The National Student Survey (NSS) is a national initiative, conducted by Ipsos MORI annually since 2005. The survey runs across all publicly funded Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, as well as other providers of higher education. Further Education Colleges (FECs) in England and Further Education Institutions (FEIs) in Wales with directly funded higher education students also participate in the survey.

The NSS is run by Ipsos MORI and commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland (DELNI), The Scottish Funding Council, Health Education England and other funders.

The NSS is a widely recognised authoritative source of HE public information data, which received a response rate of 72% in 2016. The survey is aimed at mainly final-year undergraduates, which gathers opinions from students about their experience of their courses, asking them to provide honest feedback on what it has been like to study on their course at their institution. This gives students a powerful collective voice to help shape the future of their course and their university or college.

Within the survey there are 23 core questions, relating to six aspects of the learning experience, one question about overall student satisfaction and one question about satisfaction with the students’ union, association or guild. Students are also given the opportunity to make positive and negative comments about their learning experience.

The main aspects of the survey are as follows:

1. Teaching on my Course
2. Assessment and Feedback
3. Academic Support
4. Organisation and Management
5. Learning Resources
6. Personal Development
7. Overall Satisfaction
8. Students' Union (Association or Guild)

The NSS results play a role in helping students make informed decisions about where and what to study.  Data published annually on the Unistats website enables prospective students to compare Higher Education courses at different institutions when deciding what they want to do.

Data provided to institutions allows them to enhance the student learning experience, with individual universities and colleges using the results to help develop their courses and facilities for future students. At a national level, the data provides quality assurance and accountability for the sector. The survey provides information as part of the quality assurance system and contributes to the public accountability of Higher Education.

The results are made publicly available through Key Information Sets (KIS) and the Unistats website. NSS data are also available from HEFCE.