The National Student Survey (NSS) 2026 is now open

If you are eligible to take part, you will have received an email with a personalised link to the survey in early January. You can also click here to visit the NSS website to access the survey.

The NSS is your chance to have your say and reflect on your experience with The Open University (OU). It’s anonymous so you can be as honest as you like – whether that’s good or bad.

The NSS takes place every year and is run by independent researchers, Ipsos, on behalf of the Office for Students (OfS).

Claim a £5 e-voucher for taking part early

This year, we’re offering a £5 Love2shop e-voucher to anyone who completes the survey early (by Friday 6 February). Look out for an email sent from the OU on 7 January with full details of how to claim the voucher.

In addition, we are offering a prize draw via the NSS website for everyone who completes the survey by the final deadline of midnight on 30 April 2026. The prizes for the draw are Love2shop vouchers: 1 x £500, 5 x £100, 20 x £25 vouchers, 50 x £10 and will be awarded randomly to 76 students. You'll find details about this when you fill in the survey.

Entry into the prize draw and claiming the £5 thank you e-voucher card are optional.

Please note that accepting a voucher is unlikely to have any impact on individuals receiving state benefits. One-off payments count as capital if not paid regularly or with reference to a specific period. Capital under £6,000 does not affect Universal Credit.

Why complete the NSS?

The NSS is an extremely valuable source of student feedback for the OU, as it identifies our strengths and where we need to improve. It also allows us to see how we’re performing against the rest of the sector.

As a result of previous NSS feedback, we have reviewed and improved how we support you through modules, the way we teach and assess your work, and how we communicate with you.

Take a look at this short video to find out more about how the NSS has made a difference, or download the transcript by clicking here:

What happens with the results?

To publish and report our NSS results, we need 50% of eligible students in all four of our Nations (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) to complete the survey. So, it’s really important if you or students you know have been asked to complete the survey, you try to do so.

The results are published on the OfS and Discover Uni websites in the summer. These are free to view and can be accessed by anyone.

Who is eligible to take part?

As an OU student, if you have been invited to complete the survey, you are eligible to complete it. You’ll receive some communications from us and Ipsos to confirm you have been selected. You may also spot a reminder on your study planner on your module website. This reminder will appear on study planners intermittently between now and 24 April 2026.

The NSS is aimed at final year undergraduates, but as a part-time provider, the OU’s NSS eligibility criteria is different from full-time providers and is complex.

For example, you might not be studying at the moment, you may be studying a postgraduate module or you may have been asked to take part in the NSS before. If you’ve had an invite, please do complete the survey.

What if I don’t want to complete the NSS?

Participation in the NSS is voluntary. If you do not wish to take part, please email the OU NSS team with your student personal identifier number as soon as possible so we can advise Ipsos and remove you from the mailing list. If you do not complete the survey or opt out, you will be contacted with reminders by email, phone and SMS.

At any stage that Ipsos contacts you directly, you can state that you do not wish to take part, and you will not be contacted again by Ipsos. Please note, you must actively opt out if you do not wish to be surveyed – not responding to the email or telephone interview does not constitute an opt-out.

If you find the tone or conduct of anyone calling you from Ipsos about the NSS is unacceptable, then please report it by contacting the OU NSS team via email at national-student-survey-coordinator@open.ac.uk.

If you have any questions about the survey, please visit the NSS website by following this link:
https://www.thestudentsurvey.com/faqs/