Lancaster rated highly by international students
More than eight in ten international students would recommend Lancaster University to others according to a new survey.
One undergraduate from Italy said: “I think it’s a really good university which enables you to take the most from the study experience.”
The International Student Barometer survey questioned 940 students and benchmarked the results against 39 other UK universities. Overall, they gave Lancaster a satisfaction rating of over 78 per cent – almost two per cent higher than the average for the other universities.
A total of 96 per cent of students at Lancaster were impressed with the high levels of safety on campus – the highest satisfaction rating of any other institution participating in the survey - while a further 93 per cent rated the lecturers as experts in their field.
The Graduate School, course content and research all scored highly in the survey with approximately 88 per cent of students across the board expressing their satisfaction.
A postgraduate student from India said: “I would definitely recommend my department and some excellent teachers for anyone wanting to pursue research or a higher degree here.”
An undergraduate from Cyprus said: “This University is one of the best universities and campus life in the UK.”
Students from 89 countries participated in the survey, with the largest groups from China, India, Greece, Cyprus and the USA. They expressed their opinions about the relative importance of and satisfaction with many features of the Lancaster University experience, including admission procedures, Intro Week, the teaching and learning environment, support services, the living environment, careers guidance and perceived value for money.
A postgraduate from Nigeria said: “The university actually created a good impression before I came for my study. I told most of my friends about this and equally encouraged them to apply.”
Over half the respondents are studying at the Lancaster University Management School with a quarter doing arts and social sciences and almost a fifth science and technology.
The main reasons for choosing Lancaster were the quality of teaching and research and the reputation of the University. Almost half said the University website was the biggest help in deciding on Lancaster, followed by the prospectus, family and friends and alumni.
Jennifer Raper, Manager of the International Student Advisory Service, in Student Support Services, said she and colleagues around the University were encouraged by the initial findings.
She said: “It is clearly important that the University fully understands students’ needs and expectations, maximises its strengths and addresses any areas of weakness. Data provided by the initial survey has been extremely valuable and we hope as many or more international students will participate in the two subsequent waves of the survey in coming months.”
The survey was carried out on behalf of the University by the niche consultancy I-Graduate. lt analyses the opinions of the current cohort of international (including EU) students and highlights Lancaster’s successes, while providing useful indicators for areas needing improvement. The survey offers the opportunity for analysis across all disciplinary areas, cross-cultural mapping by nationality, and auditing opinion at all levels of study and longitudinal insights.
Almost a quarter of students at Lancaster University come from outside the UK, with over 100 different countries represented on campus.