A defining feature of higher education in Wales is the engagement of students as active partners in the development, delivery and management of their own educational experience. Such participation involves engagement at many levels, in many different forms and primarily takes place at individual HEIs, as students seek to inform and contribute to the development of their own curricula and methods of learning. 

The aim of this approach is to make Wales the best place for students to study and to empower students to enhance and improve their own learning experiences. HEW works with the Quality Assurance Agency, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the National Union for Students to:

• promote the benefits of student involvement in quality management
• engage students in the institutional review teams 
• share good practice

National Student Survey - NSS

The National Student Survey provides information for universities and the public on students’ views about their university experience, including their overall satisfaction. This informs universities’ own work to improve what they do. This information is publicly available on the Unistats website.  

Wales Initiative for Student Engagement – WISE

WISE was set up as a partnership between the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, the Quality Assurance Agency, NUS Wales and HEW to facilitate the greater engagement of students in higher education.

 The WISE Commitment

The WISE launch event in the Senedd in 2010 also saw the start of ‘Have Your Say’, a HEFCW funded project that aims to put students at the heart of future developments in higher education in Wales. 'Have Your Say' encourages student participation by recruiting, training and empowering student representatives. This once again places Wales at the forefront of student engagement across the UK.