The Director’s View: Postgraduate Research Student Experience

The Postgraduate Research Student Experience (PRES)

UCL has just received results from PRES 2015, a survey of UK research students undertaken by the Higher Education Academy. PRES 2015 took place in 123 higher education institutions (HEIs) across the UK. PRES is an online census-type survey and in 2015 contacted almost the entire population of postgraduate research students in the UK. It is the first time that UCL has participated in this survey.

One of the questions in the Survey relates to library services and facilities. The question was: There is adequate provision of library facilities (including physical and online resources)? 88% of UCL respondents answered Yes to this question. The sector score was 86%. This is an excellent result for UCL and a testament to the fantastic service that all colleagues offer to UCL.

The results are also broken down by a range of demographics:

All responses
All responses	University College London	88%
All responses	Sector Weighted to UCL	86%
Qualification
PhD	University College London	87%
Professional doctorate	University College London	90%
MPhil with transfer to PhD	University College London	89%
MPhil	University College London	83%
Master by research	University College London	78%
Age
25 years old or younger	University College London	87%
26-30 years old	University College London	87%
31-35 years old	University College London	89%
36-40 years old	University College London	93%
41-45 years old	University College London	86%
46-50 years old	University College London	89%
51-55 years old	University College London	80%
56 years old or older	University College London	83%
Gender
Male	University College London	89%
Male	Sector Weighted to UCL	87%
Female	University College London	87%
Female	Sector Weighted to UCL	86%
Disability
Yes	University College London	84%
Yes	Sector Weighted to UCL	84%
No	University College London	88%
No	Sector Weighted to UCL	86%
Mode
Full-time	University College London	87%
Full-time	Sector Weighted to UCL	86%
Part-time	University College London	89%
Part-time	Sector Weighted to UCL	87%
Year
Year 1	University College London	88%
Year 1	Sector Weighted to UCL	87%
Year 2	University College London	88%
Year 3	University College London	87%
Year 4+	University College London	89%
Fee status
UK	University College London	88%
UK	Sector Weighted to UCL	86%
Other European Union (EU)	University College London	89%
Non-EU	University College London	86%

All in all a very good result. Congratulations to all concerned.

 

Paul Ayris

Director of UCL Library Services