Are drama students positive about their teaching staff, and what should departments prioritise?
Yes. Across the National Student Survey (NSS) open-text corpus, students describe their educators in highly positive terms: in the Teaching Staff lens that groups comments about staff behaviours, accessibility and pedagogy across the sector, 78.3% are positive with a sentiment index of +52.8. In drama, the subject classification used for HE benchmarking, the tone is more mixed at 53.4% Positive and 44.5% Negative, with concerns concentrated in opaque marking criteria (−53.5). Departments protect the baseline by keeping high-trust habits visible and improve the drama experience by making assessment transparent and course communications predictable.
Course structure and content: how should staff balance theory and practice?
The interplay between studio work and analysis drives engagement when tutors link text work directly to rehearsal and performance, and align this to assessment briefs. Students respond when module choice lets them shape a coherent pathway while maintaining a solid grounding in drama theory. Given persistent concerns about criteria clarity, teams publish annotated exemplars, calibrate marking across assessors, and use checklist-style rubrics so students can action feedback in the next rehearsal or submission. Regularly curating readings and exercises from student feedback keeps the programme responsive.
Staff engagement and attitude: what behaviours keep the positive baseline strong?
Passionate, prepared tutors who show respect and consistency set the tone for learning. Across the sector, students value availability, constructive challenge and a visible commitment to their progress; in drama, where sentiment is more finely balanced, these behaviours make the difference between encouragement and frustration. Monitor differential experiences across the cohort, including for male and Black students, and check consistency across teaching teams so every interaction feels fair and supportive.
Communication: how do simple standards reduce friction for drama students?
Students want predictable office hours, timely replies and clarity about what is expected in workshops and assessments. Weekly “what to expect” updates, a single source of truth for timetable and room changes, and short “what changed and why” notes reduce operational noise that can otherwise erode trust. Use concise, actionable feedback so performers know what to keep, what to change and how to change it.
Guest lecturers and industry professionals: what value do external voices add?
Industry contributors bridge studio and sector practice, widening horizons and offering routes into work. Their sessions work best when embedded in modules with explicit learning outcomes, preparatory materials and follow-up tasks that translate insights into assessed work. Co-design with staff also models professional collaboration for students.
COVID-19 impact: what should be retained from emergency delivery?
The pivot to online delivery exposed both the limits of remote rehearsal and the advantages of flexible access. Retain the best of digital—guest contributors who could not visit in person, recorded briefings and asynchronous Q&A—while rebuilding in-person ensemble work and safe, well-supported spaces for physical practice.
Mental health: how do teaching teams sustain wellbeing in performance-heavy programmes?
Staff set the climate. Normalising conversations about workload and stress, pacing assessments, and signposting support early in modules help students manage peaks around auditions, devising and shows. Consistent pastoral care from module tutors, not only personal tutors, keeps support where students already engage.
Student representation and feedback: how do we make student voice actionable?
Treat feedback as a design input. Use rapid pulse checks after key teaching points, close the loop with “you said, we did” updates, and review sentiment by cohort on a regular cycle. Publishing small, specific changes—assessment briefs clarified, run-through slots extended—demonstrates responsiveness and builds trust.
Diversity among teaching staff: how does representation influence learning?
A diverse teaching team brings broader methods, texts and professional networks into the room, deepening students’ understanding of the field and fostering belonging. Recruitment, visiting appointments and casting choices that reflect the student body strengthen motivation and make inclusion tangible in day-to-day teaching.
How Student Voice Analytics helps you
- Continuous visibility of Teaching Staff comments and sentiment over time, with drill-downs from provider to programme and cohort.
- Like-for-like comparisons by subject classification and student demographics, plus segmentation by mode, site and year of study.
- Simple dashboards to track sentiment and identify outliers, with concise, anonymised summaries for programme and quality boards.
- Export-ready outputs so teams can brief quickly, act on priorities and evidence improvement against the right peer group.
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See all-comment coverage, sector benchmarks, and governance packs designed for OfS quality and standards and NSS requirements.
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