University College Dublin Students' Union (UCDSU) Education Survey Report 2026

This report presents findings from the UCDSU Education Survey 2025/26, based on over 1,800 responses and a final analysed sample of more than 1,390 students across undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programmes. Conducted in January 2026, it offers a detailed and representative insight into how students experience teaching, assessment, and academic structures in UCD. The findings point to a system under strain, where academic pressure, structural inefficiencies, and inconsistent practices intersect to shape the student experience. Students consistently identify assessment load, GPA-related pressure, and fragmented timetabling as key challenges, highlighting a learning environment that often prioritises performance over engagement. While students value their education and demonstrate strong motivation, many report that the current system limits opportunities for creativity, flexibility, and deeper learning. A central theme emerging from the data is a demand for clarity and consistency. Students are not resistant to academic rigour, but are calling for more transparent grading, timely and meaningful feedback, and clearer expectations across modules. At the same time, the findings reveal a gap between institutional processes and student understanding, with many students lacking confidence in navigating academic systems, policies, and supports. The report also highlights a nuanced picture of student voice. While representative structures such as the Students’ Union are broadly trusted, engagement is uneven and often mediated by structural barriers, including communication gaps and limited visibility of decision-making processes. As a result, student partnership (while embedded in policy) remains inconsistently realised in practice. Overall, the report argues that improving the student experience in UCD requires more than incremental change. It calls for a shift towards a more coherent, student-centred academic model (one that reduces unnecessary pressure, improves structural clarity, and meaningfully embeds student voice in decision-making) ensuring that teaching and learning environments support both academic success and student wellbeing.