1. Student expectation in the
contemporary climate
Dr Clare Milsom
Head of Academic Practice
Liverpool John Moores University
Dr Elena Zaitseva and Dr Martyn Stewart

2. ‘We support the quality enhancement of the student learning experience and
the professional development of staff. The AEU encompasses Quality and
Standards, including learning & teaching policy, Academic Practice,
Technology Enhanced Learning and Staff Development’.
‘We provide advice across a wide range of issues, from interpretation of
policy, curriculum design, development of effective teaching and assessment
practices, working with institutional data, continuing professional
development and evaluating teaching interventions.’

3. ‘Qualitative’ institutional research: analysis free text comments
LJMU Student Survey: comparative analysis of year 1 and year 2 free text responses
[Mock NSS/Mirror Survey]: complete 29, 502 words
2011 Year 1
A12 Has your experience at this university been roughly as you expected
A13 In what way have your experiences been different to what you expected
National Student Survey: analysis of free text responses: 86, 362 words

4. 2011 Year 1 LJMU Student Survey ‘Mirror Survey’
A12 Has your experience at this university been roughly as you expected
Yes 1399 (75%)
No 281 (15%)
Don’t know 178 (10%)
A13 In what way have your experiences been different to what you expected
3855 words

5. ‘Qualitative’ institutional research: analysis free text comments
Explores likelihood
of a concept being
Identifies key
Outlines main mentioned in
concepts and how
themes favourable or
they are connected
unfavourable
context

7. Time
‘a lot less help and time for students than expected’
‘There is a low more emphasis on the student doing work at home than in university time’
Lectures
‘I expected all lectures in lecture theatres and not small classrooms’
‘Thought the lectures would be more interesting’
‘ Thought there would be a higher of number of lectures for the money I am paying on
tuition fees’
‘….the work would be more challenging, we would have more lectures and everything
would be a lot more organised’.
Experience
‘I expected a more personal experience’
‘My halls of residence has been an experience I can only describe as hell.’
Work
‘Expected more stimulating work, doesn't seem like this is higher education at all’
‘short days mixed with large volumes of work.’
Feel
‘I feel alone and I believe it is just reading for assignments.’
‘I feel at home in Liverpool and studying at Liverpool John Moores.’
‘i dont feel i have enough support, i feel im told what im doing wrong but not how i could
do better!’

8. Expectation in the contemporary climate
What can history tell us?
‘Is there any evidence that trebling fees in 2006 led to any changes in the
provision that was made for student? On the basis of the evidence provided by
these surveys the answer has to be not.’
The academic experience of students at English universities 2012 report HEPI
2006 2007 2012
Contact hrs 13.7 14.2 13.9
Private study 13.1 12.7 14.4
Total workload 26 25.5 27.2
‘The number of class contact hours has very little to do
with educational quality’ (Gibbs 2010, p.21) Total student
effort:, ‘time on task’.
‘There is no evidence to suggest that quality can be
measured solely from contact hours’ QAA CEO

9. ‘But these are not just financial changes. They have much deeper implications than
that. Above all they bring the quality of the student academic teaching experience to
centre stage.’
‘I am sure you are all preparing for a level of scrutiny of the student teaching
experience that you have not had before.’
David Willetts HEFCE Annual Conference April 2012
‘There must be action on transparency and fairness of additional costs’
‘Learn well through great induction and strong mutual relationships with teachers
who are trusted and respected’
Liam Burns HEFCE Annual Conference April 2012

10. How are we at LJMU scrutinising the ‘student teaching experience’
NSS and ‘Mirror’ Surveys: two most semantically important themes
29 500 words 33 066 words 86 362 words
Year 1 (mirror) Year 2 (mirror) Year 3 (NSS)
Favourable Course Favourable Course Favourable Course
Unfavourable Lectures Unfavourable Time Unfavourable Library
Total 3533 respondents

