Do English studies students get the support they need?
Yes. Across National Student Survey (NSS) open-text comments on student support, sentiment trends positive overall: 68.6% of comments are positive, 29.7% negative and 1.6% neutral (index 32.9). Provision remains uneven, with disabled students registering a lower sentiment index (28.0), so English departments should prioritise accessible, consistent routes into help. In the NSS, student support captures how providers help students navigate academic and personal circumstances; within the sector’s Common Aggregation Hierarchy, English studies (non‑specific) groups English programmes for benchmarking and improvement.
English studies, rich in textual analysis and interpretation, benefits when departments listen to and act on student voice through surveys and module evaluations. Embedding these insights into programme design and support services strengthens outcomes and the student experience.
How should universities address mental health in English studies?
Scale preventative and responsive wellbeing. Counselling, brief interventions and workshops help, but impact grows when services guarantee rapid triage, named case ownership and proactive follow‑ups until resolution. Build early‑warning approaches into teaching: low‑stakes check‑ins, short reflection tasks, and review of engagement patterns help tutors spot stress and intervene. Integrate wellbeing signposting into module handbooks and assessment briefs so students know where to go at pressure points.
What do supportive staff do that students notice?
Respond quickly, provide substantive feedback linked to marking criteria, and maintain routine availability. Students value lecturers who resolve issues, not just acknowledge them, and who use office hours, discussion boards and short drop‑ins to tackle questions before assessments. Clear explanations, consistent expectations across modules, and timely feedback loops drive confidence and deeper engagement.
Where does support fall short for English studies students?
Friction often sits in administration and access: delays to learning materials, unclear processes, and slow responses erode trust. Provide a single “front door” for support with published timeframes, multiple contact routes (drop‑in, phone, live chat) and escalation paths. Track time‑to‑resolution and reasons for delay; share simple monthly summaries with programme teams so bottlenecks are visible and fixable.
What positive experiences do English studies students report?
Small‑group tutorials, approachable staff and visible resolution of queries stand out. Departments that foreground dialogue in seminars, provide iterative feedback, and close the loop when students raise concerns see stronger engagement. Protect these strengths by documenting practices and ensuring they are consistent across modules and year groups.
How can providers tackle academic and financial pressures together?
Package academic skills and money advice around the assessment calendar. Writing workshops aligned to assignment briefs, peer review clinics, and targeted drop‑ins help students manage complex texts and argumentation. Pair these with clear, timely information on hardship funds, scholarships and budgeting support, signposted through a single entry point and reinforced in programme communications.
What must change in disability support?
Close the access gap through standardised, proactive processes. Offer named contacts, accessible communications by default, and staff training on inclusive teaching and reasonable adjustments. Co‑design solutions with disabled students, ensure adjustments are in place before teaching starts, and monitor outcomes at module and programme level to spot cohorts who are not benefiting equally.
What does this add up to?
English studies students benefit most when support is responsive, easy to access and embedded in teaching. Departments that prioritise rapid resolution, consistent communication and inclusive practice strengthen both academic outcomes and wellbeing. Applying NSS insights to programme‑level routines makes improvement practical and measurable.
How Student Voice Analytics helps you
- Track student support volume and sentiment over time, from provider to school and course, with drill‑downs for English studies.
- Compare like‑for‑like across Common Aggregation Hierarchy subject areas and student demographics (age, disability, mode, domicile) to target interventions.
- Surface priorities at assessment pinch points and export concise, anonymised summaries to brief programme teams and professional services.
- Evidence progress through consistent metrics so departments can replicate what works and close identified gaps.
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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.
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