What are students actually saying about Extra‑curricular activities (NSS 2018–2025)?
Students are broadly positive about extra‑curricular opportunities, but the tone softens for mature and part‑time learners and varies by subject area. Practical takeaway: widen access (times, modes, cost), reduce friction to participate, and tailor offers where tone is weaker.
Scope: UK NSS open‑text comments classified to Extra‑curricular activities across academic years 2018–2025.
Volume: 3,008 comments (≈0.8% of all open‑text); 100% with sentiment.
Overall mood: 76.5% Positive, 18.2% Negative, 5.3% Neutral (index +44.1; ≈4.2:1 positive:negative).
What are students saying in this category?
- Tone is strongly positive overall (+44.1), with three in four comments positive.
- Access gap: mature students (index +30.3; 30.1% negative) and part‑time students (+16.6; 41.3% negative) are markedly less positive than young/full‑time peers.
- Demographics: female comments are slightly more positive than male (+45.7 vs +42.9). Disabled and non‑disabled students report similar tone (~+44).
- Ethnicity: most groups are positive; comments from Black students are notably lower (+32.2) than White (+45.0) and not UK‑domiciled (+46.5).
- Subjects: among larger subject groups (n≥100), the strongest tone is in Biological & Sport Sciences (+49.0) and Social Sciences (+48.1). It is weaker in Subjects Allied to Medicine (+29.0) and Psychology (+38.9).
Benchmarks by segment
Key demographic contrasts
| Segment |
n |
Pos % |
Neg % |
Sentiment idx |
| Age — Young |
2722 |
77.6 |
16.9 |
45.7 |
| Age — Mature |
226 |
66.8 |
30.1 |
30.3 |
| Mode — Full‑time |
2863 |
77.4 |
17.3 |
45.2 |
| Mode — Part‑time |
80 |
53.8 |
41.3 |
16.6 |
| Sex — Female |
1555 |
78.4 |
17.3 |
45.7 |
| Sex — Male |
1383 |
74.8 |
18.7 |
42.9 |
| Ethnicity — White |
1881 |
76.8 |
18.8 |
45.0 |
| Ethnicity — Black |
116 |
74.1 |
20.7 |
32.2 |
| Ethnicity — Not UK domiciled |
297 |
78.5 |
14.5 |
46.5 |
| Disability — Disabled |
530 |
75.7 |
18.7 |
44.1 |
| Disability — Not disabled |
2418 |
77.0 |
17.7 |
44.6 |
Subject areas (CAH1) — n≥100 comments
| Strongest tone |
n |
Pos % |
Sentiment idx |
|
Weaker tone |
n |
Pos % |
Sentiment idx |
| Biological & Sport Sciences |
147 |
78.9 |
49.0 |
|
Subjects Allied to Medicine |
147 |
65.3 |
29.0 |
| Social Sciences |
368 |
80.7 |
48.1 |
|
Psychology |
125 |
76.8 |
38.9 |
| Law |
177 |
80.2 |
46.5 |
|
Medicine & Dentistry |
126 |
77.0 |
41.1 |
| Computing |
122 |
73.8 |
46.2 |
|
Historical/Philosophical/Relig. |
125 |
75.2 |
43.2 |
| Engineering & Technology |
134 |
74.6 |
44.9 |
|
Business & Management |
280 |
76.1 |
43.9 |
Note: Rows with “Unknown/Unspecified” or very small n are not shown.
What this means in practice
-
Make participation feasible for non‑traditional patterns
- Offer activities across times (day/evening/weekend) and formats (in‑person + hybrid/online).
- Provide micro‑opportunities (≤60 minutes) and drop‑ins alongside longer commitments.
-
Remove friction and cost
- Single calendar and simple sign‑up; clear “what to expect” in <100 words.
- Minimise or subsidise costs (travel/materials); consider childcare-friendly options.
-
Targeted outreach where tone is lower
- Co‑design with mature, part‑time and Black student reps; advertise through trusted channels.
- Track participation and quick feedback for these groups to evidence improvement.
-
Tailor by subject
- For lower‑tone areas (e.g., Subjects Allied to Medicine, Psychology), align activities with timetable rhythms and peak workload; integrate course‑adjacent options (e.g., skills, networks).
-
Evidence it
- Monitor attendance and brief satisfaction pulses by segment; review monthly to iterate offers.
How Student Voice Analytics helps you
- End‑to‑end visibility of category tone over time, with drill‑downs by provider, school/department, subject group (CAH), and demographics (age, domicile, mode, campus/site).
- Concise, anonymised summaries and export‑ready tables for programme teams and student partners, enabling like‑for‑like comparisons and quick briefings.
Data at a glance (2018–2025)
- Volume: 3,008 comments (100% with sentiment); ≈0.8% of all open‑text.
- Overall mood: 76.5% Positive, 18.2% Negative, 5.3% Neutral; index +44.1 (≈4.2:1 positive:negative).
- Largest segments by volume: Young (90.5%), Full‑time (95.2%), Female (51.7%).