In the sentence "The amount of feedback that students receive is not optimal", the word "optimal" is an adjective, more specifically a predicate adjective modifying the simple subject of the sentence, "amount". The word "optimum" does not occur in the sentence, although "optimal" could reasonably be called an adjective corresponding to the noun "optimum". In informal speech, "optimum" itself is often used as an adjective, but "optimal" is preferable for the adjective form.