USW sees improvements across the board in NSS 2026 results

The University of South Wales (USW) has been rated top in Wales for overall satisfaction in a number of subject areas in this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) results.

The University was ranked top for Animal Science, Business Studies, Counselling, Psychotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Marketing, Social Policy, Mental Health Nursing, and Physiotherapy.

The results, which were published on Wednesday 8 July, also ranked several USW subject areas as top in the UK in one or more of the survey themes:

• Teaching on my course: Animal Science, Marketing, Medical Science, and Health Sciences
• Assessment and feedback: Animal Science, Marketing, Medical Science, and others in Veterinary Sciences
• Academic support: Medical Science
• Organisation and management: Health Sciences
• Student voice: Animal Science and Medical Sciences

The University saw improvements across the board for all the survey themes, with above sector results for assessment and feedback and academic support.  

There were also improvements for USW in the overall positivity metric (climbing to 4th in Wales) and overall satisfaction (climbing to 5th in Wales).

Professor Osama Khan, Vice-Chancellor, said: "I am delighted with this year's NSS results, which reflect the dedication and talent of colleagues right across USW.

“These results are a testament to the hard work of colleagues to deliver the very best outcomes for our students. I have seen this commitment first-hand during my first two months as Vice-Chancellor at USW and I am pleased that this is reflected in this year’s results.”

The NSS is an annual survey which is sent to all final year undergraduate students. The survey gathers students’ opinions on the quality of their courses, and the results help to inform prospective students’ choices, provide data that supports universities and colleges to improve the student experience, and support public accountability. The NSS is managed by the Office for Students (OfS) on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, the Department for the Economy (Northern Ireland), and the Scottish Funding Council.