%0 Journal Article
%T Applying Models to National Surveys of Undergraduate Science Students: What Affects Ratings of Satisfaction?
%A Anthony Mark Langan
%A Peter Dunleavy
%A Alan Fielding
%J Education Sciences
%D 2013
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/educsci3020193
%X Many countries use national-level surveys to capture student opinions about their university experiences. It is necessary to interpret survey results in an appropriate context to inform decision-making at many levels. To provide context to national survey outcomes, we describe patterns in the ratings of science and engineering subjects from the UK¡¯s National Student Survey (NSS). New, robust statistical models describe relationships between the Overall Satisfaction¡¯ rating and the preceding 21 core survey questions. Subjects exhibited consistent differences and ratings of ¡°Teaching¡±, ¡°Organisation¡± and ¡°Support¡± were thematic predictors of ¡°Overall Satisfaction¡± and the best single predictor was ¡°The course was well designed and running smoothly¡±. General levels of satisfaction with feedback were low, but questions about feedback were ultimately the weakest predictors of ¡°Overall Satisfaction¡±. The UK¡¯s universities affiliated groupings revealed that more traditional ¡°1994¡± and ¡°Russell¡± groups over-performed in a model using the core 21 survey questions to predict ¡°Overall Satisfaction¡±, in contrast to the under-performing newer universities in the Million+ and Alliance groups. Findings contribute to the debate about ¡°level playing fields¡± for the interpretation of survey outcomes worldwide in terms of differences between subjects, institutional types and the questionnaire items.
%K random forest analysis
%K data mining
%K student satisfaction
%K student surveys
%U http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/2/193