University of Nottingham partners with Explorance MLY to improve use of data analytics and drive student outcomes

The University of Nottingham has commissioned Explorance MLY to provide efficient and effective analysis of free-text comments in its institutional student surveys, as it seeks to “maximise the value of data captured in each survey.”

Nottingham, which is ranked in the UK’s Top 10 institutions and is also a member of the prestigious Russell Group, is committed to teaching excellence and an unparalleled student experience. With improving student satisfaction a key strategic driver, the University is seeking to enhance its “use of data analytics to drive student outcomes,” according to Chief Business Intelligence Officer Geyv Kathoke.

“We are conscious that we survey our students a lot, so we wanted to find a way to make better use of the data we are gathering and maximise the value of every survey,” Geyv explained. “The value we have not tapped into is the free-text elements of each survey, as we only have a very small dedicated team to do this work, and take any actions from it. We recognise the importance of understanding what student voice says and the need to delve deeper into it, but also that ability to do so has been limited by time and the resource required. With Explorance, I love the innovative idea of MLY to analyse the data we have, and their own desire to more forward in this very area.”

The University is going to run National Student Survey (NSS)-aligned surveys for non-final year students, with additional free-text questions around the overall university experience, running from February to April 2025. It will use MLY to help decipher and categorise the responses to those free-text questions, leading to clearer action points for academic and professional service units.

“MLY will deepen our understanding of recurring challenges, including in thematic areas across the University and those in specific academic units, and support taking action and closing the feedback loop,” Geyv said. “It is helpful for us, through MLY, to have the ability to really understand what students are saying, rather than it being anecdotal, and the categorisation makes is possible for us to then put a proportionate response into action. There is nothing else out there like MLY.”

However, Geyv pointed to MLY’s “adaptability”, and its potential use in any survey. “The technology’s specificity, with machine learning algorithms trained on higher education datasets and nothing else, brings huge flexibility and through it we can decipher student voice from other surveys, including the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey, Postgraduate Research Experience Survey, or any other academic, teaching and learning, or other type of survey,” he said.

“MLY has the ability to scale, both in terms of different surveys and resourcing. Right now, we have around 24,000 undergraduate students, and 10 free-text questions per survey to analyse and classify. Traditionally this would have taken us weeks, and we can now do this in minutes. MLY means humans can do the added-value part – question design, talking to colleagues, advising and promoting best practice – rather than spending time analysing. This will help us to make improvements.

“Strategically, NSS scores are one of our institutional KPIs, and we fully expect that the investment in MLY will provide extra insight to inform practice, and in turn improve the university experience for individuals and cohorts.”

Geyv also revealed how the University’s relationship with Explorance has progressed during the implementation of MLY. “I really enjoy the interactions we have, the team are diligent and supportive, very accommodating and very helpful,” he reflected. “Over time, I can see how important the wider Explorance community will be too. Hearing from other universities and organisations working with Explorance can only support our twin objectives of improving our use of data and analytics and using that to support improvement in then experience of our students, which is what we are here for as an institution.”

John Atherton, VP Sales – EMEA at Explorance, said: “We are really pleased to add the University of Nottingham to a fast-growing list of UK universities which have acquired MLY to for AI-powered qualitative analysis of student feedback. MLY also won Gold in the AI in Education Award category at the QS Reimagine Education Awards last week. This is further endorsement of the quality of our solution.”