What are accounting students telling us about teaching delivery?
Published May 14, 2024 · Updated Feb 24, 2026
delivery of teachingaccountingAccounting students are clear about what helps them learn: supportive staff and well-structured sessions. They struggle most when assessment guidance is vague, timetables keep shifting, or materials arrive too late to prepare. In the National Student Survey (NSS), the delivery of teaching lens pools UK students’ open‑text comments about how teaching is structured and delivered. It shows 60.2% positive, 36.3% negative, 3.5% neutral (index +23.9), with a gap between full‑time (+27.3) and part‑time (+7.2) learners. Within accounting, the discipline grouping used across providers, sentiment towards teaching staff is strongly positive (+43.9), while opaque marking criteria (−40.3) and scheduling (−22.0) depress experience. These sector signals shape the priorities set out below.
Does advance access to lecture materials make a difference?
Publishing slides and readings early improves comprehension and readiness for class, and helps narrow gaps by study mode and age. Guarantee parity by setting a clear, standardised timetable for releasing materials, plus concise summaries and worked examples. Record and caption assessment briefings so part‑time students can catch up asynchronously. Students report greater confidence and more purposeful engagement when they can preview content.
What does high-quality accounting delivery look like?
Students criticise sessions that rely on reading slides aloud and ask for active learning that builds critical thinking. Use step‑by‑step worked examples, case‑based tasks and short formative checks to improve clarity. Apply a light‑touch delivery rubric covering structure, clarity, pacing and interaction, and share brief exemplars of high-performing sessions so good habits spread. Accounting’s strong sentiment towards teaching staff provides a foundation to redesign sessions that bridge theory and practice.
How should exam formats respond to digital strain?
Digital‑only examinations can increase discomfort and reduce concentration, particularly during prolonged screen time. Hybrid formats can mitigate this. For longer exams, schedule brief screen breaks, provide ergonomic guidance, and where appropriate keep paper for quantitative workings while capturing final responses digitally. Use post‑exam pulse checks to evaluate effects on performance and wellbeing, then refine policy.
Why consolidate module resources?
Students ask for a single, comprehensive module handbook that brings lectures, workshops and supplementary materials together. Standardise slide structures and terminology to reduce cognitive load. A single source of truth cuts time spent searching, reduces repeated queries and supports consistent revision, even if the initial collation requires coordination across staff.
Which teaching methods work best for accounting?
Blend lectures with simulations, problem classes and small‑group discussion. Start new topics with concrete, practice‑oriented examples before abstraction, then use quick checks for understanding and planned pauses. This approach demystifies quantitative concepts and supports transfer to assessments and placement contexts.
What structural and scheduling changes matter most?
Stabilise the operational rhythm. Maintain a single, visible home for timetable changes, issue a weekly "what changed and why" update, and name an owner for scheduling decisions. Sequence content so complex topics follow short refreshers and allow time for consolidation. These adjustments reduce friction for all students and are especially valued by those balancing work and caring commitments.
How can programmes enhance practical experience?
Internships, live briefs and simulations bridge the gap between theory and practice, and build confidence in applying concepts. Collaborate with employers and alumni to design applied tasks, and signpost routes into accredited pathways and professional support. Where teamwork is assessed, scaffold roles, milestones and clear routes for resolving conflict.
What should providers prioritise next?
Prioritise assessment clarity, predictable timetabling and advance access to materials, while consolidating resources and diversifying delivery. Retain the people‑centred strength of staff support, and increase practical application. Run short pulse checks after key teaching blocks and review results termly with programme teams, focusing on actions that lift delivery for part‑time and mature cohorts, as well as full‑time students.
How Student Voice Analytics helps you
Student Voice Analytics turns open‑text at scale into prioritised actions for delivery of teaching in accounting. Track topics and sentiment over time, from provider level down to programme and cohort. Compare like‑for‑like by mode, age and discipline, then segment by site, year and cohort to target interventions where they will move sentiment most. Export‑ready outputs help programme teams and academic boards act quickly and demonstrate progress. Explore Student Voice Analytics to see what this looks like for your institution.
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