The Academy’s Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2010Headline Results

Rachel Segal

Assistant Director, Research and Evaluation

PTES - Background

• Online questionnaire– Based on PRES methodology

• Voluntary

• Anonymous

• 2009 onwards (following pilot)

• Benchmarking

PTES 2010

• 76* participating HEIs from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

• Flexible survey period, 15 Feb – 28 May

• 220,894 students surveyed

• 32,638 students responded

• 14.8% response rate

Questionnaire

• Core survey– 7 scales– Motivations, overall experience– Demographic information

• Institutional questions– Participating institutions ask as many extra

questions as they choose, and design these questions themselves

PTES Scales

• Quality of teaching and learning• Assessment and feedback• Dissertation and supervision• Organisation and management• Learning resources• Skills and personal development• Career and professional development

PTES cohort

PTES cohort

• 43% male, 57% female• 63% home, 11% EU, 25% overseas • 61% full-time, 37% part-time• 76% face-to-face, 24% distance• 68% started their programme between 1

Sep and 31 Dec 2009– Further 17% started in the previous academic

year (1.9.08 - 31.8.09)

Age of participants

Age by mode of study

010203040506070

25 years old or

younger

26-30 years old

31-35 years old

36-40 years old

41-45 years old

46-50 years old

51-55 years old

56 years old or older

Full-time Part-time

Discipline

Employment

• 49% in paid employment

Motivations 1Main motivations for taking this programme

To improve my employment prospects 53%

To progress in my current career path (i.e. a professional qualification)

52%

For personal interest 44%

To enable me to progress to a higher level qualification (e.g. PhD) 33%

To change my current career 18%

As a requirement to enter a particular profession 17%

To meet the requirements of my current job 8%

Other 4%

Motivations – 2aReasons for studying at this particular institution…

The location of the institution 39%

The overall reputation of the institution 39%

The institution’s reputation in my chosen subject area 36%

Delivery of the programme is flexible enough to fit around my life 23%

The reputation of the department 23%

It was recommended to me 20%

Funding was available to me to study this particular programme 16%

Motivations – 2bReasons for studying at this particular institution – contd.

I have studied at this institution before 16%

Graduates from this institution have good career and employment prospects

14%

It is the only institution offering this programme 13%

The cost of the programme compared to other institutions 12%

My employer advised or encouraged me to do it 8%

Other 7%

The way the programme is assessed 6%

Quality of teaching and learning

• 90% - the teaching quality on their programme was consistently or generally good

• 2% - the teaching quality on their programme was consistently poor

Teaching and learning%

agreePTES 2009

The course is intellectually stimulating 83% 84%

The teaching and learning methods are effective for this type of programme 79% 81%

I am happy with the teaching support I received from staff on my course 71% 71%

There is sufficient contact time (face to face and/or virtual/online) between staff and students to support effective learning 68% 67%

Staff

% agree

PTES 2009

Staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching 83% 83%

Staff are good at explaining things 80% 83%

Staff made the subject interesting 76% 77%

Assessment and feedback%

agreePTES 2009

Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair 72% 74%The criteria used in marking have been made clear in advance 71% 74%I have received detailed comments (written or oral) on my work 66% 68%Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand 58% 58%

Feedback on my work has been prompt 57% 57%I received feedback in time to allow me to improve my next assignment 56% 57%

Dissertation and supervision%

agreePTES 2009

My supervisor has the skills and subject knowledge to adequately support my dissertation 77% 80%

I understand the required standards for the dissertation 73% 77%

My supervisor makes a real effort to understand any difficulties I face 67% 70%

I have been given good guidance in topic selection and refinement by my supervisor 63% 65%

My supervisor provides helpful feedback on my progress 63% 66%

I have received good guidance in my literature search from my supervisor 58% 60%

Workload – PTES 2010

• 52% said that the workload on their programme was more or less what they expected

• 31% said it was higher than they expected• 10% said it was much higher than they expected• Identical to 2009

Organisation and management

% agree

PTES 2009

The timetable fits well with my other commitments 77% 80%Any changes in the programme or teaching have been communicated effectively 72% 74%The balance of core modules and options is appropriate 70% 70%The balance between scheduled contact time and private study is appropriate 70% 69%

The programme is well organised and is running smoothly 69% 70%

Learning resources - 1

% agree

PTES 2009

I have been able to access general IT resources when I needed to

78% 78%

The library resources and services are easily accessible

77% 77%

The library resources and services are good enough for my needs

72% 75%

Learning resources - 2

% agreeI am satisfied with the quality of learning materials available to me (Print, online material, DVDs, etc.)

74%

I have been able to access social learning spaces (e.g. for group working) on campus when I needed to

69%

I have been able to access specialised equipment, facilities, or rooms when I needed them

66%

Skills and personal development

% agree

PTES 2009

The programme has developed my research skills 78% 79%The programme has developed my transferable skills 78% 77%As a result of the programme I am more confident about independent learning 75% 75%As a result of the programme, I feel confident in tackling unfamiliar problems 67% 66%The programme has helped me to present myself with confidence 66% 65%As a results of the programme my communication skills have improved 64% 61%

Career and professional development

% agree

PTES 2009

As a result of this programme, I believe my future employment prospects are better 78% 78%I feel better prepared for my future employment 72% 72%I am encouraged to reflect on my professional development needs 68% 69%

Overall experience by scale

• Assessment and feedback met or exceeded my expectations – 75%

• Organisation and management met or exceeded my expectations – 76%

• Quality of teaching and learning met or exceeded my expectations – 83%

Overall experience by scale• Learning resources met or exceeded my

expectations – 87%• Career and professional development met

or exceeded my expectations – 88%• Skills and personal development met or

exceeded my expectations – 90%

Overall experience

• The overall experience of my course met or exceeded my expectations –

85%

Scales

Scale Mean AlphaTeaching and learning 3.92 0.861

Staff 4.05 0.896

Assessment and feedback 3.63 0.890

Dissertation 3.84 0.933

Organisation and management 3.82 0.857

Learning resources 3.89 0.900

Skills and personal development 3.92 0.928

Career and professional development 3.93 0.857

Multiple regression

Scale BetaTeaching and learning 0.330

Skills and personal development 0.176

Career and professional development 0.133

Organisation and management 0.132

Assessment and feedback 0.078

Learning resources -0.061

Dissertation 0.000

Experience against expectation – prelim findings

• Distance learners’ expectations are met or exceeded more than those of face-to-face learners

• Part-time students more than full-time• International students tend to be more satisfied

than Home or EU students

Further analyses• Discipline• Assessment and feedback scale

– Domicile: Home/EU/International– Face-to-face/distance learners– Full-time/part-time

• Career and professional development scale– Face-to-face/distance learners

Next steps• Working with PTES HEIs to share effective

practice• Using survey findings to inform enhancement

activities• Further analysis• Case studies• Next PTES administration 2011 (tbc)

Resources and publications

• http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/supportingresearch/postgraduatework

(PTES and PRES reports and results, ‘Redefining the Doctorate’ (Park, 2007))

• http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/evidencenet

(range of learning and teaching evidence, including PRES and PTES findings, case studies)

• Email: surveys@heacademy.ac.uk rachel.segal@heacademy.ac.uk