Differences from previous years in areas such as teaching quality, curriculum content and academic guidance are minimal – no more than a tenth of a point up or down. Some programmes, however, saw notable differences compared to last year. Circular Engineering has recovered from its dip in student satisfaction, as has the master’s programme in Business Intelligence and Smart Services.
Differences bachelor's/master's
Satisfaction is about the same for bachelor’s and master’s students, though master’s students tend to be slightly more positive about their programmes. This difference mostly comes down to views on teaching staff. Bachelor’s students rate their lecturers 3.73 out of 5 – below the national average of 3.82 – particularly in terms of expertise and knowledge about professional practice. They also feel they don’t receive enough academic guidance. Lecturers in master’s programmes receive scores comparable to their peers at other universities, although students feel they could be more inspiring.
Pressure
In addition to the usual topics, this year’s NSE also included questions about student well-being. UM students are highly satisfied with the university’s commitment to equal treatment and said they feel safe expressing their opinions. At the same time, many reported experiencing pressure to perform academically and believe the university could pay more attention to this issue.
The NSE results inform the Keuzegids Dutch University Guide, which compares higher education programmes across the Netherlands. The guide for bachelor’s programmes is usually published in early December, followed by the master’s guide in February or March. Participation among UM students fell slightly again this year: around 5,200 students completed the bilingual survey (22.1 per cent of the total student body of over 23,000), down from about 5,700 last year, when the response rate had already dropped by 5 per cent.