Turning Feedback Into Action
We help higher education institutions hear the student voice clearly, understand what it means, and respond in ways that build trust, drive improvement, and make a lasting difference.
Student Voice Plus was born out of a belief that listening to students is only the beginning—true impact comes when their voices help shape decisions, strengthen communities, and lead to lasting, meaningful change.
We’re passionate about making the student voice count. Our team brings first-hand experience from strategic and research roles within higher education, and we love getting to know each institution we work with. We take time to understand your challenges, shape the right approach, and support implementation—whether through research, strategy, or capacity building—ensuring that improvements are not only meaningful but long-lasting.
Meet the team
Led by Dr. Kathy Seymour, our team blends academic expertise with real-world experience. From former Pro Vice-Chancellors and strategic leads, to research and student-facing specialists, we bring deep sector knowledge and a shared passion for improving the student experience. We tailor each project team to your needs, drawing from a trusted network of researchers and HE professionals. This flexible, collaborative approach helps us deliver work that’s thoughtful, responsive, and right for your institution—whatever your size, budget, or timeline. We also have a large pool of trusted and highly experienced consultants and researchers who regularly work with us.
Dr Kathy Seymour
Kathy has almost 30 years' experience as a researcher and evaluator and has worked with numerous universities, colleges and training providers helping them to explore, understand and enhance the student / trainee experience and their student voice strategies. Before establishing her own consultancy in 2011, she worked for the University of Nottingham as head of the Survey Unit. In this role she and her team were responsible for monitoring and evaluating the student experience using a range of methods and helping senior managers formulate and implement student experience enhancement strategies. Kathy has a PhD in Education and a Master's in Research Methods.
Come and say hello:
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Tom’s Sociology PhD focused on structure, culture, and change in large, complex organisations. Over the past 17 years, he has brought that expertise to higher education, serving as Director of Strategic Planning, Analytics, and Performance at five UK universities. Through his consulting work, Tom helps academic leaders understand and act upon often non-obvious insights from the NSS and other student surveys, designing processes to monitor, enhance, and sustain the student experience and wider institutional performance.
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Katy has 25 years’ experience in communications and marketing across the public and private sectors, and for the last nine years has worked in higher education specialising in improving student satisfaction, student voice and student engagement, and delivering clear and compassionate communications. She was PVC for Student Success for Plymouth Marjon University between 2019 and 2025 and is an External Trustee and Deputy Chair of Exeter Students’ Guild. She is a Chartered PR Practitioner with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
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Tom has over 15 years of experience in the Higher Education sector specialising in education strategy, operational development and delivering an excellent student experience. Tom is committed to advancing EDI awareness and providing consultancy to align teaching with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). He holds BSc and PhD degrees in Chemistry, an Executive MBA and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
How we work
For us the client is key, from day one where we make a point if getting to know your institution and understanding your needs, through to the project end point where we ensure you can embed strategies and implement change, we centre our approach on your needs and context. Working with us typically follows six key stages.
We offer:
Expert-led research & strategy to optimise student experience and institutional engagement.
Actionable insights & sector benchmarks for data-driven decision-making.
Hands-on training & support for long-term impact on student voice initiatives.
Enhance your student experience, engagement strategies, and institutional success with our specialised services.
What our clients say about us
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Kathy and her team were very approachable, demonstrated their extensive experience of surveys and had a very good grounding in the education sector.
Sarah Fulford, University of Winchester
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The team provided a very useful and quick service for analysing the NSS open comments, which saved my team days of time! I would definitely recommend.
Kim Winter, Nottingham Trent University
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Kathy helped us build on our qualitative skills with a tailored focus group training session for our team. She has been great to work with every step of the way, really listening to what we needed and going above and beyond to support us. The skills she’s shared are invaluable to our work, and her expertise has given us the confidence to lead qualitative research with impact
Rebecca Hampstead, Kingston University
FAQS
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We tailor every project to your needs and budget, so costs can vary. We’ll always aim to offer excellent value for money by designing a solution that delivers real results and strong return on investment. We’re happy to discuss this during a free, no-obligation discovery call to explore your needs and give you a clear idea of costs.
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No. We also work with further education colleges, schools, and training providers. If you’re delivering education or training and want to strengthen the student experience, we’d be happy to support you.
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Absolutely. We regularly work with institutions to analyse existing data, such as the NSS, PTES / PRES, module evaluations, or internal engagement surveys—and provide fresh insights, trend analysis, and actionable recommendations.
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Yes. We work with English-speaking institutions across the world, including in the UAE, Australia, and Canada. If you're delivering higher education in English, we can support your student voice work—wherever you're based.
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Yes. Student Voice Plus is part of Seymour Research, which works across education, healthcare, and the community/third sectors. If you have a research or engagement project beyond education, please get in touch to see how we can help.
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Both! We’re flexible and happy to work with you on a single research project or provide longer-term strategic support. We’ll shape the partnership to suit your goals and timelines.
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Yes. Our training and capacity-building services are designed to empower your teams with the skills and confidence to lead research and engagement work independently, with ongoing support if needed.
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Easy—just book a free discovery call. We’ll take the time to understand your goals and talk through how we might be able to support you.