The achievement – which also saw the level of student participation at the University nearly 12% above the national average – was marked by students and staff alike at a special party hosted at the Bedfordshire Student Union’s sub2 bar in Luton last week.

In 2013, 72.8% of final year University of Bedfordshire students took part in the NSS and this year the figure rose by 10.1% to 82.9%. This is the second successive year in which the University’s NSS participation rate has increased. The national average participation rate in 2014 was 71.2%.

The University of Bedfordshire’s Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, Bill Rammell, commented:

“An increase of over 10% in NSS participation rates, on top of last year’s 6% increase, is a huge achievement. We are wholly-committed to ensuring our students have the best possible experience, as members of our University community, and this is reflected by the massive investment we are making in student facilities.

“We are also proud that over 90% of our students are in work or further study within six months of their graduation, one of the best rates in the country.”

Rumnique Gill, Director for Student Experience at the University of Bedfordshire, added:

“The party was a fantastic end to this year’s NSS campaign, and we all had a great night. While we are all thrilled to see such a high participation rate, our aim is to see a rise in student satisfaction rates too – but we’ll have to wait until August to see the results from this year’s campaign.”

Conducted independently and confidentially by Ipsos MORI since 2005, on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the NSS asks final year undergraduates across the country to provide honest feedback on what it has been like to study their course at their institution.