Student Voice Analytics for Social Work — UK student feedback 2018–2025
Scope. UK NSS open‑text comments for Social Work (CAH15-04-01) across academic years 2018–2025.
Volume. ~3,236 comments; 98.2% successfully categorised to a single primary topic.
Overall mood. Roughly 51.9% Positive, 44.5% Negative, 3.5% Neutral (positive:negative ≈ 1.17:1).
What students are saying
Social Work students place substantial emphasis on practice learning. Comments about placements/fieldwork are the single largest theme, accounting for around one in nine comments (≈11.9%), far above the sector share for this topic. The tone is near‑neutral overall (sentiment index ≈ −0.8) but sits below a sector baseline that is mildly positive for placements; where sentiment dips, it typically connects to the logistics that surround practice learning.
Alongside placements, students pay close attention to the mechanics of delivery. Remote learning (≈5.6%) trends negative (−11.5), while scheduling/timetabling (≈2.8%) and organisation/management (≈3.1%) attract smaller but persistent discussion with mixed tone. Course communications, though a lower‑volume topic in this dataset, are notably negative when mentioned. Overall, the delivery and operations set of categories together account for roughly a quarter of all comments.
Set against those frictions is a clear strength: people‑centred support and teaching. Students are consistently positive about Student support (index ≈ +19.9), Personal Tutors (+25.2), Teaching Staff (+28.4) and Delivery of teaching (+11.9), with several of these sitting above sector tone. Students also report strong gains in Personal development (+66.0), highlighting confidence and growth.
Assessment and feedback is a mixed picture. Feedback appears in ~5.1% of comments and is notably negative (−25.5), underperforming the sector benchmark on tone. Marking criteria attracts fewer comments by share (4.6%) but is strongly negative (−39.3), albeit slightly less negative than sector. The message is familiar: assessment clarity is the currency—criteria, exemplars and predictable turnaround shape perceptions more than any other detail.
Finally, some topics are simply less present here than in the wider sector—Module choice/variety (1.0% vs 4.2% sector) and general Learning resources (2.4% vs 3.8%)—suggesting the lived experience is defined more by practice learning and day‑to‑day delivery than by optionality or generic facilities.
Top categories by share (social work vs sector):
| Category | Section | Share % | Sector % | Δ pp | Sentiment idx | Δ vs sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placements/ fieldwork/ trips | Learning opportunities | 11.9 | 3.4 | +8.4 | −0.8 | −12.6 |
| Student support | Academic support | 7.6 | 6.2 | +1.3 | +19.9 | +6.7 |
| Teaching Staff | The teaching on my course | 6.1 | 6.7 | −0.6 | +28.4 | −7.1 |
| Delivery of teaching | The teaching on my course | 6.1 | 5.4 | +0.7 | +11.9 | +3.2 |
| Remote learning | The teaching on my course | 5.6 | 3.5 | +2.1 | −11.5 | −2.5 |
| Personal Tutor | Academic support | 5.3 | 3.2 | +2.1 | +25.2 | +6.5 |
| Type & breadth of course content | Learning opportunities | 5.1 | 6.9 | −1.8 | +20.6 | −2.0 |
| Feedback | Assessment & feedback | 5.1 | 7.3 | −2.2 | −25.5 | −10.4 |
| Marking criteria | Assessment & feedback | 4.6 | 3.5 | +1.0 | −39.3 | +6.4 |
| COVID-19 | Others | 4.3 | 3.3 | +1.0 | −33.7 | −0.8 |
Most negative categories (share ≥ 2%)
| Category | Section | Share % | Sector % | Δ pp | Sentiment idx | Δ vs sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strike Action | Others | 2.3 | 1.7 | +0.5 | −57.2 | +5.9 |
| Workload | Organisation and management | 2.0 | 1.8 | +0.1 | −46.3 | −6.3 |
| Marking criteria | Assessment & feedback | 4.6 | 3.5 | +1.0 | −39.3 | +6.4 |
| COVID-19 | Others | 4.3 | 3.3 | +1.0 | −33.7 | −0.8 |
| Feedback | Assessment & feedback | 5.1 | 7.3 | −2.2 | −25.5 | −10.4 |
| Student voice | Student voice | 2.7 | 1.8 | +0.9 | −14.0 | +5.2 |
| Organisation, management of course | Organisation and management | 3.1 | 3.3 | −0.2 | −13.1 | +0.9 |
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 | +66.0 | +6.2 |
| Availability of teaching staff | Academic support | 2.3 | 2.1 | +0.2 | +39.6 | +0.2 |
| Student life | Learning community | 2.4 | 3.2 | −0.7 | +31.2 | −0.9 |
| Teaching Staff | The teaching on my course | 6.1 | 6.7 | −0.6 | +28.4 | −7.1 |
| Learning resources | Learning resources | 2.4 | 3.8 | −1.4 | +26.2 | +4.8 |
| Personal Tutor | Academic support | 5.3 | 3.2 | +2.1 | +25.2 | +6.5 |
| Type & breadth of course content | Learning opportunities | 5.1 | 6.9 | −1.8 | +20.6 | −2.0 |
What this means in practice
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Treat placements as a designed service. Confirm availability early, publish clear schedules, and maintain a single, up‑to‑date channel for placement information. Brief, timely formative feedback during practice learning closes the loop and improves perceived value.
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Make the operational rhythm predictable. Name an owner for timetables and course organisation; issue regular “what changed and why” updates; and coordinate remote‑learning expectations (materials, interaction, turnaround) so students know where to find the truth when plans shift.
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Tighten assessment clarity. Share marking criteria in plain language, provide annotated exemplars, and agree realistic feedback service levels. These steps directly address the most negative assessment topics—Feedback and Marking criteria—and tend to lift sentiment quickly.
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Keep amplifying people‑centred strengths. Personal Tutors, Student support and Teaching Staff are clear positives—protect their capacity and visibility, and make it easy for students to access them when pressure points (workload, placements) peak.
Data at a glance (2018–2025)
- Top topics by share: Placements/fieldwork (≈11.9%), Student support (≈7.6%), Teaching Staff (≈6.1%), Delivery of teaching (≈6.1%), Remote learning (≈5.6%), Personal Tutor (≈5.3%).
- Delivery & ops cluster (placements, scheduling, organisation, comms, remote) = ≈24.9% of all comments; tone is mixed, with remote learning negative and scheduling closer to sector.
- People & growth cluster (personal tutor, student support, teaching staff, availability, delivery of teaching, personal development, student life) = ≈32.3% of comments, with strongly positive tone overall.
- 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 open‑text survey responses into clear priorities. It tracks topics, sentiment and movement by year for every discipline, so teams can focus on high‑impact areas such as Placements, Delivery (scheduling, organisation, communications, remote learning) and Assessment & Feedback.
It also 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 analyse the whole institution as well as drill into schools, departments and cohorts, and segment by site/provider, programme or year to target interventions precisely. Concise, anonymised theme summaries and representative comments make it straightforward to brief partners and programme teams. Export‑ready outputs (web, deck, dashboard) help you share priorities and progress across the institution.
