A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya
Beyond the overall results, which reflect an increasingly positive perception of the university experience, the survey provides a valuable tool for identifying the strengths and areas for improvement of individual degree programmes.
Every year, thousands of graduates from the Catalan university system assess various aspects of their university experience. Collected through AQU Catalunya’s annual survey conducted in collaboration with the Catalan universities, their responses paint a general picture of how graduates perceive the education they received.
Recently published reports present the results of the survey from its launch in 2015 for bachelor’s degrees and in 2017 for master’s degrees through to 2023, the last year before it was partially revised. This analysis is valuable because it shows changes in satisfaction levels over time, highlighting degree programmes’ strengths and areas for improvement.
The survey items analysed, shown in Figure 1, differ slightly between bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes, although they are grouped into the same categories.
Overall satisfaction among bachelor’s degree holders with their education has increased gradually and consistently over the nine-year period analysed, reaching a score of 7.6. This upward trend is also evident in the categories of teaching and learning, student support, and outcomes. The highest-rated category is outcomes, with scores above 7 for all of its items: improvements in communication skills, personal skills and professional skills. Particularly strong results are seen in Education and Languages and Literature for improvements in communication skills, and in Nursing and Health and ICT for improvements in professional skills. By contrast, the teaching and learning category has the greatest room for improvement, with scores of around 6. The lowest-rated aspects are academic guidance and assessment methods, particularly in Science and Engineering programmes. Satisfaction with the university’s student support is more moderate, with the response to complaints and student support services remaining the weakest areas.
The bachelor’s degree final-year project, external placements and mobility programmes (where available) all receive scores of around 7. Particularly high levels of satisfaction are reported with the final-year project in Science and ICT programmes, and with the usefulness of external placements in Education and Nursing and Health.
Overall satisfaction among master’s degree holders increased steadily until 2021, when it reached a strong score of 7.3. It then remained stable over the following two surveys, although at levels below those recorded for bachelor’s degree programmes.
However, satisfaction with the teaching and learning items is higher among master’s degree holders than among bachelor’s degree holders and is broadly comparable to the ratings for the student support and programme outcomes categories.
Across all the aspects analysed, scores for master’s degrees in Economics, Business and Tourism are consistently and significantly higher than those seen across the rest of the university system in almost every dimension. By contrast, master’s degrees in Education show the opposite pattern, receiving comparatively low ratings across all categories except satisfaction with external placements, where they achieve one of the highest scores.
One particularly noteworthy finding concerns the master’s degree final-year project: graduates of profession-focused master’s degree programmes, such as those in Nursing and Health, Education, Law and Social Intervention, tend to rate it more critically than the rest of the university system.
Beyond the overall results, which reflect an increasingly positive perception of the university experience, the survey provides a valuable tool for identifying the strengths and areas for improvement of individual degree programmes. More detailed results are available on the EUC portal, where each institution can explore the available information in greater depth.