According to the 2015 National Student Survey (NSS), the Royal Northern College of Music has gained the highest score for overall student satisfaction of all UK independent music colleges.

Annual feedback

The annual survey gains feedback from final year undergraduates over a four month period of time (January to April) — to give an overall satisfaction score of their course and their educational experience.

The RNCM gained a rating of 86%, placing it above all other independent music colleges and conservatoires.

Conducted annually since 2005, the NSS is a national initiative running across all publicly funded Higher Education Institutions in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the majority in Scotland.

Questions

Through a series of 22 questions (scored 1 to 5), the students are asked to provide feedback on seven areas of their degree programme: teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, personal development, and overall satisfaction.

The welcome result also comes just months after the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) announced the RNCM as the UK's leading music college for research, following its 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) survey.

Vital information

Professor Linda Merrick, RNCM Principal said: "The NSS is a very important survey for the higher education sector as it provides vital information from students on the quality of teaching and learning they receive.

We are delighted with this year's results, which follow the College's exceptional REF outcome and confirm the RNCM's commitment to providing a world-class education for its students."

We are delighted with this year's results, which follow the College's exceptional REF outcome and confirm the RNCM's commitment to providing a world-class education for its studentsProf Linda Merrick, RNCM Principal

Impressed

At the RNCM, each of the seven areas showed improvement, but students were particularly impressed with teaching, assessment, academic support and personal development, with the School of Vocal Studies and Opera achieving an outstanding 100% in all categories.

The overall result showed the College was also above the Higher Education Council for England's benchmark of 82%.