In running our student surveys it is sometimes easy to forget the huge amount of messy data that accompanies the numbers. We receive hundreds of thousands of comments within our surveys from students across the HE sector, covering all aspects of their learning experience. We know that institutions value this data. Analysis on the comments illuminates the student experience in ways our closed survey questions cannot. In our national reports we have made increasing use of open comments, not just in providing snapshots of the student experience, but in providing greater understanding about the differences we see.
