Student Voice Analytics for Psychology — UK student feedback 2018–2025

Scope. UK NSS open-text comments for Psychology (CAH04-01-01) students across academic years 2018–2025.
Volume. ≈23,488 comments; 97% successfully categorised to a single primary topic.
Overall mood. Roughly 53.1% Positive, 43.5% Negative, 3.4% Neutral (positive:negative ≈ 1.22:1).

What students are saying

Psychology students discuss a balanced mix of support, teaching and assessment. The largest single topics are consistent year to year: Student support and Feedback (each ≈8.1% share), followed by Type and breadth of course content (6.8%) and Personal Tutor (6.3%). There is strong attention to the people and teaching environment—Teaching Staff (5.7%), Remote learning (5.4%), Learning resources (5.2%) and Delivery of teaching (5.0%)—with sentiment generally positive around staff and resources.

The main area of friction is Assessment & Feedback. While the general “Feedback” category is mixed (sentiment index around −10.0), specific components are more negative: Marking criteria carries a strongly negative tone (−45.0), and Assessment methods is also negative (−24.0). Students signal that clarity—what good looks like, how to achieve it, and how work is judged—remains a priority.

By contrast, the people and resources dimensions are clear strengths. Students speak positively about Teaching Staff (+35.2), Learning resources (+32.8), Availability of teaching staff (+31.9), and Type and breadth of course content (+29.7). Personal development is notably upbeat (+58.8). Personal Tutor is net positive (+12.1) but trends slightly below sector on tone.

Operationally, the picture is steadier than many disciplines. Scheduling/timetabling (+8.1) and overall organisation and management (+4.6) are mildly positive and sit well above sector tone. Remote learning (share 5.4%) is close to neutral (−1.1) but again above sector sentiment. Where issues surface, they are most often about communication—at course level (negative, though lower volume) or in one‑to‑one exchanges with academic staff.

Finally, some topics are less present than sector norms: Placements/fieldwork accounts for only 0.6% of comments (vs sector 3.4%) and is generally positive when mentioned, reflecting the academic nature of most Psychology provision.

Top categories by share (psychology vs sector):

Category	Section	Share %	Sector %	Δ pp	Sentiment idx	Δ vs sector
Student support	Academic support	8.1	6.2	+1.9	+17.0	+3.8
Feedback	Assessment and feedback	8.1	7.3	+0.8	-10.0	+5.0
Type and breadth of course content	Learning opportunities	6.8	6.9	-0.1	+29.7	+7.1
Personal Tutor	Academic support	6.3	3.2	+3.1	+12.1	-6.6
Teaching Staff	The teaching on my course	5.7	6.7	-1.0	+35.2	-0.3
Remote learning	The teaching on my course	5.4	3.5	+1.9	-1.1	+8.0
Learning resources	Learning resources	5.2	3.8	+1.4	+32.8	+11.4
Delivery of teaching	The teaching on my course	5.0	5.4	-0.5	+3.3	-5.4
Marking criteria	Assessment and feedback	4.7	3.5	+1.1	-45.0	+0.7
Assessment methods	Assessment and feedback	3.3	3.0	+0.3	-24.0	-0.3

Most negative categories (share ≥ 2%)

Category	Section	Share %	Sector %	Δ pp	Sentiment idx	Δ vs sector
Marking criteria	Assessment & feedback	4.7	3.5	+1.1	-45.0	+0.7
COVID-19	Others	3.2	3.3	-0.1	-31.5	+1.4
Assessment methods	Assessment & feedback	3.3	3.0	+0.3	-24.0	-0.3
Feedback	Assessment & feedback	8.1	7.3	+0.8	-10.0	+5.0
Communication with supervisor, lecturer, tutor	Academic support	2.0	1.7	+0.3	-8.4	-0.3
Remote learning	The teaching on my course	5.4	3.5	+1.9	-1.1	+8.0

Shares are the proportion of all Psychology 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	2.5	2.5	0.0	+58.8	-1.0
Teaching Staff	Teaching	5.7	6.7	-1.0	+35.2	-0.3
Learning resources	Learning resources	5.2	3.8	+1.4	+32.8	+11.4
Availability of teaching staff	Academic support	2.3	2.1	+0.2	+31.9	-7.4
Type and breadth of course content	Learning opportunities	6.8	6.9	-0.1	+29.7	+7.1
Module choice / variety	Learning opportunities	3.2	4.2	-1.0	+24.4	+7.0
Student life	Learning community	3.3	3.2	+0.1	+23.9	-8.2

What this means in practice

Make assessment clarity non‑negotiable. Publish plain‑English criteria, annotated exemplars, and marking guides that show progression from pass to distinction. Calibrate standards across modules, and use checklists so students can see how evidence maps to criteria before they submit.
Raise the usefulness of feedback. Commit to predictable turnaround times, ensure every response includes “what to do next” and a brief feed‑forward plan, and encourage quick follow‑ups via office hours or tutorials for students who want to clarify points.
Keep the operational rhythm simple. Students respond well to visible ownership of scheduling and programme organisation. Maintain a single source of truth for course communications, and use brief weekly updates that summarise changes and what’s coming next.
Protect the positives. Continue to leverage staff expertise and strong learning resources. Maintain easy access to tutors and signposting to support services, and keep remote learning materials tidy, searchable and aligned with live teaching.

Data at a glance (2018–2025)

Top topics by share: Student support (≈8.1%), Feedback (≈8.1%), Type & breadth of course content (≈6.8%), Personal Tutor (≈6.3%), Teaching Staff (≈5.7%), Remote learning (≈5.4%), Learning resources (≈5.2%), Delivery of teaching (≈5.0%).
Cluster view:
- Delivery & ops (Placements, Scheduling, Organisation, Course comms, Remote learning): ≈13.6% of all comments.
- People & growth (Personal Tutor, Student support, Teaching Staff, Availability, Delivery of teaching, Personal development, Student life): ≈33.2% of all comments with broadly 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 to +100 and compared with sector using the same category set. Coverage here is 97% of all comments.

How Student Voice Analytics helps you

Student Voice Analytics turns open‑text survey comments into clear, prioritised actions. It tracks topics and sentiment over time (2018–2025) for the whole institution and at fine‑grained levels (school, department, programme), so teams can focus on the categories that will shift student experience most—especially assessment clarity and the day‑to‑day delivery and support environment.

It also enables like‑for‑like proof of progress, with 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, and share concise, anonymised summaries and representative comments with programme teams and external partners. Export‑ready outputs (web, slide, dashboard) make it straightforward to communicate priorities and progress across the institution.