February NUI Galway and GMIT students raise their voices!

This February, NUI Galway and GMIT are working together to encourage their students to take part in the national student survey at www.studentsurvey.ie. This year, for the first time, the survey includes postgraduate research students, which means that students in the West of Ireland will have an even bigger say when it comes to shaping their experience of higher education.

Last year over 30% of eligible students in GMIT and NUI Galway completed the survey. The results showed that Galway students enjoy more effective teaching, better opportunities for collaborative learning, and better quality interactions with staff compared to the national average. On the back of student feedback in last year’s survey, both institutions are focusing on the need to enhance their students’ experience of reflective and integrative learning, which means giving students more opportunities to combine ideas from different subjects and diverse viewpoints as part of their studies.

Dr Pat Morgan, VP for the Student Experience at NUI Galway, has championed the inclusion of research students in the national survey and said: “I welcome the development of the survey to include our postgraduate research students as we will now have really worthwhile information on the totality of the student experience from first year undergraduates, through to taught postgraduates and our research students.”

This is the fifth year of the Irish Survey for Student Engagement, and the results have already had positive impacts in NUI Galway and GMIT. In direct response to feedback in previous surveys, NUI Galway has invested in a new Academic Skills Hub, and they have enhanced the Orientation programme to help students adjust to university life. Feedback from GMIT students has led to the creation of a Maths Centre and an Academic Writing Centre on campus to support students on their academic journey.

Dr Michael Hannon, VP for Academic Affairs & GMIT Registrar, said: “The Irish Survey for Student Engagement, introduced as part of the National Strategy for higher education to 2030, is a welcome development as it provides a uniform methodology to measure student satisfaction with teaching and learning. As a student-centred organisation where the emphasis is on research-informed teaching and learning, GMIT welcomes the opportunity to listen to and respond to the student voice.”

The survey is open to all First Year and Final Year Undergraduate students, and students on Taught and Research Postgraduate programmes. It runs from 5-25 February, 2018.

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