Student Voice Analytics for Others in Biosciences — UK student feedback 2018–2025
Scope. UK NSS open-text comments for Others in Biosciences (CAH03-01-10) students across academic years 2018–2025.
Volume. ~1,502 comments; 95.8% successfully categorised to a single primary topic.
Overall mood. Roughly 53.9% Positive, 42.1% Negative, 4.0% Neutral (positive:negative ≈ 1.28:1).
What students are saying
Students in Others in Biosciences talk first about the building blocks of study: learning tools and materials, and the shape of the curriculum. Learning resources is the top topic by share (≈9.2%, +5.5 pp vs sector) with a broadly positive tone (index ~+16.4, slightly below sector). Content-related themes are prominent and well‑received: Type and breadth of course content (≈9.0%, index ~+25.0) and Module choice/variety (≈6.9%, index ~+16.7) both sit above sector by share.
Assessment & Feedback features consistently. Feedback attracts the largest attention within this area (≈7.0% share) and lands close to neutral (index ~+0.8), but is notably less negative than the sector baseline. By contrast, Marking criteria (≈2.4%, index ~−33.6) and Assessment methods (≈2.0%, index ~−26.8) are clear pain points. The pattern is familiar: sentiment improves where expectations and standards are explicit and illustrated.
People-centred themes remain a strength. Personal Tutor (≈4.3%, index ~+36.4, well above sector) and Teaching Staff (≈4.6%, index ~+33.8) are warmly rated; Delivery of teaching is positive too (≈4.4%, index ~+11.4). Personal development is particularly strong (≈3.1%, index ~+50.2). Set against this, overall Student support is discussed at a similar rate to the sector but trends near neutral (index ~−1.4, below sector on tone).
Operational delivery topics collectively account for a modest share. The delivery & ops cluster (remote learning, organisation, scheduling, comms, placements) totals ~15.3% of all comments. Remote learning is negative (index ~−6.8), while Organisation and Scheduling sit closer to neutral and better than the sector on tone. Communication about course and teaching is a smaller topic and remains negative, though less so than sector. Placements/fieldwork is comparatively rare here (≈0.5% vs sector 3.4%) and skews positive when mentioned.
A few specific frictions stand out: IT Facilities (≈2.6%, index ~−25.9) is more prominent than sector and negative; Workload (≈2.5%, index ~−32.8) and Opportunities to work with other students (≈2.2%, index ~−8.8) also detract. Costs/Value for money is negative (index ~−30.2) but less negative than the sector baseline.
Top categories by share (Others in Biosciences vs sector)
| Category | Section | Share % | Sector % | Δ pp | Sentiment idx | Δ vs sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Learning resources | Learning resources | 9.2 | 3.8 | +5.5 | +16.4 | −5.0 |
| Type and breadth of course content | Learning opportunities | 9.0 | 6.9 | +2.1 | +25.0 | +2.4 |
| Feedback | Assessment and feedback | 7.0 | 7.3 | −0.3 | +0.8 | +15.9 |
| Module choice / variety | Learning opportunities | 6.9 | 4.2 | +2.8 | +16.7 | −0.7 |
| Remote learning | The teaching on my course | 6.8 | 3.5 | +3.3 | −6.8 | +2.2 |
| Student support | Academic support | 6.7 | 6.2 | +0.5 | −1.4 | −14.6 |
| Teaching Staff | The teaching on my course | 4.6 | 6.7 | −2.2 | +33.8 | −1.7 |
| Delivery of teaching | The teaching on my course | 4.4 | 5.4 | −1.1 | +11.4 | +2.6 |
| Personal Tutor | Academic support | 4.3 | 3.2 | +1.1 | +36.4 | +17.7 |
| Organisation, management of course | Organisation and management | 3.8 | 3.3 | +0.5 | −3.4 | +10.6 |
Most negative categories (share ≥ 2%)
| Category | Section | Share % | Sector % | Δ pp | Sentiment idx | Δ vs sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marking criteria | Assessment and feedback | 2.4 | 3.5 | −1.1 | −33.6 | +12.0 |
