The International Student Barometer (ISB) Survey 2015, the biggest survey of international students in the world, has revealed high levels of satisfaction among those studying at the University of Groningen (UG). The latest results with 2,245 international students responding from the UG found the University topping other participating Dutch Universities in areas including the Welcome Ceremony, teaching quality, course organisation and the International Service Desk (which was ranked second best in Europe).
The ISB, which is organized twice a year by I-Graduate, monitors satisfaction among students studying at a foreign university. Last autumn, participating international students registered at a university or university of applied sciences outside their home country were sent a detailed questionnaire to measure their satisfaction with the quality of teaching, accommodation, support and facilities and the way they were welcomed by the foreign university.
Improved scores for Career Services
The University of Groningen has been taking part in the International Student Barometer for many years. The categories that show room for improvement often act as an incentive for the University to work towards finding solutions. Evidence of this can be seen in the improved scores received for the recent survey particularly around opening a bank account and the Careers Service which were areas of international student concern in previous surveys. The University continues to work to address issues around housing and catering which received low scores.
Participants
Eight Dutch institutes of education took part in this edition of the survey (five universities and three universities of applied sciences). The university was also benchmarked against ten elite institutions including The University Oxford, University College London, Northeastern University in the US and the University of Sydney in Australia. Around the world, some 140,000 international students from 172 institutes of education in 18 countries took part in the survey.