Norway climbs to the top of international student satisfaction

Eindhoven, 21 September 2016 – Scandinavian countries put themselves back on top of the leader board by scoring exceptionally well on international student satisfaction in 2016. Norway climbs to the top of the list and hosts the most satisfied students in Europe, overtaking all other European countries, including Ireland – last year’s winner of the Studyportals International Student Satisfaction Awards. With Norway as a winning country scoring a 9.3, followed by Finland in 4^th place, Sweden in 7^th place and Denmark in 8^th position, Scandinavian universities maintain their reputation of high student satisfaction characterised by offering solid and high-quality education to their students.

The availability of many courses in English accessible for exchange students was considered a very positive aspect within Scandinavian countries. Furthermore, the friendly and helpful fellow students, skilled professors and the diverse landscape were a definite plus for international students. However, the cold temperatures and the lack of daylight in the winter were considered a negative point of studying in Scandinavian countries.

The Studyportals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2016 are based on 15,965 reviews written by international students on our ‘student experience platform’ STeXX.eu during the academic year of 2015-2016. This year, 153 universities all over Europe have qualified for an award. Spain has the largest number of winning universities (27), followed by Germany with 15 winning universities in 2016.

In every country, one university has received an ‘Outstanding International Student Satisfaction Award’: Technical University of Denmark, (DTU), Denmark; University of Tampere, Finland; University of Oslo, Norway; Lund University, Sweden. 12 other Scandinavian universities received an ‘Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award’, 8 other Scandinavian universities received a ‘Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award’.

Table 1. Overview of awarded Norwegian Universities

Table 2. Overview of awarded Swedish Universities

Table 3. Overview of awarded Danish Universities

Table 4. Overview of awarded Finnish Universities

The full results of the Studyportals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2016 were announced on the 21^st of September following the yearly EAIE conference in Liverpool.

Figure 1. International Student Satisfaction: Winning Countries

Figure 2. International Student Satisfaction: Most Satisfied Students 

Table 5. International Student Satisfaction in Europe and number of awarded institutions by destination country.

Press contact:

Carmen Neghina | carmen@studyportals.com | +31 655 875 270

About the Awards

The Studyportals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2016 are based on 15,965 comments by international students. These reviews provide rare insights into universities’ performance from a student perspective. The universities included in the award had to receive at least 20 reviews since the last academic year. Institutions with an average rating of 9.5 or higher receive an Award for Outstanding International Student Satisfaction. The Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award will be handed to universities with an average rating of 9.0 or higher. Universities that received a score above 8.0 received a Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award.

For each review left on SteXX, Studyportals supports “Knowledge for Children” – promoting the involvement and self-reliance of local communities in Africa by a financial co-investment concept. The aim: improve the quality of Primary Education and give as many children as possible a better future.

About Studyportals

Studyportals is the international study choice platform, enabling students to find and compare their study options across borders. With over 117,000 published courses from over 2,450 participating universities and over 16 million visitors per year, Studyportals is a leading information source for study seekers. Studyportals was initiated out of an international student organization in 2008 and initially focused on the European education market. Since 2014 the organization (with its headquarters in Eindhoven, the Netherlands) expanded its services and is now also covering universities in the US, Canada and Australia and Asia. For universities, Studyportals is a key channel for international student recruitment.