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At Ulster University, we believe students should play an active role in shaping their education. When students share their views and see real changes as a result, it creates a stronger, more responsive learning environment for everyone.
This page explains how we listen to students, how feedback helps us improve, and how we work in partnership to create the best possible learning experience.
Listening, Responding, Improving
We regularly invite students to share their thoughts about their course, teaching, support, and wider university experience. Feedback is collected in various ways throughout the year, and we use it to understand what’s working well and where improvements can be made.
Our approach is based on partnership - bringing students and staff together to make decisions, co-create solutions, and enhance the quality of learning and teaching.
A Quick Guide to
Boosting Engagement with Module Feedback Surveys
This Quick Guide provides practical steps to help staff champion student voice and improve response rates for module surveys — ensuring that feedback is not only collected but acted upon in meaningful ways.
Engaging with Student Feedback
This Quick Guide shows how Universities exist to support learning, discovery, and the development of people. Student feedback is one of the most direct ways we can understand how effectively we are achieving that aim.
Closing the Feedback Loop
This Quick Guide shows that when feedback is genuinely considered and leads to change, it builds trust, increases engagement, and creates a more positive learning environment.
Additional Quick Guides
Your Voice Matters: A Student Guide to Module Feedback
This Quick Guide shows how your insights help academic staff understand what supports your learning, and where adjustments can make a difference.
A Quick Guide to NSS
This Quick Guide provides information on the NSS and how you can boost engagement among your students.
A Quick Guide to PTES
This Quick Guide provides information on PTES and how you can boost engagement among your students.
How Students Share Their Views
At the midpoint and end of each module, students are invited to complete a short survey through our Explorance Blue system. The surveys include both rating-scale questions and opportunities to leave comments. Teaching staff use the results to celebrate successes, make improvements, and keep students informed about the changes being implemented.
The NSS is a UK-wide survey for final-year undergraduate students. It asks about teaching quality, academic support, assessment, and the wider student experience. Results are published nationally, and they are used to shape future improvements at Ulster.
PTES gathers feedback from students on taught postgraduate courses. It helps us better understand the postgraduate experience and ensure that teaching, support, and course organisation meet the expectations of this important student group.
These regular meetings bring student representatives and academic staff together to discuss how courses are running and what could be improved. Staff-Student Consultation Committees are a key part of our partnership approach and provide space for open dialogue and shared decision-making.
Making Feedback Matter
We’re committed to creating a culture where every student feels heard - and where their voice leads to real, visible change. We don’t just collect feedback - we act on it. Across Ulster, staff work hard to “close the loop” by:
- Reflecting on feedback to plan programme and module improvements
- Celebrating and learning from positive feedback
- Sharing updates with students on what’s changing and why
- Embedding student input into curriculum design and review
In this section
A Quick Guide to Engaging with Student Feedback
Universities exist to support learning, discovery, and the development of people. Student feedback is one of the most direct ways we can understand how effectively we are achieving that aim.
