SCOTLAND’s newest university has been rated as one of the UK’s top educational establishments for postgraduate students, with a higher than ever satisfaction rating in two sector-wide surveys.

The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) achieved a student satisfaction rating of 89% in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) – 9% above the average for Scottish higher education institutions and 5% higher than UHI’s 2017 result.

It places the university tenth out of the 84 higher education institutions which took part in the survey.

Coordinated by Advance HE, the PTES is a UK-wide measure of the experiences of students on taught postgraduate university programmes, giving them an opportunity to provide feedback on various areas.

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More than 250 students from across the UHI partnership completed this year’s survey.

Dr Iain Morrison, dean of students, said: “These wonderful results show that our students are extremely happy with our postgraduate taught programmes.

“To be so far ahead of the Scottish sector shows that our expert, hard-working staff understand the needs of students at this level and are providing an exceptional experience that should make our university the destination of choice for anyone undertaking a Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma or Masters degree.”

UHI was also highly rated in a survey of postgraduate research students. Advance HE’s Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) gathers feedback from students on Masters by Research and PhD programmes in areas including resources and skills and professional development. It scored 85% student satisfaction, placing it 14th out of 103 institutions across the UK. UHI was also rated top in the UK for student satisfaction on science, technology, engineering and maths programmes.

Dr Mary Doherty, head of postgraduate research development, said: “We are delighted to see that our research students feel we are providing an enriched experience.

“They were incredibly positive about the resources available from our academic partners and research centres and about the support they receive from research supervision staff.”

Julie Cromarty, from Inverness, is studying for MBA in aviation on a part-time basis through Perth College UHI, combining her business degree with 24 years of practical business experience.

The 44-year-old said: “The online learning is great and so flexible. It allows me to work my full-time job around my study … I would advise anyone considering postgraduate study to sign up as it is brilliant and you are never too old to continue learning and challenging yourself.”