National NSS boycott: joint statement

Sheffield UCU and NUS joint statement

Sheffield University Students’ Union and Sheffield University and College Union believe that students should boycott the National Student Survey (NSS). The NSS will become a key element of the proposed Teaching Excellence Framework according to which teaching will be evaluated according to a set of centrally imposed metrics that threaten to reduce education to narrowly conceived vocational training. The TEF will not only have a negative effect for students and staff, but also contribute to the increasing marketisation of Higher Education. The NSS and TEF also lead universities to provide courses based on fluctuations in fashion and the job market rather than as a result of their intrinsic educational value and resources built up over decades. As a result experienced, professional staff are replaced by precarious teachers on zero-hours or temporary contracts. Boycotting the NSS provides us with a real opportunity to ensure that the TEF cannot be implemented as it makes one of the datasets unusable. Together, Sheffield Students’ Union and Sheffield University and College Union believe that Sheffield is better than this. #ShefBetterThanTEF