Practice-based learning leads — 517 complementary medicine students
Scope. UK NSS open-text comments for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAH02-06-06) students across academic years 2018–2025.
Volume. ~517 comments; 96.1% successfully categorised to a single primary topic.
Overall mood. Roughly 57.9% Positive, 39.2% Negative, 2.8% Neutral (positive:negative ≈ 1.48:1).
What students are saying
Students in Complementary and Alternative Medicine talk first about practice-based learning. Placements, fieldwork and trips take the largest share of conversation (12.1% vs 3.4% sector), with a near‑neutral tone (index +2.3) that sits below the sector’s generally positive baseline for this topic. The themes are familiar: scheduling reliability, placement communications and the day‑to‑day practicalities around site experiences.
Academic content and delivery are strong notes. “Type and breadth of course content” is prominent (10.3% share) and positive (index +24.2). Comments about Teaching Staff (8.0%, +38.9) and Delivery of teaching (7.6%, +23.0) are notably upbeat, with Delivery of teaching sitting well above sector tone.
Operations show a mixed picture. Organisation and management of the course appears frequently (5.2%) and, unusually for the sector, leans mildly positive (index +7.5; +21.5 vs sector). However, Scheduling/timetabling (3.6%, −21.4) and Communication about course and teaching (2.4%, −51.0) are pain points—students want a single source of truth and fewer surprises.
Assessment & Feedback is where clarity matters most. Feedback (3.4%, −12.1) trends negative when the “what good looks like” is unclear or turnaround is unpredictable. Marking criteria (2.8%, −36.7) and Assessment methods (2.6%, −31.5) are especially sensitive to transparency and consistency.
Students also highlight personal growth and community. Student life carries a very positive tone (3.6%, +51.5), and Personal development is strongly positive (2.8%, +57.4). Some topics are less present than in the sector—Module choice/variety (1.2% vs 4.2% sector), Remote learning (1.4% vs 3.5%) and Learning resources overall (1.8% vs 3.8%)—suggesting day‑to‑day delivery and practice experience are more salient here than shopping for modules or commenting on generic facilities.
Top categories by share (discipline vs sector):
| Category |
Section |
Share % |
Sector % |
Δ pp |
Sentiment idx |
Δ vs sector |
| Placements/ fieldwork/ trips |
Learning opportunities |
12.1 |
3.4 |
+8.6 |
+2.3 |
−9.5 |
| Type and breadth of course content |
Learning opportunities |
10.3 |
6.9 |
+3.3 |
+24.2 |
+1.6 |
| Teaching Staff |
The teaching on my course |
8.0 |
6.7 |
+1.3 |
+38.9 |
+3.4 |
| Delivery of teaching |
The teaching on my course |
7.6 |
5.4 |
+2.2 |
+23.0 |
+14.2 |
| Student support |
Academic support |
6.0 |
6.2 |
−0.2 |
+17.6 |
+4.4 |
| Organisation, management of course |
Organisation and management |
5.2 |
3.3 |
+1.9 |
+7.5 |
+21.5 |
| Student life |
Learning community |
3.6 |
3.2 |
+0.4 |
+51.5 |
+19.4 |
| Scheduling/ timetabling |
Organisation and management |
3.6 |
2.9 |
+0.8 |
−21.4 |
−4.9 |
| Feedback |
Assessment and feedback |
3.4 |
7.3 |
−3.9 |
−12.1 |
+3.0 |
| General facilities |
Learning resources |
3.0 |
1.8 |
+1.2 |
+29.7 |
+6.3 |
Most negative categories (share ≥ 2%)
| Category |
Section |
Share % |
Sector % |
Δ pp |
Sentiment idx |
Δ vs sector |
| Communication about course and teaching |
Organisation and management |
2.4 |
1.7 |
+0.8 |
−51.0 |
−15.2 |
| Marking criteria |
Assessment and feedback |
2.8 |
3.5 |
−0.7 |
−36.7 |
+9.0 |
| Assessment methods |
Assessment and feedback |
2.6 |
3.0 |
−0.4 |
−31.5 |
−7.8 |
| COVID-19 |
Others |
2.2 |
3.3 |
−1.1 |
−25.5 |
+7.4 |
| Communication with supervisor, lecturer, tutor |
Academic support |
2.8 |
1.7 |
+1.1 |
−22.8 |
−14.8 |
| Scheduling/ timetabling |
Organisation and management |
3.6 |
2.9 |
+0.8 |
−21.4 |
−4.9 |
| Feedback |
Assessment and feedback |
3.4 |
7.3 |
−3.9 |
−12.1 |
+3.0 |
Shares are the proportion of all comments whose primary topic is the category. Sentiment index ranges from −100 (more negative than positive) to +100 (more positive than negative).
