Myth busting: Post-Crash and the NSS
A recently published article about the University of Manchester economics department’s declining National Student Survey (NSS) results has brought to the surface concerns among members of the university community about our actions last spring.
We hope this blog post will go some way to addressing these concerns whilst also putting to rest any misunderstandings.
What we actually did in March
It was fairly widely reported that we were coordinating some sort of negative response to the NSS but what this actually was appears to have somewhat got lost along the way.
What we didn’t publicly tell students to do was to give a negative response because we “just don’t like neoclassical economics”. We asked students to reflect on the changes they had or hadn’t seen in the curriculum. This is clear from the post on our Facebook page, where we stated:
“…we are asking you to please wait before filling out your NSS until after the university has made its decision regarding Bubbles, Panics and Crashes…If it decides to accept this course as a module it will be demonstrating its dedication to its students…If it rejects this module the opposite will be true…We hope you agree.”
It’s also important to highlight that the economics department also embarked upon a campaign to get students to fill out the NSS, whilst highlighting the changes they had made that year to improve student experience This was seen, for example, in the large banners in the Arthur Lewis building (UoM’s social sciences block) and the eleven tweets from the department’s feed. We were providing the other side of the debate, in response to specific actions of the department.
Our goal wasn’t to devalue Manchester economics degrees
Along with misconceptions about what we did, we’ve encountered criticism of our supposed aim. First and foremost, our aim- as has been claimed- was not to devalue Manchester economics degrees in the eyes of employers, employers or other universities. What’s more, we do not believe that our actions will have this effect.
Why our actions won’t devalue Manchester economics degrees
A one year drop, perhaps influenced by our actions, will have little to no impact on employers’ perceptions of Manchester. However, what will have influence over employers’ impression of Manchester is the continued low-standing of Manchester in national league tables, due largely to poor student satisfaction.
Whilst the university boasts at length about its standing in international measures, in the kind of rankings the average person – or your future employer – tends to look at, Manchester’s economics department fairs terribly. For example, in the Guardian’s national league table this year, economics is 45th out of 67 universities. And having been 43rd the previous year and 40th the year before that, it’s clear that we’re not to blame for this.
Our action was taken to raise the NSS to the front of the university’s agenda in the hope that Manchester would address student satisfaction concerns, ensuring a rise up national league tables. The undergraduate curriculum review that the department has instigated in part due to the particularly poor NSS results should improve student satisfaction, meaning our actions over the NSS will have led to an increase in the value of Manchester economics degree.