Higher education sector gathers to celebrate impressive increase in student satisfaction levels across UK

Last night representatives from some of the UK’s top universities came together at The Brewery in London for a glitzy celebration of the student voice at the annual Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs).

There was much cause for celebration as results from this year’s student review collection cycle show that student satisfaction levels have increased across a variety of categories, including Lecturers and Teaching Quality, Facilities, and Career Prospects. The biggest increase in student satisfaction was for the Student Support category, increasing from 4.04 in 2023 to 4.23 this year, reflecting an overall better student experience across the UK.

Simon Emmett, CEO of IDP Connect says: “This year’s WUSCAs are a celebration of the extraordinary efforts that institutions put into making student experiences exceptional. I’m honoured to work in the higher education sector and delighted to see significant increases in student satisfaction for both domestic and international students, despite some of the negative press coverage we’ve seen lately.

“I encourage the sector to share this remarkable success with their institutions, prospective students, and stakeholders to help strengthen confidence in the higher education student experience. Thank you to all institutions that participated in WUSCAs 2024 for believing in the power and importance of the student voice and huge congratulations to all this year’s winners.”

Hosted by one of the UK’s best-known comedians, writer and award-winning actor, Sir Lenny Henry CBE, the 2024 WUSCAs were bigger and more competitive than ever before with 38,000+ student reviews collected from 267 higher education providers across the country.

Walking away with the evening’s most coveted award - University of the Year - was the University of Sheffield. Congratulations to the University of Sheffield for delivering so successfully for their students.

The University of Chester nabbed silver for University of the Year, followed by the University of Lincoln with bronze.

Dan Barcroft, Director - Student Recruitment, Marketing and Admissions at the University of Sheffield, said: “This is an amazing recognition of what we offer students, and the work staff do to support them. We are incredibly thrilled and proud to receive this award. The student voice defines what we offer. At this moment in time to get this recognition is so important and is something the whole university can be incredibly proud of.”

Watch the below video to hear why students love studying at the University of Sheffield.

The University of Sheffield also won the Student Life and Students’ Union categories. Another big winner of the night was the University of Chester, taking first prize for the International, Postgraduate, and Student Support categories.

The submission-based award, where universities put forward examples of special initiatives against a theme, was won by the University of Suffolk. This year’s theme was ‘Career Coaching and Work Placements’ and the winner was picked by a panel of students. We are delighted to share an overview of all WUSCAs 2024 category winners below:

Career Prospects: Harper Adams University

Facilities: Loughborough University

Halls and Student Accommodation: University of Lincoln

International: University of Chester

Lecturers and Teaching Quality: Rose Bruford College

Submission-based award - ‘Career Coaching and Work Placements’: University of Suffolk

Postgraduate: University of Chester

Small or Specialist: Norland College

Student Life: University of Sheffield

Students’ Union: University of Sheffield

Student Support: University of Chester

Now in its 11th year, the WUSCAs is the only Higher Education awards ceremony in the UK where institutions are solely judged and reviewed by students themselves across a variety of categories. It presents an opportunity for higher education providers across the UK to celebrate their hard work in delivering exceptional student experiences, as voted for by their own students.

We’d like to thank all our sponsors for their involvement in this year’s event. They include HAVAS People, CIM Higher & Further Education Group, Hybrid, NCUK The University Consortium, Postgraduate Search and The Ambassador Platform.