University of Edinburgh
Low satisfaction?
I've looked at a few league tables, can anybody explain to me why Edinburgh has such a low student satisfaction level? It's a little off-putting indeed
Original post by JJMickins
I've looked at a few league tables, can anybody explain to me why Edinburgh has such a low student satisfaction level? It's a little off-putting indeed
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University of Edinburgh
Original post by JJMickins
I've looked at a few league tables, can anybody explain to me why Edinburgh has such a low student satisfaction level? It's a little off-putting indeed
This gets asked all the time and there are loads of threads about it
The general consensus boils down to a few things. Firstly, Edinburgh attracts a lot of Oxbridge rejects and very highly performing students. These students might be thinking that Edinburgh is like the Oxbridge of Scotland where you get personal tutorials and loads of help - they are left unsatisfied when they realise that isn't the case. They don't get personal tutorials, you have to put in effort and work for yourself.
Another reason is that the people that respond to student surveys may be more on the extreme end of the satisfaction spectrum - I heard that a lot of students in one department were irritated at the time it took to get a response about exam marking, so they did a kind of protest vote and marked the satisfaction down.
And then the last reason (I think this is the biggest one.) A lot of unis that are nowhere near as good as Edinburgh have high student satisfaction ratings. Unis like Robert Gordon, Napier, Caledonian, etc... The students at these universities will probably have a lot more time to just chill out and have fun. Why? Edinburgh is very academically focused, and students need to work really hard. They will see friends at Napier and other universities going out a lot more and will feel that they are under too much pressure. The fact is, a degree from these unis might not be as rigorous as Edinburgh. It's hard to get in to Edinburgh and the work is harder for a reason - the course is harder and employers know this.
To be honest, every Edinburgh student I have spoken to loves the university and is having a great time. This is why there is a problem with rankings and student satisfaction scores... Can you really get an impression of how people enjoy their uni from a score in a table?
The fact is, Edinburgh is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. It is consistently ranked highly internationally, has good employment and graduate prospects and attracts students from around the world. If the university was honestly that bad and people were really unsatisfied, then it would reflect in poor prospects, research output and things like that.
Original post by Ambry
This gets asked all the time and there are loads of threads about it
The general consensus boils down to a few things. Firstly, Edinburgh attracts a lot of Oxbridge rejects and very highly performing students. These students might be thinking that Edinburgh is like the Oxbridge of Scotland where you get personal tutorials and loads of help - they are left unsatisfied when they realise that isn't the case. They don't get personal tutorials, you have to put in effort and work for yourself.
Another reason is that the people that respond to student surveys may be more on the extreme end of the satisfaction spectrum - I heard that a lot of students in one department were irritated at the time it took to get a response about exam marking, so they did a kind of protest vote and marked the satisfaction down.
And then the last reason (I think this is the biggest one.) A lot of unis that are nowhere near as good as Edinburgh have high student satisfaction ratings. Unis like Robert Gordon, Napier, Caledonian, etc... The students at these universities will probably have a lot more time to just chill out and have fun. Why? Edinburgh is very academically focused, and students need to work really hard. They will see friends at Napier and other universities going out a lot more and will feel that they are under too much pressure. The fact is, a degree from these unis might not be as rigorous as Edinburgh. It's hard to get in to Edinburgh and the work is harder for a reason - the course is harder and employers know this.
To be honest, every Edinburgh student I have spoken to loves the university and is having a great time. This is why there is a problem with rankings and student satisfaction scores... Can you really get an impression of how people enjoy their uni from a score in a table?
The fact is, Edinburgh is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. It is consistently ranked highly internationally, has good employment and graduate prospects and attracts students from around the world. If the university was honestly that bad and people were really unsatisfied, then it would reflect in poor prospects, research output and things like that.
The general consensus boils down to a few things. Firstly, Edinburgh attracts a lot of Oxbridge rejects and very highly performing students. These students might be thinking that Edinburgh is like the Oxbridge of Scotland where you get personal tutorials and loads of help - they are left unsatisfied when they realise that isn't the case. They don't get personal tutorials, you have to put in effort and work for yourself.
