Staff made the subject interesting 77%

Staff are available/accessible when I need them 72%

I am happy with the teaching support I received from staff on my course 71%

There is sufficient contact time (face to face and/or virtual/online) between staff and students to support effective learning 68%

C. Assessment and feedback

%Agree

The criteria used in marking have been made clear in advance 74%

Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair 74%

I have received detailed comments (written or oral) on my work 67%

Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand 57%

Feedback on my work has been prompt 57%

I received feedback in time to allow me to improve my next assignment 57%

E. Organisation and management

‘The workload on my programme is more or less as I expected’ – 52%

‘The workload is higher than I expected’ – 30%‘The workload is much higher than I expected’ – 10%

%Agree

The timetable fits well with my other commitments 80%Any changes in the programme or teaching have been communicated effectively 74%

The balance of core modules and options is appropriate 71%

The programme is well organised and is running smoothly 70%

The balance between scheduled contact time and private study is appropriate 69%

F. Learning resources

%Agree

I have been able to access general IT resources when I needed to 78%

The library resources and services are easily accessible 77%

The library resources and services are good enough for my needs 75%

G. Skills and personal development

%Agree

The programme has developed my research skills 78%

The programme has developed my transferable skills 77%As a result of the programme I am more confident about independent learning 74%As a result of the programme, I feel confident in tackling unfamiliar problems 65%

The programme has helped me to present myself with confidence 63%

As a results of the programme my communication skills have improved 60%

H. Career and professional development

%AgreeAs a result of this programme, I believe my future employment prospects are better 78%

I feel better prepared for my future employment 71%

I am encouraged to reflect on my professional development needs 67%

I. Overall satisfaction

To what extent your expectations were met?

Assessment and feedback

Organisation and management

Career and professional development

Quality of teaching and learning

Learning resources

Skills and personal development

Overall experience of my course

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

I. Overall satisfaction

‘Quality of learning and teaching met or exceeded my expectations’ – 81%

‘Assessment and feedback met or exceeded my expectations’ – 73%

‘Overall, experience of my course met of exceeded my expectations’ – 83%

Campus based learners Distance learners

Different groups of learners

%Agree

I have been able to access social learning spaces (e.g. for group working) on campus when I needed to 72%

I have been able to access specialised equipment, facilities, or rooms when I needed them 69%

%Agree

I am satisfied with the quality of learning materials available to me (Print, online material, DVDs etc.) 80%

I am happy with the proportion of e-learning elements used in the programme (online resources, Virtual Learning Environment) 70%

Students support services

%Agree %NeutralI have received effective support with my study skills (e.g. taking notes, avoiding plagiarism) 67% 23%

The level of careers support was appropriate for my needs 54% 31%

The student support services were effective in addressing my needs 58% 31%

The student support services were readily accessible 65% 26%

I have received adequate support for my general English language needs 52% 34%I have received adequate support for my discipline/subject specific English language needs 48% 36%

Summary

Survey results show generally a positive picture of taught experience

Areas for improvement (less than 70% agreement): contact time, promptness and quality of the feedback, transferable skills, professional development needs

Challenges for the survey Low response rate Increase number of HEIs Student services/support items

Further analysis

Scale analysisMultiple regression: what affects the overall experience

the most?Experience of different demographic groupsBenchmarking:

NSS 2007/08 and 2008/09 results PRES 2009 results B-clubs (Russell Group, 1994 Group, Pre-92 Group and Post-92

Group)

Future of PTES

Dissemination of 2009 results (report)Working with PTES HEIs to share effective practicePTES 2010 as a part of ‘postgraduate surveys package’

conducted by the Academy

More information:http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/research/surveys/ptes

surveys@heacademy.ac.ukmalgorzata.kulej@heacademy.ac.uk