Posted: 3rd August 2018 | Back to news feed
The University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science is celebrating its continued success in this year’s National Student Survey.
The School has remained top of the NSS since its first graduating cohort in 2011.
The Veterinary School, at the University’s Sutton Bonington campus, achieved the highest overall mean satisfaction score of 4.87 from its latest cohort of graduates (1=definitely disagree, 5 = definitely agree; sector average 4.49), with 98% of students agreeing that they were satisfied with the course.
Nottingham’s unique teaching and learning experience also came first in 26 of the 27 areas of assessment compared to other veterinary schools.
The National Student Survey (NSS) is carried out every year and gathers honest and anonymous opinions from students about their experience of their course and the institution they have studied at. The results are made available through the Unistats website and are a powerful indicator of the quality of courses - helping prospective students make their UCAS choices.
The purpose-built Veterinary School at Nottingham was founded in 2006 and was the first new vet school to open in the UK in 50 years. Since then it has gone from strength to strength, achieving full accreditation of its innovative degree course by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2011, and is the only veterinary school worldwide to win an ASPIRE award for student engagement.
Foundation Dean of the School, Professor Gary England, said: “Our fantastic continued success at NSS is a testament to the dedication of the staff and the engagement of our students. The NSS results come on the back of a great RCVS/EAEVE Visitation which commended our School in a number of areas. The results underline the terrific student experience we offer to our students at Nottingham, I am very proud of our School community."
Izzy Wild, a 2018 graduate said “I am so pleased that I had the opportunity to study at Nottingham Vet School. The course has been well structured with great practical opportunities and this has put me in a great position to start my career at Stable Close Equine Practice. I was thrilled to be able to follow my research interests and intercalate in an MRes in equine medicine, which provided me further opportunity to speak at international conferences and research with an NGO in a less economically developed country. My interests have been nourished and widened both in veterinary medicine and outside. The staff are incredibly supportive and inspiring and the course well rounded, both of which have contributed to a great student experience. I am really looking forward to starting veterinary adventures now!”
All of the 107 final-year Nottingham students participated in the NSS, which itself is a reflection of the enthusiasm for the course among students and the pride they take in studying for veterinary medicine at Nottingham.
The categories in the survey covered quality of teaching, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, academic support, resources and the school’s organisation and management, as well as student voice. Scores for these ranged between 90% of students agreeing that marking criteria were clear, to an astonishing 100% agreement in three areas: staff are good at explaining things; and having good access to facilities and resources.
The five-year course at Nottingham is unique in that students get hands on experience with animals from day one and students learn from real cases in veterinary practices based in the East Midlands. The School awards three separate degrees: Bachelor of Veterinary Medical Sciences (BVMedSci) is awarded in year three after completion of a research project, and the professional qualifications, the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) and Bachelor of Veterinary Surgery (BVS) degrees are awarded in year five.
More information on the course offered at Nottingham’s pioneering School of Veterinary Medicine and Science are available at https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vet/
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