The NUS Student Experience Survey 2008 (opens in new window)showed that, overall, 75% of students believe that the number of contact hours is sufficient. But the HE student experience is much more than contact hours. University is not like school. It emphasises learner autonomy and independence.

Contact time should be considered alongside the amount of time students spend studying on their own and the quality of support they receive in doing this (for example, IT facilities and library access).  New and different types of learning – including part-time, distance learning, work-based learning, blended learning, e-learning and the use of virtual learning environments are becoming increasingly prevalent and popular. Different approaches will be appropriate in different circumstances. This makes it difficult to equate the amount of contact time with quality – even within a single subject area.

The amount of ‘contact time’ between a student and university teaching staff will vary from course to course and, within individual courses, between modules. For example, a lab-based module in a science subject may involve a great deal of time spent with teaching staff supervising. A dissertation module, on the other hand, might involve relatively few contact hours as the student is expected to take a greater role in directing their own study.  We as a sector reject the simple notion that “time served = outcomes”.

Propsective students may want to know more about contact hours of courses that they are interested in. This information is often available at the admissions stage, but we recognise that more information is always useful. Therefore, Universities UK is supporting HEFCE's research into public information needs, particularly the needs of prospective students. This will lead to a consultation in Autumn 2010 on what changes should be made, to help prospective students make an even more informed choice.