StudentSurvey.ie has become embedded in Irish higher education since its national pilot in 2013. The collaborative national partnership has been a central factor in that success with strategic direction being provided by student representatives, participating institutions and their representative bodies, and relevant state agencies.

Development of the PGR StudentSurvey.ie in 2018 offered an important addition to the survey initiative with a specific focus on gathering feedback from the distinctive and diverse body of postgraduate research students. It is important that this specific set of questions aligns with the experiences of these students.

The decision to open fieldwork in alternate years reflects the fact that very many of the target students are pursuing their research studies over a four-year period and that their experiences may not change significantly on an annual basis.

All partners regard it as important that students know that their feedback is being examined and analysed if they are to continue to devote time to participating in the survey.

Many participating institutions demonstrate clear actions resulting from interrogation and analysis of data from their students.All participants seek to share results of their analysis with students and staff but there remains variation in the perceived effectiveness of these efforts.

Various working groups have sought to support institutions with resources and examples of analysis, communication and promotion activities, and sharing of effective practices.

The Practitioners’ Forum events, which began in 2019, moved online during the pandemic, and returned to face to face format in 2022, have received very positive feedback from participants. A series of research activities were commissioned to analyse the qualitative data generated by the survey in order to explore in greater detail what students were telling us about their higher education experiences.  These signal the rich vein of information available within the associated free text data and present students’ experiences and perceptions in persuasive forms.

In 2022, co-sponsors and the national Steering Group embarked on a period of strategic reflection with the aim of ensuring that a structured examination was undertaken to consider what was working well, what could be improved, and how to ensure that the rationale for, and the importance of, the survey were appreciated and understood by all stakeholders.

The timing of this reflection was influenced by the amount of time since the initial survey for students pursuing taught programmes was developed and also by the enactment of new legislation for the Higher Education Authority. 

One of the significant elements of the new HEA Act is the inclusion of Part 4. This is a section entirely dedicated to the role of the HEA in student engagement. 

For the first time since its introduction in 2013, the Student Survey is now directly referenced in Irish legislation.  The inclusion of the survey is a testament to the success of the survey but also to the importance and commitment being afforded to the need for students to have their say and for their opinions to be acted on to improve their higher education experience.

In addition to consideration by various working groups, two external exploration and consultation exercises have been commissioned to inform considerations. A period of strategic reflection by the co-sponsors and the national Steering Committee have examined how best to move forward with the survey and we have decided not to run fieldwork in 2024. This decision recognises feedback received to date and seeks to place the student voice at the centre of a process to revisit and review survey questions, target groups and operational structures that were first designed a decade ago. It also acknowledges the significant changes that have taken place in the Irish higher education landscape since 2013.

It is absolutely the intention to launch a revitalised survey of student feedback when those considerations have reached their conclusion, ideally with fieldwork in 2025.