A snapshot of the student experience: exploring student satisfaction through the use of photographic elicitation

Abstract

Student satisfaction is both an important and yet controversial issue within the higher education sector, which is typically measured through policy-driven metrics such as the National Student Survey. However, less is understood about the qualities of a satisfying student experience ‘as lived’ from the perspective of the student, thus questioning the adequacy of such measures. In response to this, the current study used student-driven photographic elicitation as a means of more adequately capturing the holistic student experience. This entailed nine final-year undergraduate psychology students who each gathered a series of photos, which formed the basis for discussion in an interview. Thematic analysis of the narratives of the interview discussions revealed several main themes surrounding their experiences. These were: ‘Learning Environment’, ‘Work–Life Balance’ and ‘Wider University Community’. Findings are discussed with reference to the implications of student satisfaction, and national metrics used for measuring it, for institutional policies of recruitment and retention.

Keywords:

• Photographic elicitation
• higher education
• student experience
• student satisfaction
• NSS

Notes

1. Tuition fees in England were first introduced in September 1998 and, after numerous incremental increases across the years, finally reached a premium in September 2012 whereby institutions were able to charge up to £9000 a year. The cap was lifted, and 64 of the Universities in England stated they would charge the maximum £9000 with some opting to charge slightly lower fees. This legislation was not UK-wide, with Scotland and Wales having different policies on the use of tuition fees.

2. Prior to 2017, the NSS included themes on course teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources and personal development, in which respondents (final-year undergraduate students in UK-based HEIs) indicate their endorsement with a number of statements under each of these themes (e.g. ‘Staff are good at explaining things’). Although there are also open-ended questions to allow further detailed responses, these are not readily used in publicly available published ratings, in the same way the quantitative ratings are