11. Most students do not leave comments in the NSS questionnaire
5. Definitely agree
4. Mostly agree
3. Neither agree nor disagree
2. Mostly disagree
1. Definitely disagree
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
e
ee
ee
e
ee
re
re
gr
gr
gr
ag
ag
sa
sa
sa
tly
ly
di
di
di
it e
os
ly
tly
r
no
fin
it e
M
os
De
fin
ee
M
De
gr
a
er
it h
Ne

12. No.
No.
respondents %
respondents
left a comment
LJMU Year 1 student
Survey 1858 (32%) 831 45%
2011
LJMU Year 2 student
Survey 1674 (30%) 911 55%
2011
NSS 2011 3279 (65%) 2086 64%

13. Students mostly leave negative comments
5. Definitely agree
4. Mostly agree
3. Neither agree nor disagree
2. Mostly disagree
1. Definitely disagree
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
e
ee
ee
e
ee
re
re
gr
gr
gr
ag
ag
sa
sa
sa
tly
ly
di
di
di
it e
os
ly
tly
r
no
fin
it e
M
os
De
fin
ee
M
De
gr
a
er
it h
Ne

14. No. positive No. negative
No. respondents
comments comments
LJMU Year 1 student Survey
1858 583 532
2011
LJMU Year 2 student Survey
1674 543 515
2011
No. positive No. negative
No. respondents
words words
LJMU Year 1 student Survey
1858 9069 10613
2011
LJMU Year 2 student Survey
1674 8453 10623
2011
Work too grouped, all due at the same
time and sometimes feedback has been
late or not at all but only for a few usually
it is average. Usually it is difficult to gain
Generally staff are approachable and access to computers or areas to go
helpful with queries. through work as a group.

15. NSS: 9 SRGs
Positive Negative Total
580 respondents
Comments 478 495 973
Words 8818 14886 23704
Feedback is really poor; I don't get
any feedback at all. Say for
example if I get seventy three
percent, I don't get any comments
telling me how I could improve.
Like facilities wise if you want to
use the IT computers or a room
Some of the style of teaching is they're always booked up and you
really good. have to do advanced booking.

16. Free text comments reflect the satisfaction scores
5. Definitely agree
4. Mostly agree
3. Neither agree nor disagree
2. Mostly disagree
1. Definitely disagree
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
e
ee
ee
e
ee
re
re
gr
gr
gr
ag
ag
sa
sa
sa
tly
ly
di
di
di
it e
os
ly
tly
r
no
fin
it e
M
os
De
fin
ee
M
De
gr
a
er
it h
Ne

17. Open response (free text) alignment: subject reporting group
5%
17%
40%
Reflect scores
Partly reflect scores
Do not reflect scores
Contradict scores
38%
Reasons?
Not all students leave comments
Comments tend to be extremely positive or negative

18. Bad cop ‘I know you did it just tell me the facts - what happened’
Good cop ‘I know that things are hard but why would someone
want to take the jewels’
‘Not that scientists discover the truth about nature, nor that they
approach ever closer to the truth.’ (Kuhn 1970, p.63)
‘'the practice of science happens at the border between the known
and the unknown…..there is no certainty; there is simply the best
description we have of the Universe....'. (Cox 2011)

19. Sentiment analysis
Comparisons of main concepts and associated sentiments and strength
Concept Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Course Favourable Favourable Favourable
Feedback Favourable Unfavourable Unfavourable
Coursework Favourable Unfavourable Unfavourable
University Favourable Unfavourable Unfavourable
Teaching Favourable Favourable Favourable
Module Unfavourable Unfavourable Unfavourable
Library Favourable Favourable Unfavourable

20. Comparison of the main concepts and their relevance weight by year
Concept relevance
Concept Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Course 80 100 98
Feedback 30 38 27
Lectures 66 56 28
Teaching 24 30 26
Feel 52 41 26
Library 14 17 18

21. Year 1 (mirror) Year 2 (mirror) Year 3 (NSS)
Favourable Course Favourable Course Favourable Course
Unfavourable Lectures Unfavourable Time Unfavourable Library

