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By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

Almost one-in-10 final year undergraduates said courses were not good enough.

Students were most likely to criticise the level of assessment and feedback from tutors, the amount of academic support and the overall organisation of courses.

The annual poll of more than 250,000 students – published by the Government’s Higher Education Funding Council – rated Brighton and Sussex Medical School as the best university in Britain. Students at Ravensbourne, a specialist design and communication college, are among the least satisfied, with a third of final year undergraduates criticising their course.

It also emerged that Cambridge outscored Oxford to be named the top mainstream university.

The disclosure is made just 24 hours before the publication of A-level results which will trigger a desperate scramble for university courses starting in the autumn.
 
David Willetts, the Universities Minister, welcomed the survey’s findings, which showed a slight overall rise in the number of students satisfied with their degree.

But he added: “But clearly there are some areas, such as the quality of feedback, where many institutions could do better."

Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students, said: "The results show only very slight increases in overall student satisfaction, and at a time of severe funding pressures it is more important than ever that students are involved in shaping their curriculum to ensure progress is made in the future."

The National Student Survey has been published every year since 2005, just before annual tuition fees were tripled to £3,000.

Students at more than 300 universities and further education colleges are asked about every aspect of their university experience, including questions on teaching, assessment, support and resources.

This year, 83 per cent of the 265,000 students questioned said they were satisfied with the quality of their course – up one percentage point in 12 months.

A further nine per cent said they were dissatisfied while eight per cent failed to give a preference.

Assessment and feedback was the biggest cause of complaints, with 16 per cent of students marking it down. More than one-in-10 were dissatisfied with the organisation of courses and levels of academic support.

Among universities, students at Brighton and Sussex Medical School were the happiest, with an overall satisfaction rate of 95 per cent.

Cambridge University was second with 94 per cent, while private Buckingham University, the Open University, Oxford, St Andrews and St Mary's University College, part of the University of Belfast, all had satisfaction rates of 93 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, just 67 per cent of Ravensbourne's students were satisfied, along with 69 per cent of those at the University of the Arts, London.

A union leader said universities and colleges must be given the resources to provide a top-quality education.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: "The real worry is that cuts to the higher education budget will leave staff with even more demanding workloads at a time when students and their families start to expect more bang for the extra bucks they are being forced to shell out for a university education.

"If satisfaction rates are to remain high then universities and staff must be given the resources they need to deliver the quality of education students will continue to expect."

But Sir Alan Langlands, head of England’s Higher Education Funding Council, said: "These excellent results yet again demonstrate that our universities and colleges provide a high-quality experience for their students. That said, there is no room for complacency.”  Telegraph