Results of the spring 2023 arrival survey

According to the results of the spring 2023 student survey, Xamk is versatile, inspiring, and interesting

Students who started their studies at Xamk in January think that cooperation, both within their study groups and with staff, is one of Xamk’s strengths. Students also consider the study opportunities offered by Xamk to be attractive. Master’s degree students are particularly satisfied with their studies and feel that their studies have started very well. The likelihood of master’s degree students to recommend Xamk to others is high and they consider teaching to be of a high standard. 

All of this came up in the results of the arrival survey which was conducted in the spring of 2023.

Studies have started well

Master’s degree students feel that their studies have started very well, as 91% of them responded that the statement “I feel that my studies have started well” reflected their opinion “very well” or “somewhat well”. Master’s degree students were particularly pleased with the instructions and guidance they received, and the starting days of the programmes were considered useful. 

Of bachelor’s degree students, 77% responded “very well” or “somewhat well” to the statement “I feel that my studies have started well”. Some of the students felt that starting their studies was confusing. For example, they were introduced to many new practices, information systems, and communication channels, which had caused confusion. 

The studies of bachelor’s and master’s degree open study path students have also started well, as 86% of them responded “very well” or “somewhat well” to the statement “I feel that my studies have started well”. 

Study guidance and progress are at a good level and cooperation with the study group and staff is smooth 

The median response of master’s degree students to the statement “Cooperation with the staff has been smooth” was 5, and 94% of them selected “very well” or “somewhat well” as their response. As for bachelor’s degree students, 82% of the respondents selected “very well” or “somewhat well”. 

Cooperation within the study groups has been smooth for bachelor’s degree students, as 83% of them responded “very well” or “somewhat well”, and the same is true for master’s degree students, of which 82% responded “very well” or “somewhat well”. 

Master’s degree students are aware of the possibility for recognition of prior learning. Of the respondents, 82% responded “very well” or “somewhat well” to the statement “I am aware of the possibility for recognition of prior learning (RPL)”. 

Master’s degree students in particular feel that they have sufficient study skills for higher education studies. Of the respondents, 87% responded “very well” or “somewhat well” to the statement “My study skills are sufficient for higher education studies”. 

Many students reported that they are very satisfied with study guidance and its availability. Students also presented development proposals concerning this topic, such as wishes to receive clearer answers to their study-related questions and that the amount of guidance be further increased, and the accreditation practices be made clearer. 

Twenty per cent of bachelor’s degree students utilised student tutoring  

Of bachelor’s degree students, 20% had utilised student tutoring (147 respondents). Furthermore, 76% of the respondents selected “very well” or “somewhat well” as their response to the statement “Student tutoring has helped me”.  

Xamk’s brand has a positive image, Xamk offers interesting study opportunities, and teaching at Xamk is considered high-quality 

The statement “Xamk offers attractive study opportunities” received “very well” or “somewhat well” responses from 85% bachelor’s degree students and 88% of master’s degree students. Another statement that received a good rating from master’s degree students was “Xamk offers a high standard of teaching”, with 87% of the respondents responding that this statement reflects their opinion very well or somewhat well. 

For bachelor’s degree students, the statement that received the lowest rating in the entire survey was “The campus city is appealing”. The median response to this statement was 3. This statement also received the most “rather poorly” or “very poorly” responses, with a total 19% of respondents selecting either of these. The statement with the most “I cannot say” responses, i.e., 23%, was “Xamk stands out from other universities of applied sciences”. Another statement that also received many “I cannot say” responses was “Xamk offers possibilities for internationalisation”, to which 16% of the respondents selected this response. 

As for master’s degree students, more than half of them responded “I cannot say” to the statements “The campus is in a convenient location” and “The campus city is appealing”. 

According to bachelor’s degree students, Xamk is best described by the adjectives “versatile”, “inspiring”, and “interesting”. 

According to master’s degree students, Xamk is best described by the adjective “modern”. Many other adjectives were also used, such as “bustling”, “flexible”, and “progressive”. 

Students would recommend their degree programme to others 

For bachelor’s degree students, the Net Promoter Score, i.e. NPS, for the statement “How likely is it that you would recommend your degree programme to a friend or acquaintance?” was 27. The NPS for master’s degree students was 45 and for open study path students, it was 48. 

Factors that bachelor’s degree students appreciate in their degree programme include teachers and good teaching, the possibility to study alongside work, and that their studies are interesting and versatile. Those who would not recommend their degree programme suggested that the amount of contact teaching should be increased and that there is too much variation in the quality of teaching. 

Master’s degree students would recommend their degree programme to others because of factors such as good study contents, the possibility to study alongside work, and the fact that they found it easy to get started with the studies. 

Bachelor’s and master’s degree open study path students would recommend their degree programme because of factors such as a high standard of teaching and teachers, and because everything has worked well in their studies in general. 

Arrival survey in brief 

The arrival survey, completely renewed for this year, was open from March to April for students who started their studies in January. The response rate was at a good level, as a total of 890 students, i.e., 68% of present students, responded to the survey. The response rate was 80% for bachelor’s degree students, 66% for master’s degree students, and 46% for open study path students. 

The survey collects information about 

• starting of studies 
• study guidance and progress 
• student tutoring 
• communication forums related to studies 
• likelihood to recommend and 
• Xamk’s brand. 

All degree students and open study path students respond to the arrival survey during their first semester. The survey is conducted anonymously.  

The response options were: 5 = very well, 4 = somewhat well, 3 = neither poorly nor well, 2 = somewhat poorly, 1 = very poorly, as well as “I cannot say”, which was not included when calculating the mean responses. 

More information 

Marjaana Kivelä
Head of Quality Services