| Workload | Organisation and management | 2.5 | 1.8 | +0.7 | −32.8 | +7.1 |
| Assessment methods | Assessment and feedback | 2.0 | 3.0 | −1.0 | −26.8 | −3.1 |
| IT Facilities | Learning resources | 2.6 | 1.2 | +1.4 | −25.9 | −11.9 |
| Opportunities to work with other students | Learning community | 2.2 | 2.0 | +0.2 | −8.8 | −9.9 |
| Remote learning | The teaching on my course | 6.8 | 3.5 | +3.3 | −6.8 | +2.2 |
| Organisation, management of course | Organisation and management | 3.8 | 3.3 | +0.5 | −3.4 | +10.6 |
Most positive categories (share ≥ 2%)
| Category | Section | Share % | Sector % | Δ pp | Sentiment idx | Δ vs sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal development | Learning community | 3.1 | 2.5 | +0.7 | +50.2 | −9.6 |
| Personal Tutor | Academic support | 4.3 | 3.2 | +1.1 | +36.4 | +17.7 |
| Teaching Staff | The teaching on my course | 4.6 | 6.7 | −2.2 | +33.8 | −1.7 |
| Type and breadth of course content | Learning opportunities | 9.0 | 6.9 | +2.1 | +25.0 | +2.4 |
| Module choice / variety | Learning opportunities | 6.9 | 4.2 | +2.8 | +16.7 | −0.7 |
| Learning resources | Learning resources | 9.2 | 3.8 | +5.5 | +16.4 | −5.0 |
| Delivery of teaching | The teaching on my course | 4.4 | 5.4 | −1.1 | +11.4 | +2.6 |
What this means in practice
- Protect what works: keep content design and module choice front-and-centre. Maintain an explicit line of sight from intended outcomes to topics and assessments, and actively curate options that feel relevant and varied.
- Make assessment expectations unmistakable. Publish annotated exemplars, use checklist‑style rubrics, and confirm turnaround standards. These moves typically lift Feedback and reduce frustration with Marking criteria and Assessment methods.
- Stabilise the operational rhythm. A single source of truth for course communications, planned windows for timetable changes, and brief explanations of what changed and why will improve perceptions of Remote learning, Scheduling and Organisation.
- Fix the basics in the study environment. Prioritise reliability of IT platforms and access to core tools. Where Workload pressure is reported, re‑balance assessments and sequence deadlines to reduce bunching.
- Strengthen support and peer connection. Ensure Personal Tutor access remains visible and proactive, and design low‑friction opportunities for students to work together to address the weaker tone on collaboration.
Data at a glance (2018–2025)
- Top topics by share: Learning resources (≈9.2%), Type and breadth of course content (≈9.0%), Feedback (≈7.0%), Module choice/variety (≈6.9%), Remote learning (≈6.8%), Student support (≈6.7%).
- Cluster view:
- Delivery & ops cluster (placements, scheduling, organisation, comms, remote learning): ≈15.3% of all comments.
- People & growth cluster (personal tutor, student support, teaching staff, delivery of teaching, personal development, student life): ≈27.9% of all comments.
- Topics less present than sector include Placements/fieldwork (≈0.5% vs 3.4%) and COVID‑19 (≈1.0% vs 3.3%).
- 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 priorities you can act on. It tracks topics, sentiment and change over time, enabling whole‑institution views as well as fine‑grained analysis at department and school level. It produces concise, anonymised summaries and representative comments for programme teams and external stakeholders, so you can brief colleagues without trawling thousands of responses.
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). You can segment by site/provider, cohort and year to target interventions, then evidence improvement against the right peer group. Export‑ready outputs (for the web, slide decks or dashboards) make it straightforward to share priorities and progress across the institution.
