Summary and conclusions National Student Survey 2017
The National Student Survey (NSE: Nationale Studenten Enquête) is a nationwide survey held
annually among Dutch higher education students in the form of an online questionnaire, allowing all
students at universities and universities of applied sciences, be they privately or publicly funded, to
share their opinions on their course programme and their education institute. This report reflects the
results of the NSE’s most recent edition, held in 2017 among full-time students, comparing them to
the results of previous years (2013-2016).
The collection of this edition’s data took place from 16 January up to and including 12 March 2017.
Seventy universities and universities of applied sciences took part. A net total of 728,741 students
were invited to take the survey (net population). Of these students, 281,121 participated in the
questionnaire (this being defined as ‘answered at least the first general assessment question’). This
brings the 2017 total net response, or usable response, to 38.6%. The summary presented below
discusses the survey’s most salient results.
General assessment
Students are happy with their course programme, but the upward trend has not continued
Generally, students in the Netherlands were satisfied with the degree programme they pursued in
the 2016-2017 academic year. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 signifying ‘Very dissatisfied’ and 5 being
‘Very satisfied’, students gave their ‘course programme overall’ a rating of 3.96 points, according to
the 2017 NSE. From 2013 to 2016, an upward trend had been visible in students’ overall satisfaction
with their programme. However, in 2016, general satisfaction also scored 3.96 points, meaning that
this increase in student satisfaction did not continue and the rate remained the same for the first
time.
Differences between degree levels
Levels of student satisfaction with their course programmes have varied predictably over the years.
University Bachelor’s degree students were consistently the happiest with their programme, while
Associate’s degree students were the most dissatisfied. At the same time, students at universities
and universities of applied sciences continued to report different average levels of satisfaction; in
contrast, the differences between students in Bachelor’s and Master’s phases have all but
disappeared. Associate degree students were the only group to be less satisfied in 2017 than they
had been in 2016, whereas Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students were equally or more satisfied.
Another measure for satisfaction is the likelihood of recommending your course programme to
others. Of all students, 77% would recommend or definitely recommend their course programme.
Between 2013 and 2016, this rate stood at between 75% and 80% each year.
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Differences between fields of study
Students pursuing interdisciplinary degrees (notably the universities’ Liberal Arts Bachelor’s degrees)
were most satisfied (4.14), followed by students in the Arts and Culture field (4.05) and students in
the Earth and Environment field (4.04). Least satisfaction was reported by students in the sectors
Economics and Business (3.95), Training and Education (3.88) and Language and Communications
(3.87).
Satisfaction with different programme aspects
How were different aspects of course programmes rated?
Students answered questions on 18 different aspects of their course programmes or ‘themes’. For
each theme, a score was calculated based on average scores.1 When sorting the themes by
satisfaction, the 2017 NSE results look like this (the numbers in brackets are the scores for each
theme, averaged and rounded to two decimal places):
1. Experience gained through internships (3.94)
2. Group size (3.90)
3. General skills acquired (3.86)
4. Programme content (3.75)
5. Scientific skills acquired (3.74)
6. Teachers and lecturers (3.69)
7. Testing and assessment (3.65)
8. Applied research (3.63)
9. Study facilities (3.55)
10. Pursuit of excellence (3.55)
11. Academic guidance/counselling (3.55)
12. Programme schedules (3.53)
13. Preparation for a professional career (3.52)
14. Study load (3.51)
15. Information provided on course programme (3.41)
16. Quality care (3.29)
17. Role of course management in internships (3.24)
18. Internationalisation (3.23)
General satisfaction (3.96)
Figure 1.1
Spread of theme scores around overall satisfaction (where 1 = very dissatisfied and 5 = very satisfied)
2,6
2,8
3
3,2
3,4
3,6
3,8
4
4,2
A number of conclusions can be drawn from the theme scores.
 Of all these themes, students were happiest with internships and work experience. When asked to
rate their ‘experience gained over the course of an internship’, which was one of the subquestions of this theme score, students awarded an average of 4.1 points, the highest score of
the entire questionnaire. In contrast to their appreciation of what they learned during their
1
Please note that the 2017 NSE contains two new themes: Pursuit of excellence and internationalisation.
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

internship, the part their Course Management seems to play in internships is given a low rating.
This is why the theme score for ‘Role of course management in internships’ is the second lowest.
For the 2017 edition, two themes were added to the NSE questionnaire: the pursuit of excellence,
and internationalisation. The theme score awarded for the role the pursuit of excellence plays in a
course programme strongly related to the overall satisfaction that students indicate. However,
this theme score was still close to average when compared to other theme scores. The scores for
internationalisation were the lowest of all theme scores.
Some of the theme scores showed that students were happy with their programme overall, but
their course management appeared to lack initiative. This applied to the degree of active support
students receive (academic guidance and counselling) and the degree to which they are
encouraged to study abroad or to learn about other cultures (internationalisation).
The content of the course programme appears to have most influence on overall
satisfaction
The biggest influences on overall satisfaction appeared to be content-related: the most important
was the content of student’s course programmes, followed by teachers and the degree of emphasis
on the pursuit of excellence. Least relevant to overall satisfaction were internships and
internationalisation.
Differences in theme ratings between background characteristics
Overall, students at universities are more satisfied than students at universities of applied
sciences
It appears from the theme scores that university students reported being happier with their
programme than their peers at universities of applied sciences. One exception to this was the aspect
of preparation for a professional career. This is one aspect of course programmes that university
Bachelor’s students were least satisfied with. This is likely to be connected to the fact that university
students who pursue a Bachelor’s degree in the Netherlands tend to follow it up with a Master’s
degree instead of leaving university to join the workforce. Generally, Associate degree students were
least satisfied, according to their theme scores.
Younger students are happier with their programmes
Another finding emerging from both overall satisfaction and almost all individual aspect ratings is
that the older the student, the less happy they were with their higher education programme. Firstyear students2 award most aspects of their programme a higher score than those who had been
studying for longer.
Male students are generally happier with their programme than female students
Many themes scored higher on average with male students than they did with female students. As
an exception, the theme ‘preparation for a professional career’ was rated more highly by female
Bachelor’s degree students at universities for applied sciences; and the theme ‘group size’ was rated
more highly by female Bachelor’s degree students at universities.
Trends in satisfaction over time according to theme
Provision of information shows biggest increase since 2013
2Difference
between first-year students and those who had been studying for longer, according to universities’ own figures.
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Like overall satisfaction, individual theme scores for 2017 show an increase in appreciation for
course programmes when compared to 2013. The biggest increase in student satisfaction was in the
provision of information on course programmes by course management: from 3.22 in 2013 to 3.41
in 2017. However, as with overall satisfaction, this increase has stagnated since 2016.
Biggest increase in ratings awarded by Associate degree students
On almost every theme, the scores awarded by Associate degree students had increased most out of
all scores. Their scores were still lowest on most themes, but their overall satisfaction had increased
more than that of other students. They were also the only group of students to report reduced
satisfaction in 2017 compared to 2016 on the subject of programme schedules.
No considerable increase for many themes in 2017 compared to 2016
Many theme scores differ only slightly from 2016 to 2017. Similarly, overall satisfaction remains
stable in 2017. The greatest increase in scores since 2016 pertains to study facilities (a difference of
0.05 points), study load (a difference of 0.04 points) and information provision (a difference of 0.03
points). Other theme scores saw a smaller increase.
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