Student Voice Analytics for Physical Geographical Sciences — UK student feedback 2018–2025

Scope. UK NSS open-text comments for Physical Geographical Sciences (CAH26-01-02) students across academic years 2018–2025.
Volume. ~2,254 comments; 98.2% successfully categorised to a single primary topic.
Overall mood. Roughly 53.5% Positive, 43.5% Negative, 3.0% Neutral (positive:negative ≈ 1.23:1).

What students are saying

Students in Physical Geographical Sciences consistently highlight the value of applied learning. Comments about Placements/fieldwork/trips make up around one in ten remarks (≈9.7% share) and are strongly positive (sentiment index ~+44.2), well above the sector tone for the same topic. That focus on field experience distinguishes the discipline: it is discussed far more here than across the sector (+6.3 pp share difference).

Academic content and choice follow closely. Type and breadth of course content (6.5% share) trends positive on tone, as does Module choice/variety (5.7%), though the latter sits below sector on sentiment, suggesting opportunities to tighten coherence or signalling. Teaching Staff are a clear strength (index ~+48.7, above sector), and students also report tangible gains in Personal development (index ~+64.9) and a positive Student life environment.

Assessment & Feedback draws sustained attention. Feedback (6.4%) and Marking criteria (3.6%) lean negative (−16.3 and −45.2 respectively). Dissertation (3.9%) and Assessment methods (2.7%) are also net negative. The common thread is clarity: students want transparent criteria, exemplars, and predictable turnaround.

Operational delivery features, but less than in many disciplines. Remote learning (3.3%) and Communication about course and teaching (1.5%) are negative, though often less so than the sector benchmark. Organisation and Scheduling appear in smaller volumes (≈2% each) with mixed tone: broadly at or slightly better than sector sentiment, but still areas to watch. Cost/value (1.7%) is predictably negative, and pandemic- and strike-related comments (both 3.8%) carry sharp negative tone.

Top categories by share (Physical Geographical Sciences vs sector)

Category	Section	Share %	Sector %	Δ pp	Sentiment idx	Δ vs sector
Placements/ fieldwork/ trips	Learning opportunities	9.7	3.4	+6.3	+44.2	+32.4
Type and breadth of course content	Learning opportunities	6.5	6.9	−0.5	+21.5	−1.1
Feedback	Assessment and feedback	6.4	7.3	−0.9	−16.3	−1.2
Module choice / variety	Learning opportunities	5.7	4.2	+1.6	+4.2	−13.2
Teaching Staff	The teaching on my course	5.3	6.7	−1.4	+48.7	+13.2
Student support	Academic support	4.6	6.2	−1.6	+10.8	−2.4
Dissertation	Assessment and feedback	3.9	1.1	+2.7	−14.0	−3.4
COVID-19	Others	3.8	3.3	+0.4	−26.5	+6.4
Strike Action	Others	3.8	1.7	+2.0	−60.2	+2.9
Marking criteria	Assessment and feedback	3.6	3.5	+0.0	−45.2	+0.5

Most negative categories (share ≥ 2%)

Category	Section	Share %	Sector %	Δ pp	Sentiment idx	Δ vs sector
Strike Action	Others	3.8	1.7	+2.0	−60.2	+2.9
Marking criteria	Assessment and feedback	3.6	3.5	+0.0	−45.2	+0.5
COVID-19	Others	3.8	3.3	+0.4	−26.5	+6.4
Remote learning	The teaching on my course	3.3	3.5	−0.2	−20.2	−11.2
Assessment methods	Assessment and feedback	2.7	3.0	−0.3	−17.4	+6.3
Feedback	Assessment and feedback	6.4	7.3	−0.9	−16.3	−1.2
Organisation, management of course	Organisation and management	2.2	3.3	−1.2	−14.8	−0.8

Most positive categories (share ≥ 2%)

Category	Section	Share %	Sector %	Δ pp	Sentiment idx	Δ vs sector
Personal development	Learning community	2.3	2.5	−0.2	+64.9	+5.1
Teaching Staff	The teaching on my course	5.3	6.7	−1.4	+48.7	+13.2
Placements/ fieldwork/ trips	Learning opportunities	9.7	3.4	+6.3	+44.2	+32.4
Student life	Learning community	3.4	3.2	+0.3	+42.6	+10.5
Availability of teaching staff	Academic support	2.2	2.1	+0.1	+40.5	+1.2
Type and breadth of course content	Learning opportunities	6.5	6.9	−0.5	+21.5	−1.1
Personal Tutor	Academic support	3.3	3.2	+0.2	+18.8	+0.1

What this means in practice

Protect the quality of applied learning. Fieldwork and related opportunities are a signature strength. Keep them well-signposted and well-supported: publish logistics early, set realistic cost and equipment expectations, and include a quick debrief/feedback step so students can connect activity to learning outcomes.
Make assessment criteria unmistakable. Where Feedback, Marking criteria, and Dissertation are pain points, publish annotated exemplars, checklist-style rubrics, and brief “what good looks like” guides. Set and track a realistic feedback SLA to reduce uncertainty.
Tighten operational rhythm. Remote learning and course communications are often negative. Name an owner for timetable changes, keep a single source of truth for updates, and issue short weekly summaries (“what changed and why”). small, predictable habits raise trust.
Keep doing what works in staff–student relationships. Teaching Staff and availability of staff are highly valued. Maintain visibility of office hours and proactive tutor check-ins. Consider light-touch structures to foster collaboration, given mixed views on opportunities to work with other students.

Data at a glance (2018–2025)

Top topics by share: Placements/fieldwork/trips (≈9.7%), Type and breadth of course content (≈6.5%), Feedback (≈6.4%), Module choice/variety (≈5.7%), Teaching Staff (≈5.3%).
Delivery & ops cluster (placements, scheduling, organisation, communications, remote learning): ≈18.7% of all comments; tone is mixed, with remote learning negative and organisation/scheduling around sector levels.
People & growth cluster (personal tutor, student support, teaching staff, availability of staff, delivery of teaching, personal development, student life): ≈24.1% of comments, with strongly positive tone.
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), averaged at category level.

How Student Voice Analytics helps you

Student Voice Analytics turns open-text survey comments into clear, prioritised actions by tracking topics, sentiment, and movement by year for every discipline, including Physical Geographical Sciences. It supports whole‑institution views as well as fine‑grained department and school analysis, producing concise, anonymised theme summaries and representative comments so programme teams and external stakeholders don’t need to trawl thousands of responses.

Critically, 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 see where interventions will move sentiment most, then export insights to web, deck or dashboard to share priorities and progress across the university.