NUA named University of the Year for Student Retention in 2020 Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide

Norwich University of the Arts has been named the UK’s University of the Year for Student Retention in the prestigious The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020, due to be published this weekend (September 22).

NUA has received the award due to an “exceptionally” high rate of students completing their degrees – far higher than the official benchmark.

Sunday Times Good University Guide Editor Alastair McCall said: “Norwich University of the Arts does a better job than any other university in the UK at getting its students from enrolment to graduation. In a sector where so much money and time is wasted by students dropping out of their courses, NUA is a beacon of excellence with a dropout rate running at around half the expected level for an institution with its student and subject mix. It has achieved this success even while doubling the size of the student body in the past decade.

“Adding a foundation year to courses – a process that will be complete across its full range of degrees by 2020 – ensures that students who might otherwise be at greatest risk of dropping out acquire the skills necessary to succeed in their studies by the end of the first year – when students are most at risk of dropping out. Allied with strong teaching recognised by a gold award in the Teaching Excellence Framework and heavy recent investment in facilities, it is not hard to see why so few students abandon their courses. The university has created an environment where they have every opportunity to succeed.”

The Good University Guide Award follows NUA’s shortlisting for the two Times Higher Awards, and success at this year’s Guardian University Awards, where NUA won the Employability and Entrepreneurship Award.