BNU rises 75 places in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2025
Buckinghamshire New University has significantly improved its overall satisfaction to 90% in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2025 – up from 77% in 2024 and higher than the sector benchmark of 86% – which ranks us in the top quarter of institutions UK-wide (14th), up from 89th in 2024.
Advance HE’s PTES is the only UK higher education sector-wide survey to gain insight from taught postgraduate students about their learning and teaching experience, similar to the National Student Survey (NSS) for undergraduate students.
Key highlights from PTES 2025
BNU was in the top-20 (top-quarter UK-wide) in all themes apart from Online Learning Resources, which achieved overall satisfaction of 90% – up 12% on last year.
We achieved top-five UK positions in three themes, including:
- Skills Development – 4th
- Engagement 5th UK (ranked 80th in 2024)
- Teaching 5th UK (ranked 83rd in 2024)
Top-10 in two themes include:
- Organisation 7th UK – (ranked 85th in 2024)
- Assessment 9th UK – (ranked 72nd in 2024)
BNU also ranked 17th out of 102 institutions in the Community theme, up from 68th in 2024.
BNU performed strongly across two subject/discipline areas for overall satisfaction:
- Computing 1st in the UK (out of 67)
- Business and Management 4th in the UK (out of 83)
Professor Damien Page, Vice-Chancellor, Buckinghamshire New University: “I am delighted to see our postgraduate student experience improve significantly and position us as one of the leading UK providers, most importantly through our students’ eyes. Over the last 12 months, I have seen first-hand how much effort has gone into helping us to achieve a better learning environment and outcomes for our postgrads. This remarkable 75-place rise UK-wide is therefore testament to everyone’s hard work, and I congratulate everyone involved.”
Dr Dionne Spencer, Dean of Students, Buckinghamshire New University, who led on the PTES this year: “There is a real drive and determination to ensure students at all levels have a positive experience and feel part of the BNU community. The leap in the PTES results demonstrates the dedication and genuine commitment of our academic and professional service staff to understand and continuously improve the experiences of our postgraduate students."