Another reason is that the people that respond to student surveys may be more on the extreme end of the satisfaction spectrum - I heard that a lot of students in one department were irritated at the time it took to get a response about exam marking, so they did a kind of protest vote and marked the satisfaction down.
And then the last reason (I think this is the biggest one.) A lot of unis that are nowhere near as good as Edinburgh have high student satisfaction ratings. Unis like Robert Gordon, Napier, Caledonian, etc... The students at these universities will probably have a lot more time to just chill out and have fun. Why? Edinburgh is very academically focused, and students need to work really hard. They will see friends at Napier and other universities going out a lot more and will feel that they are under too much pressure. The fact is, a degree from these unis might not be as rigorous as Edinburgh. It's hard to get in to Edinburgh and the work is harder for a reason - the course is harder and employers know this.
To be honest, every Edinburgh student I have spoken to loves the university and is having a great time. This is why there is a problem with rankings and student satisfaction scores... Can you really get an impression of how people enjoy their uni from a score in a table?
The fact is, Edinburgh is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. It is consistently ranked highly internationally, has good employment and graduate prospects and attracts students from around the world. If the university was honestly that bad and people were really unsatisfied, then it would reflect in poor prospects, research output and things like that.
You can't say that Edinburgh gets low satisfaction because Oxbridge rejects expect Edinburgh to be like Oxbridge. St Andrews is probably even more known as an Oxbridge reject school and yet its satisfaction remains sky high and it doesn't provide tutors.
Your second point regarding people with a chip on their shoulder responding to surveys applies to every school so it doesn't affect the results. If Edinburgh mucks up its exams a lot more than Cambridge and more students rate Edinburgh low because of that then it is still Edinbrugh's fault for messing up its exam marking. St Andrews clearly explains to students exactly how they determine pass marks, how they mark the exams and by and large its free of bias. You will have 15 different teachers marking one paper anonymously and pass marks are determined by a bell curve essentially. This probably reduces the amount of complaints about exams. If a school decides to keep how they mark exams shrouded in secrecy well you can expect students to be upset if they did not score as high as they expected and take it out on the survey.
I'm at St Andrews and as a whole the school is pretty responsive to your needs, feedback is pretty good and the school will often ask about students feedback. The administration runs well and there aren't usually any snags regarding exams. Students seem to be happy here. What I have noticed is big unis in big cities tend to have lower student satisfaction. Maybe it has something to do with students falling threw the cracks in the bigger unis and trying to manage a larger university with the same amount of staff. Edinburgh and St Andrews probably both have 1 office for student affairs/concerns. Edinburgh's office itself will probably be larger, but because St Andrews is much smaller things are more accessible. Its a 5-10 minute walk to most things so if you needed help in anything you are much more likely to go and get it in St Andrews than in Edinburgh.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by ukmed108
XX
I'm not sure what your point is with all this, if you're not an Edinburgh student? By all means, tell us about student satisfaction at St Andrews, but it's not really relevant to this thread. Sure, the previous poster maybe made some assumptions about unis other than Edinburgh, which they won't have experience with, but it doesn't help things to do the same about Edinburgh...
Original post by daeonica
I'm not sure what your point is with all this, if you're not an Edinburgh student? By all means, tell us about student satisfaction at St Andrews, but it's not really relevant to this thread. Sure, the previous poster maybe made some assumptions about unis other than Edinburgh, which they won't have experience with, but it doesn't help things to do the same about Edinburgh...
My point was that Edinburgh's low satisfaction is more likely to be due to the faculty not putting as much time and effort on the satisfaction of their students enough. It is not due to things like people having a grudge because they scored low on an exam since that situation is present in all schools. It is also not due to Edinburgh being an Oxbridge reject school as there are plenty of Oxbridge reject schools that also have very high satisfaction.
So Edinburgh's low satisfaction is a problem the university itself can fix by putting more resources on student support and providing feedback.
Thank you all for your replies- I'm exceptionally appreciative of your varying opinions, and taking the time out to answer.
As as it happens, my brother didn't get into Oxford himself, and he did feel quite "hard done by" by the university that he did eventually attend, since it didn't give him the "full experience", which is utterly ridiculous, to be honest, because it was an exceptional institution. But I do understand the "Oxbridge reject" bitterness.
