2021 NSE: high satisfaction with HAN lecturers

The satisfaction of HAN students with their degree program is in line with university of applied sciences students in general, with a positive accent. Lecturer quality was rated higher than the national average. This also applies to the commitment students experience and the contact with lecturers.

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These are the results of the 2021 edition of the National Student Survey (NSE) published today.

Student satisfaction

The National Student Survey (NSE) is distributed each year to nearly all students in Dutch higher education. In 2019 and 2020 the survey was cancelled due to circumstances. Because of this and changes to the line of questioning, we cannot easily draw long-term conclusions due to the lack of continuity. 

However, a comparison with the national 2021 applied science university scores is possible. When compared to the national average, HAN students this year are especially satisfied about

  • the commitment and subject expertise of lecturers
  • their acquisition of skills for professional practice
  • the sense of belonging in the degree program

This leads to great scores for the themes “lecturers” (3.75), “study coaching” (3.76) and “contact” (3.81).

A low score, lower than the national average, was given for information provided by the degree program. We cannot yet say whether “corona education” is to blame for this. 

But when we compare the 2021 with 2018 scores for study coaching, it is notable that HAN has made great strides in this theme. The efforts made in this area in the past few years are paying off.

Our lecturers deserve a big compliment.

Response from Executive Board

Rob Verhofstad, chair of the HAN Executive Board: “Firstly, it’s good that survey results are available again after 2 years. This is valuable information for us as the board. It helps us further improve our degree programs. Our lecturers deserve a great compliment. The survey results confirm the impression of committed and motivated lecturers, who invest in the well-being of our students. We have every reason to be proud.”

Response rate

The response rate was again excellent, despite the online education. More than 42% of HAN students completed the survey. This is an impressive score for the sector of large universities of applied sciences. At the national level, nearly 40% of all university of applied sciences students participated in the 2021 NSE. The NSE organization draws a prize lottery for survey participants. Fifteen HAN students were lucky enough to win a prize!

Result per degree program

The results described above are for HAN as a whole. Individual scores for each School and degree program may deviate from this. Did you do the 2021 National Student Survey? The results are published in Matchfinder on Studiekeuze123 (in Dutch). Check out how your degree program scored!

What happens with the results?

HAN discusses the survey results and uses them to improve its degree programs. The results are used at a national level on Studiekeuze123.nl where prospective students can compare degree programs. The student ratings also form the basis for the annual Keuzegids course guide and the education special published by the weekly magazine Elsevier (both in Dutch only).