Most positive categories (share ≥ 2%)
| Category |
Section |
Share % |
Sector % |
Δ pp |
Sentiment idx |
Δ vs sector |
| Personal development |
Learning community |
2.8 |
2.5 |
+0.4 |
+57.4 |
−2.4 |
| Student life |
Learning community |
3.6 |
3.2 |
+0.4 |
+51.5 |
+19.4 |
| Teaching Staff |
The teaching on my course |
8.0 |
6.7 |
+1.3 |
+38.9 |
+3.4 |
| Availability of teaching staff |
Academic support |
2.0 |
2.1 |
−0.1 |
+35.7 |
−3.7 |
| Career guidance, support |
Learning community |
2.0 |
2.4 |
−0.4 |
+32.2 |
+2.2 |
| General facilities |
Learning resources |
3.0 |
1.8 |
+1.2 |
+29.7 |
+6.3 |
| Type and breadth of course content |
Learning opportunities |
10.3 |
6.9 |
+3.3 |
+24.2 |
+1.6 |
What this means in practice
-
Make operations predictable. Name an owner for timetable and course communications, keep a single source of truth, and publish a short weekly “what changed and why” update. A small, consistent rhythm reduces noise in Scheduling and Comms—the most negative operational topics.
-
Treat placements and fieldwork as a designed service. Confirm site capacity earlier; provide transparent allocation criteria; and build in a short, structured on‑site feedback moment. These basics move the near‑neutral placement tone into positive territory.
-
Prioritise assessment clarity. Publish annotated exemplars, checklist‑style rubrics and realistic feedback SLAs. Co‑calibrate marking within teams to cut noise around Marking criteria and Assessment methods.
-
Double down on what works. Teaching Staff and Delivery of teaching are strong differentiators—codify the practices students praise (clarity, structure, timely guidance) and spread them across modules.
Data at a glance (2018–2025)
- Top topics by share: Placements/fieldwork/trips (12.1%), Type & breadth of course content (10.3%), Teaching Staff (8.0%), Delivery of teaching (7.6%), Student support (6.0%).
- Cluster view:
- Delivery & ops cluster (placements, scheduling, organisation, course comms, remote learning): ~24.7% of all comments.
- People & growth cluster (teaching staff, delivery of teaching, student support, availability of staff, personal tutor, personal development, student life): ~30.8%.
- How to read the numbers. Each comment is assigned one primary topic; share is that topic’s proportion of all comments. Sentiment is calculated per sentence and summarised as an index from −100 (more negative than positive) to +100 (more positive than negative), then averaged at category level.
How Student Voice Analytics helps you
Student Voice Analytics turns thousands of open-text responses into clear, prioritised action. It tracks topics and sentiment by year for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and every other discipline, so programme and school teams can see where to focus—placements and operations, assessment clarity, or strengths such as teaching quality.
It also lets you evidence progress with like-for-like sector comparisons across CAH codes and by demographics (e.g., year of study, domicile, mode of study, campus/site, commuter status). You can analyse at whole‑institution level and drill to schools, departments, cohorts, sites/providers and years, then export concise, anonymised theme summaries and representative comments for stakeholders and partners. Export‑ready outputs (web, deck, dashboard) make it straightforward to share priorities and track improvement over time.