What at is the feedback at Edinburgh like, anyway? How is it a primary cause for dissatisfaction?
Many thanks again!
As as it happens, my brother didn't get into Oxford himself, and he did feel quite "hard done by" by the university that he did eventually attend, since it didn't give him the "full experience", which is utterly ridiculous, to be honest, because it was an exceptional institution. But I do understand the "Oxbridge reject" bitterness.
What at is the feedback at Edinburgh like, anyway? How is it a primary cause for dissatisfaction?
Many thanks again!
Tbh, I wouldn't be too surprised if people voted the university down just to give it an incentive... Giving proper exam feedback, lectures feedback etc. was emphasised often this year, and yes, it was mentioned that we failed the last year's satisfaction rankings and things needed to improve. I wasn't around before that, but I guess the ultra-low result gave the university a positive kick.
Anyway, it's just not feasible to have the student satisfaction score of a university that has over 20.000 undergrads... I often feel like different schools are from different planets. It would do you much more good to just ask people who are in your area of interest how they like the place
The only really obnoxious thing that bothers everyone is the university taking their time with releasing the exam schedules.
Anyway, it's just not feasible to have the student satisfaction score of a university that has over 20.000 undergrads... I often feel like different schools are from different planets. It would do you much more good to just ask people who are in your area of interest how they like the place
The only really obnoxious thing that bothers everyone is the university taking their time with releasing the exam schedules.
Original post by JJMickins
What at is the feedback at Edinburgh like, anyway? How is it a primary cause for dissatisfaction?
A number of years ago - thinking 2007/2008 - feedback was fairly weak at pre-honours, especially on larger courses. My experience of feedback at honours level was broadly positive, and those of my peers who complained about it were were mostly at fault themselves. The feedback situation for everyone has improved fairly dramatically since then, and I know for a fact that the level of feedback I provided on essays I marked this year for 2nd year students was head and shoulders above what I received a few years ago. That being said, it's very black and white at that point - some students are comfortable in their work, writing and research and all you need to do is reinforce that. Some are simply abysmal - generally through total lack of application and just writing 2000 words the night before - and for them it's hard to provide useful feedback beyond "Do it properly - we've told you what we expect" with an invitation that they come and discuss it in person (which they never do). In the middle there are a select few where you can actually provide constructive suggestions on how to improve, but also highlight what was good. In terms of feedback, you only get out what you put in - if you do your work properly, and then follow up on feedback with a meeting with the marker in office hours, etc. then you'll get good feedback. If you half arse it then ignore the criticisms, you won't improve. I suspect a lot of poor ratings for feedback come from the latter party.
Original post by ukmed108
You can't say that Edinburgh gets low satisfaction because Oxbridge rejects expect Edinburgh to be like Oxbridge. St Andrews is probably even more known as an Oxbridge reject school and yet its satisfaction remains sky high and it doesn't provide tutors.
...
What I have noticed is big unis in big cities tend to have lower student satisfaction. Maybe it has something to do with students falling threw the cracks in the bigger unis and trying to manage a larger university with the same amount of staff. Edinburgh and St Andrews probably both have 1 office for student affairs/concerns. Edinburgh's office itself will probably be larger, but because St Andrews is much smaller things are more accessible. Its a 5-10 minute walk to most things so if you needed help in anything you are much more likely to go and get it in St Andrews than in Edinburgh.
...
What I have noticed is big unis in big cities tend to have lower student satisfaction. Maybe it has something to do with students falling threw the cracks in the bigger unis and trying to manage a larger university with the same amount of staff. Edinburgh and St Andrews probably both have 1 office for student affairs/concerns. Edinburgh's office itself will probably be larger, but because St Andrews is much smaller things are more accessible. Its a 5-10 minute walk to most things so if you needed help in anything you are much more likely to go and get it in St Andrews than in Edinburgh.
This might actually prove my point. St Andrews is a much smaller university in a much quieter area. It can be much more attentive to students than a large university like Edinburgh. Maybe this gives more of the 'Oxbridge experience' as students get more individual attention? An Oxbridge reject going to St Andrews will certainly have a much more intimate and personal experience than one going to Edinburgh. So someone expecting an Oxbridge-like experience at Edinburgh university will probably be let down when they realise tutorials have atleast 8 people in them and they don't get much individual attention.
