Where is the evidence that students at "high-ranking universities... judge their institutions more critically than students at less-prestigious universities because the latter have lower expectations"? You supply none. Could it be that students at elite universities are more critical of their teaching because they have more to criticise? If there is bias in the proposed annual student satisfaction survey, it is in the other direction. Better staff-to-student ratios and better resources in high-ranking universities give them a distinct advantage because one-third of the proposed questions ask students to reflect on these resources, not on the quality of the teaching.
Duncan Tanner
University of Wales, Bangor