Scandinavia Still Leading in International Student Satisfaction
StudyPortals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2015: Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian Universities Score High in International Student Satisfaction
EINDHOVEN – Scandinavian universities maintain their reputation as the best universities to study, only being outshined by Irish universities in the 2015 International Student Satisfaction Awards. Finnish universities scored second highest in the ranking, followed by Sweden and Denmark on third and fourth, and Norway on eight place.
Despite a slight decrease since last year, international student satisfaction continues to remain high in Europe, with 86% of students being satisfied with their study abroad experience, compared to 89% in 2014. Only 7% of students report a score below 6 to their internationals study experience this year.
With an average satisfaction score of 8.9, Scandinavian universities still rule the top places in terms of international student satisfaction. Scandinavian universities were particularly appreciated for the well-organized student services, high levels of academic requirements, and students even appreciated the extreme weather conditions, yet would have preferred slightly lower costs of living. At the other end of the spectrum, France continues to have the lowest score in international student satisfaction, with an 8.2 score, with complaints continuing to revolve around the poor student services available at the universities, as well as the excessive bureaucracy.
While international students studying in Scandinavia report high levels of satisfaction, Scandinavian students studying abroad are less satisfied. Finnish students reports the lowest levels of satisfaction, possibly as they are used to higher standards of education, and could have higher expectations while studying abroad.
One Scandinavian university received an Outstanding International Student Satisfaction Award – University of Gothenburg, in Sweden. Students studying at the University of Gothenburg appreciated the new approaches to teaching, lack of tuition fees, the variety of social activities organized by the faculties, proactiveness of the administration staff, and the challenging courses.
The StudyPortals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2015 are based on 17,018 reviews, added to the STeXX.eu – the student experience website during the 2014 – 2015 academic year. While Ireland and Scandinavia have the highest international student satisfaction, Spain has the highest numbers of winning universities (23), followed by Germany with 17 awarded universities, Italy (11) and the Netherlands (10). Students mostly visit Spanish universities on exchange programmes, primarily Erasmus funded.
The full results of the latest StudyPortals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2015 will be announced next week at the EAIE conference in Glasgow. 150 universities will be awarded this year across Europe this year.
Press contact: Carmen Neghina | carmen@studyportals.com | +31 655 875 270
Table 1. Overview of Dannish Universities Receiving an International Student Satisfaction Award in 2015
University | Rating | International Student Satisfaction Award |
Aalborg University | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Aarhus University | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Technical University of Denmark | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Copenhagen | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
VIA University College | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Southern Denmark | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Table 2. Overview of Finnish Universities Receiving an International Student Satisfaction Award in 2015
University | Rating | International Student Satisfaction Award |
Tampere University of Technology | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Helsinki | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Jyväskylä | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Oulu | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Aalto University | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Åbo Akademi University | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Eastern Finland | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Tampere | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Turku | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Table 3. Overview of Swedish Universities Receiving an International Student Satisfaction Award in 2015
University | Rating | International Student Satisfaction Award |
University of Gothenburg | 9.5+ | Outstanding International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
KTH, Royal Institute of Technology | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Linnaeus University | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Uppsala University | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Chalmers University of Technology | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Linköping University | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Lund University | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Stockholm University | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Table 4. Overview of Norwegian Universities Receiving an International Student Satisfaction Award in 2015
University | Rating | International Student Satisfaction Award |
Norwegian University of Science and Technology | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Agder | 9+ | Excellent International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
University of Bergen | 8+ | Very Good International Student Satisfaction Award 2015 |
Figure 1. International Student Satisfaction by Country of Origin
Table 5. International Student Satisfaction in Europe and Number of Awarded Institutions by Destination Country
Destination country | Average student satisfaction rating | Number of outstanding universities | Number of excellent universities | Number of very good universities |
Ireland | 9.04 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Finland | 8.95 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
Sweden | 8.90 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Denmark | 8.89 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
Switzerland | 8.85 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Poland | 8.85 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Netherlands | 8.80 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
Norway | 8.78 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Czech Republic | 8.77 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
United Kingdom | 8.75 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
Germany | 8.71 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
Austria | 8.64 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Spain | 8.62 | 0 | 4 | 20 |
Portugal | 8.56 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Italy | 8.46 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
Hungary | 8.44 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Belgium | 8.26 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
France | 8.23 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
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