I was only giving suggestions for low satisfaction... Like I said, everyone I have spoken has really enjoyed their time at Edinburgh so I was just reiterating explanations that I have heard before.
Thank you all again! I'm applying for biology, so does anybody know what the feedback is like in this area? Also, somebody mentioned tutorials- how often do these occur? It's a good sign that the university seems to be doing something about it, though.
Just of out curiosity, I think somebody mentioned that in St. Andrew's, one is more likely to get the "Oxbridge" experience. Are there any other such universities?
thanks again
Just of out curiosity, I think somebody mentioned that in St. Andrew's, one is more likely to get the "Oxbridge" experience. Are there any other such universities?
thanks again
Original post by JJMickins
Thank you all again! I'm applying for biology, so does anybody know what the feedback is like in this area? Also, somebody mentioned tutorials- how often do these occur? It's a good sign that the university seems to be doing something about it, though.
Just of out curiosity, I think somebody mentioned that in St. Andrew's, one is more likely to get the "Oxbridge" experience. Are there any other such universities?
thanks again
Just of out curiosity, I think somebody mentioned that in St. Andrew's, one is more likely to get the "Oxbridge" experience. Are there any other such universities?
thanks again
Durham perhaps?
Durham and St. Andrews have the system of colleges which resembles Oxbridge, but they don't do one / two person tutorials which Oxbridge is famous for.
The fact they are smaller and more isolated will affect your social life, but the faculty:student ratio does not differ much from that of city unis... at the end of the day, I think, its just about whether you prefer a student bubble or living in a city (however small Edinburgh is )
The fact they are smaller and more isolated will affect your social life, but the faculty:student ratio does not differ much from that of city unis... at the end of the day, I think, its just about whether you prefer a student bubble or living in a city (however small Edinburgh is
)
Satisfaction is an odd thing to be measuring to be absolutely honest, but then again the entire rating system is f'ed once you see the methodology behind various universities statistics. While at Aberdeen I knew a few people who were never happy with anything. There were even meetings regarding the lack of contact time given to students (given that this is a Scottish university we're talking about the notion of reducing independent learning is laughable at best).
So... screw the statistics and make Edinburgh your own if you want to enjoy it. Either way there are more important factors than how satisfied someone else was.
So... screw the statistics and make Edinburgh your own if you want to enjoy it. Either way there are more important factors than how satisfied someone else was.
So Edinburgh does seem to be trying to improve this so-called 'problem'? Is there anything else that could contribute to the ratings? And, how big are these tutorial group things? Sorry for all the questions, I just to get things sorted before I apply.
Also, while I briefly have your attention; I don't too much drink for health reasons (I still do sometime though) but I've heard that Edinburgh life seems drink-heavy (or at least the Tab seems to paint it that way). Will I still be able to have a life? :P
Also, while I briefly have your attention; I don't too much drink for health reasons (I still do sometime though) but I've heard that Edinburgh life seems drink-heavy (or at least the Tab seems to paint it that way). Will I still be able to have a life? :P
Original post by JJMickins
And, how big are these tutorial group things?
I do chemical physics, and tutorials usually consist of cca 8 people (my flatmate does biology and it doesn't seem different).
The tutorials are technically compulsory, but they seldom make any fuss about that, which is great if you're on either side of the student spectrum. You don't have to go there, but if you do, the other students are likely to be interested in the subject and at least a bit prepared (i.e. saves you the awkward staring of the not-giving-a-c**p majority, who showed up just to have their name ticked).
In practise, most of my tutorials were in a group of 3
Can't speak for the whole university though, they may be a bit more strict in other departments. But so far it seems to me that if you do science, you have to do labs. Tutorial rules are somewhat relaxed.
Original post by JJMickins
I've heard that Edinburgh life seems drink-heavy (or at least the Tab seems to paint it that way).
Please do not take the Tab seriously
Doc Daneeka: couldn't have put it better myself... people just like to hide complex things behind a vertical ladder of numbers which are easy to understand
(edited 9 years ago)
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