What is the problem? Creative and media students report lowest satisfaction scores within student surveys.
Student surveys, voice, HE courses.
The UK National Student Survey is currently undergoing a process of re-evaluation by the Higher Education Funding Council for England as part of a wider review of HE provision. A pilot study based on the American and Australian Student Survey for Engagement instruments is being deployed together with the HEFCE and Higher Education Academy joint initiative 'What Works?' (Buckley 2013) (Thomas 2013).
Emerging findings have generated more questions than answers.
Why do Creative and Media* subjects produce the lowest satisfaction feedback scores compared with other UK HE subjects?
The accompanying material provides some possible explanations: larger numbers of part-time staff, higher rates of dyslexia, fewer resources, tutor definitions, poor communication and tension between students' academic and creative identities.
Yorke and Vaughan have highlighted a lack of research into Creative and Media pedagogy. Crucially, why do some Higher Education Institutions clearly do better in Creative and Media subjects than others? (2014: Presentation).
Today, using the UK experience as a starting point we will ask how it compares with your own and others world-wide. Can student surveys reflect the creative and media student voice?