NUS Insight has carried out a number of important pieces of research work over the past decade.  These include:

The experiences of Muslim Students

The Muslim Students’ Survey was launched in 2017 as part of Islamophobia Awareness Month. The NUS Women's Campaign and NUS Black Students Campaign commissioned this research to better understand the Muslim further and higher education student population in the UK and their experience of their educational institutions, unions, representatives and NUS.  NUS Insight worked alongside the Campaigns team to develop the questionnaire, support the fieldwork and provide initial analysis into the report.

 

Taking the hit

Taking the hit was launched in early 2018 by NUS in partnership with Release.  This study of student drug use included an exploration of students’ attitudes to, and experiences of, drugs through the 2,810 students at UK providers who responded to the Students’ Drug Survey launched in February that year.  It also incorporated an analysis of the policy responses of UK higher education institutions relating to drug use.  NUS Insight supported the project in survey design, fieldwork and initial analysis.

 

Jewish Students research

In 2016 NUS Insight was invited to work alongside the NUS steering group and UJS to develop research that would improve the knowledge of the Jewish student experience and help understanding.  It was conducted against a backdrop of increased antisemitism and reports of hate crime against Jewish people following the rise of the far right after the Brexit vote.  NUS Insight worked with the group in developing an online survey which was promoted by members of the steering group and UJS, from November 2016 to February 2017.  Raw data was provided by NUS Insight to the NUS Campaigns team who authored the report.

 

Membership satisfaction

The Membership Satisfaction research is carried out on behalf of the Executive Team to measure and understand how members feel about NUS and to measure their satisfaction with NUS as a member organisation. The Membership Satisfaction research has been around for some years but in 2017 the Insight team was tasked with reviewing the methodology. Working with key stakeholders we designed, carried out and reported on a new methodology which involved carrying out a number of online focus groups with a handful of members to understand what satisfaction looks like for member unions. The information gleaned from the online focus groups was then used to develop a new Membership Satisfaction Survey that was rolled out to all members. The learnings from this work are helping to shape new ways of measuring membership satisfaction and stakeholder perceptions of NUS in 2020/21.  

 

You can access our past reports in NUS and NUS Insight reports. These are listed by focus covering Commercial matters; Coronavirus and Students; Education funding and cost of living; Equality, diversity and liberation; Further Education; Higher Education; International Students; Students’ unions and Welfare.