Loughborough’s PTES guidance describes feedback routes and data handling

Updated Sep 07, 2026

Loughborough University advertised PTES 2026 from 1 May to 12 June 2026. Its announcement invited eligible taught postgraduates to give feedback through the national survey. That survey window has now closed. Launch notice.

What the university’s guidance says

Eligibility normally requires at least 60 completed credits. Some lower-intensity part-time students are surveyed in alternate years and their final year, so this is not a universal annual invitation to every postgraduate.

The guidance describes pre-loaded demographic data, restricted staff access, anonymisation before reporting and withdrawal up to anonymisation. It says results inform school and university discussion, academic reviews and institutional indicators, with selected anonymised material shared with the Students’ Union. These are published arrangements, not an independent audit of the systems or a guarantee that every extract is unidentifiable.

Loughborough attributes earlier changes to postgraduate feedback, including induction and community activity, assessment guidance, digital skills support and expanded mid- and end-of-module feedback opportunities. It does not establish that all changes came specifically from PTES, or provide an evaluation showing faster decisions or better outcomes. PTES information and privacy sections.

Using annual and local feedback together

Our practical suggestion is to define the purpose of each route. An annual comparison can inform a broader review, while a local conversation may identify an issue during teaching. Neither route guarantees a response simply because information has been collected.

Explain who reads feedback and how students will hear what was decided. Distinguish access to identifiable responses from access to anonymised reports, and check actual handling against the institution’s current privacy information.

When comparing comments across surveys, retain the questions, cohorts and collection dates. A recurring theme may justify further investigation without demonstrating prevalence across all taught postgraduates.

The NSS open-text analysis methodology and governance checklist can help scope a comment review. Any claim of improved outcomes needs evidence beyond a published list of activities.

Review note, 7 September 2026: checked eligibility exceptions and published data handling, updated the expired survey wording, and separated institution-reported changes from proven PTES effects or faster action.