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Wow. DfE orders root and branch review of NSS - and not of the character that OfS was going to run pre-pandemic...
Says NSS has exerted a “downwards pressure” on standards. Says there is concern that good scores can more easily be achieved through "dumbing down and spoon-feeding students".
DfE is concerned that “more robust” measures of quality like drop-out rates and progression to highly skilled employment, receive high NSS scores.
It says that the use of the NSS in league tables “may cause some students to choose courses that are easy and entertaining” rather than “robust and rigorous” [good grief]
The government shares concerns raised by some in the sector that the NSS is open to gaming
Student perspectives “play a valuable role” in boosting quality and value across the sector, but there is concern that the benefits of this survey are currently “outweighed by the negative behaviours and inefficiencies it drives”.
Universities must be “empowered to have the confidence to educate their students to high standards rather than simply to seek satisfaction”
It is therefore asking the Office for Students to undertake a radical, root and branch review of the NSS, which reduces the bureaucratic burden it places on providers, ensures it does not drive the lowering of standards or grade inflation...
...provides reliable data on the student perspective at an appropriate level, [and this bit is huge] "without depending on a universal annual sample" [wow]...
...and examines the extent to which data from the NSS should be made public. OfS has announced that its board will discuss the review and options for NSS 2021 in September 2020. Smart money says it won't run in January.
In many ways that represents a whole chunk of what would be DfE's response to the Pearce review without publishing either the Pearce review or its response to it!
