What do IT students say about their teaching staff?

teaching staffinformation technology

IT students are broadly positive about lecturers’ commitment and accessibility, while asking for crisper delivery and clearer assessment guidance. In the National Student Survey (NSS), comments on Teaching Staff are strongly positive overall (78.3% positive), though tone moderates in technical fields such as Computing (+44.6). Within Information Technology, students rate staff warmly (+30.4) even as they flag gaps in how complex content is taught and assessed. The Teaching Staff category in the NSS reflects sector-wide judgements on staff professionalism and support, while CAH11-01-02 groups IT programmes across the UK.

This blog post explores the perceptions of information technology students about their teaching staff. Drawing from a dataset of 76 comments, we look into what students appreciate and critique about their educators in the field of information technology, and discuss suggested improvements to enhance learning experiences. Understanding the perspectives of IT students helps teaching teams and institutions to create effective and supportive learning environments. By using text analysis of student surveys, we gain insight into how students perceive their interactions with staff, acknowledging strengths and pinpointing areas for improvement. The students' voice remains central, informing staff adjustments that better meet student needs.

How did we collect and analyse the comments?

We used student surveys to capture direct feedback from those experiencing the teaching firsthand. The data comprises 76 anonymous comments from information technology students; anonymity encouraged frank views about teaching staff. Focusing on surveys ensured breadth across positive experience and areas for improvement. We managed collection to maximise insight into student–staff interactions, which are central to student success and satisfaction in IT. Simple but targeted questions supported analysis and produced actionable findings.

Where do IT students rate teaching staff highly?

Students often highlight supportive and engaging methods. Terms like 'brilliant', 'helpful', and 'understanding' recur, reflecting satisfaction with both quality and approach. Many value lecturers who simplify complex topics and make current developments accessible, updating content and encouraging interactive, inclusive sessions. Staff who iterate their teaching and provide predictable support earn consistent praise, aligning with the positive tone around Teaching Staff in IT.

What challenges do students report about teaching and feedback?

Students report uneven explanation of complicated concepts and occasional doubts about staff expertise. These gaps undermine confidence and hinder progression. They also point to insufficient or late feedback and patchy communication, which restricts their ability to act on advice during modules. This aligns with IT comments where delivery of teaching sits slightly negative (−1.9), so students ask for more structured explanations, worked examples, and clearer links between teaching points, assessment briefs and marking criteria.

Which issues recur across comments?

Feedback timeliness and clarity recur, especially for complex topics. Students also describe the difficulties created by COVID‑19, which disrupted delivery and interaction. Consistent communication, defined office hours, and prompt guidance are repeatedly requested. In IT, uncertainty about marking criteria is a pronounced pain point, with sentiment strongly negative (−43.3) where expectations are not explicit and exemplified.

How did COVID-19 affect teaching and learning?

Rapid moves to online platforms tested staff adaptability. Some students noted constructive flexibility and accessible online classes. Others reported inconsistent virtual teaching, bandwidth barriers and reduced interactivity that made difficult material harder to grasp. Student comments emphasise the value of staff proactively seeking input, tailoring online delivery, and maintaining regular touchpoints that help students sustain momentum.

What do students suggest would improve teaching practice?

They ask for more face-to-face contact where possible, plus structured opportunities to clarify difficult material. Students want assessment briefs that map explicitly to marking criteria, with annotated exemplars and quick “what to do next” feedback. They also call for predictable communication, visible office hours, and support that recognises diverse needs including mature students and those with mental health considerations. In IT, these changes resonate with how students judge staff positively while wanting better alignment between teaching, assessment and workload.

What are the implications for higher education?

Strengthening explanation, structuring feedback so it is actionable, and making assessment expectations unmistakable improves learning in technically demanding modules. Institutions should support teaching teams to review delivery methods, standardise communication rhythms, and evaluate whether students can act on feedback within the module. Prioritising these behaviours sustains trust and enhances outcomes in IT education.

How Student Voice Analytics helps you

Student Voice Analytics monitors student comments and sentiment so you can focus effort where it matters most in IT:

• Continuous visibility of Teaching Staff feedback over time, with drill-downs from provider to department and cohort.
• Like-for-like comparisons by CAH subject family, demographics and mode, with segmentation by site/campus and year of study.
• Concise, anonymised summaries for programme and departmental briefings, plus export-ready tables for quality boards.
• Simple dashboards to track sentiment by module area and close the loop with students on what changed.

Request a walkthrough

Book a Student Voice Analytics demo

See all-comment coverage, sector benchmarks, and governance packs designed for OfS quality and NSS requirements.

• All-comment coverage with HE-tuned taxonomy and sentiment.
• Versioned outputs with TEF-ready governance packs.
• Benchmarks and BI-ready exports for boards and Senate.

Book a demo Prefer email? [email protected]

More posts on teaching staff:

• How do physics students view teaching staff?
• Do midwifery students view teaching staff positively?
• What are physiotherapy students saying about teaching staff?
• What do journalism students say about teaching staff?

More posts on information technology student views:

• Does the IT curriculum match what students need and expect?