Student Voice Analytics for Dentistry — UK student feedback 2018–2025
Scope. UK NSS open‑text comments for Dentistry (CAH01-01-04) across academic years 2018–2025.
Volume. ~1,430 comments; 96% successfully categorised to a single primary topic.
Overall mood. Roughly 60.4% Positive, 35.9% Negative, 3.7% Neutral (positive:negative ≈ 1.68:1).
What students are saying
Dentistry students talk first about what is taught and who teaches it. The single largest topic is the type and breadth of course content (~9.9% share), with a clearly positive tone (index ~+31.7) and more prominence than sector. Comments about Teaching Staff (8.7%) and Student support (8.6%) are also sizeable and positive—Teaching Staff sits on par with sector for tone, while Student support is markedly more positive than sector.
Student life stands out as a strong positive (7.4% share; index ~+65.1), both more discussed and better rated than sector. Personal development (4.8%) is exceptionally positive (index ~+76.6), suggesting students feel they are growing in confidence and skills.
Operational delivery remains a drag on sentiment. Organisation and management of the course (5.8%, index ~−20.1), Scheduling/timetabling (4.5%, ~−29.8) and Communication about course and teaching (3.5%, ~−40.9) are all more prominent than in the sector and more negative on tone. Students consistently respond better when changes are predictable, responsibilities are clear, and there is a dependable “single source of truth” for updates.
In Assessment & Feedback, routine friction points are familiar. Feedback (7.1%) trends negative (index ~−17.8) when turnaround, usability and exemplars are unclear. Marking criteria (2.2%) is strongly negative (index ~−41.0), and Assessment methods (2.6%) also lean negative. Clarity—what good looks like and how to achieve it—remains the lever.
Placements/fieldwork (2.8%) are a smaller part of the Dentistry conversation than in sector, but unusually positive when they do appear (index ~+37.6, well above sector). By contrast, Module choice/variety is much less discussed than sector (0.3% vs 4.2%), signalling that students are more focused on core content and delivery than on optionality.
Top categories by share (dentistry vs sector):
| Category | Section | Share % | Sector % | Δ pp | Sentiment idx | Δ vs sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type and breadth of course content | Learning opportunities | 9.9 | 6.9 | +2.9 | +31.7 | +9.1 |
| Teaching Staff | The teaching on my course | 8.7 | 6.7 | +2.0 | +35.3 | −0.2 |
| Student support | Academic support | 8.6 | 6.2 | +2.4 | +30.4 | +17.2 |
| Student life | Learning community | 7.4 | 3.2 | +4.2 | +65.1 | +33.0 |
| Feedback | Assessment & feedback | 7.1 | 7.3 | −0.2 | −17.8 | −2.8 |
| Organisation, management of course | Organisation & management | 5.8 | 3.3 | +2.5 | −20.1 | −6.2 |
| Delivery of teaching | The teaching on my course | 5.0 | 5.4 | −0.4 | +23.9 | +15.1 |
| Personal development | Learning community | 4.8 | 2.5 | +2.3 | +76.6 | +16.8 |
| Scheduling/timetabling | Organisation & management | 4.5 | 2.9 | +1.6 | −29.8 | −13.3 |
| Student voice | Student voice | 4.2 | 1.8 | +2.4 | −10.7 | +8.6 |
Most negative categories (share ≥ 2%)
| Category | Section | Share % | Sector % | Δ pp | Sentiment idx | Δ vs sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marking criteria | Assessment & feedback | 2.2 | 3.5 | −1.3 | −41.0 | +4.7 |
| Communication about course and teaching | Organisation & management | 3.5 | 1.7 | +1.8 | −40.9 | −5.1 |
| Scheduling/ timetabling | Organisation & management | 4.5 | 2.9 | +1.6 | −29.8 | −13.3 |
| Assessment methods | Assessment & feedback | 2.6 | 3.0 | −0.4 | −23.5 | +0.3 |
| Organisation, management of course | Organisation & management | 5.8 | 3.3 | +2.5 | −20.1 | −6.2 |
| Feedback | Assessment & feedback | 7.1 | 7.3 | −0.2 | −17.8 | −2.8 |
| Student voice | Student voice | 4.2 | 1.8 | +2.4 | −10.7 | +8.6 |
Shares are the proportion of all Dentistry 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 | 4.8 | 2.5 | +2.3 | +76.6 | +16.8 |
| Student life | Learning community | 7.4 | 3.2 | +4.2 | +65.1 | +33.0 |
| Placements/ fieldwork/ trips | Learning opportunities | 2.8 | 3.4 | −0.7 | +37.6 | +25.8 |
| Teaching Staff | The teaching on my course | 8.7 | 6.7 | +2.0 | +35.3 | −0.2 |
| Type and breadth of course content | Learning opportunities | 9.9 | 6.9 | +2.9 | +31.7 | +9.1 |
| Student support | Academic support | 8.6 | 6.2 | +2.4 | +30.4 | +17.2 |
| Learning resources | Learning resources | 2.2 | 3.8 | −1.6 | +24.5 | +3.1 |
What this means in practice
-
Make operations predictable. Name an owner for scheduling and course organisation, keep a single source of truth for updates, and publish a short weekly “what changed and why” note. Agree simple freeze windows for major changes and a fast, visible escalation route when plans shift.
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Tighten assessment clarity. Use checklist‑style rubrics, publish annotated exemplars, and set a realistic feedback SLA. Hold light‑touch marking calibrations so criteria are interpreted consistently across assessors.
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Build on strengths. Teaching Staff, Student support and Student life are clear assets—continue to make these visible, connect them to Personal development and career guidance, and close the loop when students contribute via Student voice.
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Keep placements positive. Even at lower volume, placements/fieldwork are notably well‑rated here. Preserve what’s working (clear expectations, on‑site support, timely feedback) and share those practices across teams.
Data at a glance (2018–2025)
- Top topics by share: Type & breadth of course content (9.9%), Teaching Staff (8.7%), Student support (8.6%), Student life (7.4%), Feedback (7.1%).
- Cluster view:
- Delivery & ops (placements, scheduling, organisation, comms, remote): ≈17.8% of all comments.
- People & growth (personal tutor, student support, teaching staff, availability of staff, delivery of teaching, personal development, student life): ≈37.2%.
- How to read the numbers. Each comment is assigned one primary topic; share is that topic’s proportion of all comments. Sentiment is 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 open‑text survey comments into clear, prioritised actions. It tracks topics and sentiment by year so programme and school teams can focus on what moves the dial—assessment clarity, scheduling and comms, and the people‑centred strengths that drive belonging and development.
It supports whole‑institution oversight as well as fine‑grained department and school analysis, producing concise, anonymised theme summaries and representative comments for partners and programme teams. Crucially, it enables like‑for‑like sector comparisons across CAH codes and by demographics (e.g., year of study, domicile, mode of study, campus/site, commuter status), so you can evidence progress against the right peer group. Flexible segmentation (site/provider, cohort, year) and export‑ready outputs (web, deck, dashboard) make it straightforward to share priorities and demonstrate impact.