22. Most positively rated concept is course
Year 1: course associated with ‘experience’
‘The course as a whole has been a very positive experience so far and I look forward to what the
future holds.’
‘I think all areas of the course have been a positive and stimulating experience.’
Year 2: ‘able’ replaces ‘experience’. Second year students want a course to facilitate learning
‘I have been able to realise my goals’
‘The course is able to push me to produce work I would have never thought capable of’
‘...building my confidence.....to be able to routinely describe myself as an artist’
Year 3: course associated with ‘degree’ and ‘experience’
‘I think I have become a better person by studying a degree course.
‘It has prepared me for the job opportunities it has given me immediately after finishing my
degree.’
‘I have been able to achieve obtaining a degree, which I never thought I would be able to and
this has been due to the helpfulness of my tutors.’
‘Placement module in professional area is one of the best experiences for me during academic
life.’

23. Sentiment analysis
Comparisons of main concepts and associated sentiments and strength
Concept Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Course Favourable Favourable Favourable
Feedback Favourable Unfavourable Unfavourable
Coursework Favourable Unfavourable Unfavourable
University Favourable Unfavourable Unfavourable
Teaching Favourable Favourable Favourable
Module Unfavourable Unfavourable Unfavourable
Library Favourable Favourable Unfavourable

24. Feedback concept
Year 1: confidence Year 2: improvement (formative)
‘when I had done something well I got ‘To enable growth and learning
great feedback and this boosted my feedback should be timely but it is
confidence’ not’
‘.....happy to help and give feedback ‘The worst experience at this
on my work.... Tutors are encouraging’ university is with feedback. They
might tell us what we did wrong…, but
not telling me how to improve it does
not help at all.’
Staff focus group
[Second years] are quite shocked by their marks and there’s definitely not the
flattering… it isn’t the ego boosting marks they have had previously and then I
have to talk to them… it is obviously a learning curve…

25. Feedback concept
Year 3: judgement (summative) – marks
‘Need to know the marking structure for assessments and exactly how the
degree is going to be marked..coursework marks needs to be given sooner with
clear feedback’
‘When feedback is received it is often just the marks without any comments
sometimes just a sentence saying good work or needs more description’
‘I feel that I was marked unfairly on one piece of work and was given no help
as of why the feedback given was ambiguous’
‘feedback from tutors has not justified the mark given.’

26. University ‘neighbourhood’
Support Time: Quality
Tutor [contact Assurance
-University- -University- -University-
Interesting delays resources
Subject feedback] organisation
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
‘I feel that the University is very ‘I am paying a lot of money only ‘I feel that the university is more
helpful’ to be at the university for a day concerned with numbers
‘All the staff within the and a half each week which is attending, not the quality of the
university are always available’ apparently a full time course. If courses’
‘staff have been both helpful I'd known all of this before ‘lecturers were sick and the
and friendly in helping me settle applying I would have either university didn’t make
at University’ chosen another university or not alternative arrangements’
gone to one at all!’

27. computers
work
students
coursework
time
feedback
lack
facilities
‘Very good library facilities and the staff as a whole are very approachable and helpful.’
‘Library at my campus does not have enough computers.’
‘The only negative would be that when there is a deadline it is often difficult to get a
computer in the library.’
‘Too much old material in the library.’

28. Favourable Neutral Unfavourable
Provided, needs and Closely linked to University Computers, available,
coursework people, assignments
Law, English, Business, Health, Nursing, Pharmacy, Education, ITT, Outdoor
Finance environmental sciences, education, Dance, Tourism,
Forensic

29. Student expectation in the contemporary climate?
‘Life is largely a matter of expectation’ Horace 6.5BC – 8BC
75% first year students state that their experience has been roughly as they
expected
80% satisfaction Q22 NSS
‘Value for Money’ strong theme in qualitative data
Evidence that students are expecting more?
‘If you fail would you blame yourself?’
Two thirds students disagree with this statement