Gathering student voice is central to understanding the experience of all students at the University of Bath. When approaches to gathering student voice are designed well, they offer valuable insight into what works well, what needs improving, and how we can better support our students. However, traditional student voice approaches may fail to capture the experiences of students from disadvantaged or underrepresented student groups. This guide supports staff in designing inclusive surveys and using alternative methods to hear these voices, and builds on the University’s Best Practice in Surveys resource.
Survey Design
Good survey design principles apply to all contexts. However, if your aim is to hear from students who are underrepresented at the University, you may want to adapt the way you design, deliver, and frame your survey.
Use clear, jargon-free language that avoids assumptions about background or experience. For example, instead of asking “Do your parents support your learning at home?”, you could ask “Do you receive support with your learning from a parent, carer, guardian, or another trusted adult?”. This avoids jargon, is more inclusive, and recognises that not all students’ circumstances look the same.
Consider accessibility from the start. Are your surveys easy to navigate, a manageable length, and can they be completed on a range of devices?
Be aware of social and cultural context. Students may answer some survey questions in ways they think are expected of them, rather than reflecting their true experiences. For example, instead of asking “Do you always find it easy to attend university events?” with only a yes/no option, you could ask “What factors affect how easy or difficult it is for you to attend university events? (e.g. travel costs, timing, caring responsibilities, accessibility, other)”. This allows for more honest and useful responses.
Testing your survey
Where possible, pilot surveys with a small number of students who reflect the diversity of your target audience. Their feedback can surface issues around tone, structure, or cultural sensitivity that might otherwise be missed. If this isn’t possible, consider using validated survey scales, like (TASO’s Access and Success Questionnaire)[https://taso.org.uk/libraryitem/access-and-success-questionnaire-asq/], to help ensure consistency, comparability, and rigour when exploring the experiences of underrepresented groups.
Targeting your Survey
Conventional approaches to circulating surveys can lead to responses predominantly from those already engaged with university life, which can mean the experiences of some harder to reach or underrepresented students are overlooked. Broadening who engages with surveys helps avoid skewed insights and ensures decisions reflect a wider range of student experiences.
Avoid repeatedly targeting small, visible cohorts of underrepresented students, such as scholarship recipients, as stand-ins for wider underrepresented groups.
Try to promote surveys through alternative channels. For example, alongside sending an email you could also share the survey through Student Union societies, via peer mentors and course reps, or posting on relevant social media channels. This can help you reach students who may not engage with more formal University communications.
Consider the timing of your survey to avoid any periods of high workload or survey fatigue for students.
Where appropriate, you may want to consider offering small incentives to encourage participation. Research has shown that harder-to-reach students are more likely to respond to a survey if there is a reward attached.
Alternative models for gathering student voice
Traditional approaches to gathering student voice, like surveys, may not work for all students, and alternative approaches can offer more inclusive, authentic, or low-pressure ways for students to engage with the University and share their experiences.
Student Voice Request Tool
The Students’ Union have launched a tool to support staff and teams seeking student input or collaboration. Whether you’re planning one-to-one interviews, roundtable discussions, or other forms of engagement, you can submit a request using this form.
Once submitted, a member of the Students’ Union team will get in touch to help shape your approach and connect you with relevant students.
This tool is designed to make it easier for staff to incorporate authentic student voice into projects, research, and decision making, and the SU can help shape your approach.
Listening Rooms
Inspired by Radio 4’s The Listening Project, Listening Rooms create a space for students to record peer-to-peer conversations, guided by prompts. The facilitator is absent, removing power dynamics between staff and students, and allowing students to speak freely.
Listening Rooms have been used successfully at other universities, including Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Leeds. Recordings are transcribed following the peer-to-peer conversations and thematically analysed to uncover insights.
Things to consider: Prepare clear but open prompts in advance, make sure students feel comfortable with the recording process, and decide how you will share the findings back with participants.
Reverse Mentoring
Reverse mentoring flips the usual student-staff dynamic. Students become mentors, and senior staff their mentees, supporting reflective conversations on both sides and helping staff better understand how students experience institutional culture.
Reverse Mentoring has been used at Northumbria University, the University of Leeds, and the University of Southampton, informing University policy and staff development.
Things to consider: Invest time in preparing both the mentors and the mentees, provide training and support to students taking on the mentor role, and agree in advance how feedback will be captured and acted up.
Focus Groups
Focus Groups allow you to bring groups of students together to explore a topic in a deeper, more authentic way, through facilitated conversation. They’re particularly useful for surfacing group dynamics and perspectives that individual methods might miss.
Things to consider: Develop a topic guide with open, non-leading questions; be clear about the purpose of the discussion and how the insights will be used; let participants know how they will be updated afterwards; and ensure the moderator facilitates discussion rather than leading it. Aim to create a comfortable environment for conversation, whether online or in-person, so all voices have the chance to be heard.
These alternative approaches could be used in conjunction with, or instead of traditional tools like surveys. They can help uncover insights that standard surveys miss, or help better understand patterns arising from surveys, and offer students more agency in how they choose to be heard.
Some alternative methods—like recorded conversations or mentoring—may involve sensitive topics or personal experiences. It’s important to think about things like consent, confidentiality, and how the information will be used. If you're unsure, speak to the Student Voice team or check your department’s usual guidance.
Closing the feedback loop
Whether you choose to use a survey, or an alternative approach, to gather student voice, be clear about how insights will be used, and what students can expect to happen as a result. Building this trust is especially important when seeking insights from students who may not usually feel heard.
Share outcomes in a timely way. If possible, communicate findings and next steps while they’re still relevant to students.
Be transparent about how feedback is being used. Explain if feedback is or isn’t leading to change, and if certain feedback cannot be acted on, explain why.
Use existing representative systems and communication channels. Work with student networks, the SU, colleagues in academic departments or marketing colleagues to amplify messages and connect with wider student groups.
Celebrate impact. If student feedback has led to a positive change, make this visible and public.
If your work with underrepresented student voices has shaped your practice or led to new initiatives, we’d love to hear about it.