why do ug students choose lancaster? acceptors & decliners survey results 2015 emily hargreaves,...
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Why do UG students choose Lancaster?Acceptors & Decliners Survey Results 2015
Emily Hargreaves, Market Research OfficerAugust 2015
What we did…
• Revised survey going out to acceptors and decliners covering:– Applying to university– Perceptions of Lancaster University– Reasons for accepting / declining Lancaster’s offer– Communications– Finance
• Survey was live from January 2015 until July 2015
• Sent to all UG acceptors and decliners at point of decision
Who did we consult?
1,659 acceptors and 1,363 decliners, including:
330 Unconditional offer holders
816 applicants from FASS, 202 from FHM, 1,211 from FST and 793 from LUMS
2,200 UK applicants, 375 EU applicants and 447 International applicants.
Where else are our applicants applying?
They’re not just considering the UK…
• 38% of EU applicants and 32% of International applicants applied to universities outside of the UK– USA, Hong Kong, Netherlands, France, Canada and Spain were the
most common countries
• Just 1% of our UK applicants applied to universities abroad
• Over three quarters (78%) of those who had applied to university in other countries intend to study in the UK
• Whilst EU and international students are also considering universities further afield
Which UK universities are our applicants also applying to?
• Northern Russell Group Institutions are our competition for UK students
Where does Lancaster feature in their choices?
• Over a third (35%) of applicants said Lancaster was their first choice when applying to university
• Very few (7%) placed Lancaster at the bottom of their choices
• It is essential to make a good impression on prospective students pre-application as there is little change in their preferred institutions between applying and accepting 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
At the bottomSomewhere in the middleSecond choice universityFirst choice university
Choosing a university
We know university choice is difficult to explain…
“I felt that I’d fit in well here.”
“It is my dream university.”
“This university is where I would like to spend the next few years of my life!”
“I preferred a different university.”
“I preferred the atmosphere at XXXX.”
“I decided to go to universities that I felt clicked with me a bit
better.”
Reasons for accepting – UK
• Course content and university reputation are the biggest hooks for UK students
Reputation of the course / department
Quality of accommodation
Atmosphere at the University
Reputation of Lancaster University
Content of the course
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
A UK student
Reasons for accepting – EU & Int’l
• University reputation was the biggest influencing factor for EU and International students
Reputation of the course / department
Content of the course
Reputation of Lancaster University
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
An international student An EU student
Reasons for accepting – in full
Other
Cost of tuition fees
Time taken to receive your offer
Availability of scholarships
Bursaries and scholarships available from the University
Cost of accommodation
The University's contact with me
The facilities I would be using on my course
Employability prospects
Level of offer / grades
Location of Lancaster University
Reputation of the course / department
Quality of accommodation
Atmosphere at the University
Reputation of Lancaster University
Content of the course
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
An international student An EU student A UK student
Reasons for declining
• The location of the university and the level of offer were the most common reasons for declining for all groups
• Time taken to receive an offer and contact with the university were of minimal importance in the decision to decline
Reputation of Lancaster University
Atmosphere at the University
Content of the course
Level of offer / grades
Location of Lancaster University
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
An international student An EU student A UK student
Reasons for declining – in full
Time taken to receive your offerBursaries and scholarships available from the University
*Alternative offer / preferred another uni*Received an Unconditional offer from another university
Cost of tuition feesAvailability of scholarships
The University's contact with meCost of accommodation
Reputation of the course / departmentThe facilities I would be using on my course
OtherQuality of accommodation
Employability prospectsReputation of Lancaster University
Atmosphere at the UniversityContent of the course
Level of offer / gradesLocation of Lancaster University
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
An international student An EU student A UK student
*These options were not included in the response list, but were the most commonly stated ‘other’ responses
Location of Lancaster University
• The location of the uni is as much of a positive for acceptors as a negative for decliners
Other
I was already familiar with the city
It is far away from home
I liked the size of the city
It is easy to get to
It is close to home
I liked that the campus is located outside the city
I liked the campus
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Other
It is too close to home
I did not like the campus
It is difficult to get to
I would prefer to be in a bigger city
It is too far away from home
I would prefer to be nearer to the centre of a city
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Acceptors Decliners
Level of offer
• Level of offer was a common factor in decliners’ decisions to turn down their offer
• However, comparing data across different groups suggests our offers are well balanced
Decliners citing offer level
All decliners
All applicants
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Lancaster's offer was lower Offers were the same Lancaster's offer was higher
How will they pay for their studies?
My own money / savings
Student loan
Money from parents / family / friends
How does our financial package compare?
• Broader cost implications of studying are a major factor – especially for Int’l applicants
• Our tuition fees are comparable to other unis for UK applicants– Greater variation for Int’l applicants, but still broadly similar
• However, they are less competitive when applicants compare us to institutions abroad– 25% of applicants applying outside the UK think they are much or
slightly higher, compared with 7% only applying to UK institutions
What do they think of Lancaster?
We are friendly, modern and welcoming
We are a quality, reputable institution on the rise
Reputable
Ordinary
Leading
Aspirational
Inclusive
Established
Falling
Traditional Ground-breaking
Rising
New
Exclusive
Accessible
Following
Quality
Unknown
But they don’t know quite how good we are!
University CUG Ranking Average Ranking
Durham 5 5
Warwick 7 7
Lancaster 9 14
Exeter 10 14
York 17 14
Leeds 19 16
Manchester 28 17
Liverpool 39 26
Five Great Reasons are starting to embed
A collegiate university 56%
A UK top 10 University 49%
Top for student satisfaction 47%
Great for employability 42%
A global university 35%
Engaging with applicants
Communications
Speed of response to applications is comparable with other institutions
– 40% said our offer was among the first they received, 45% said it was somewhere in the middle
83% of applicants were happy with how often we emailed them
– This falls to 74% for international students, who would prefer more frequent contact
However, there is room for improvement in the content of our emails
– 17% said the emails were very interesting, 65% fairly interesting
iLancaster
Usage of iLancaster is slightly higher among UK applicants– 17% use it a lot, compared to 10% EU and 13% Int’l
However, EU and Int’l applicants found the app more helpful in deciding whether Lancaster was for them
– 46% of EU and Int’l strongly agreed / tended to agree with this compared to 39% of UK applicants
The information about the University was better received than course information
– 41% strongly agreed that the app gave them the information they wanted about the university, compared to 24% in relation to information about their course
Conclusions & Recommendations
Things to think about…
• Lots of changes in the past 12-18 months – expect to see the impact in 2016 research
• Continue to push the branding and key messages to further embed applicants– Importance of maintaining League Table position
• Applicants are having a positive experience when they engage with us, but there is room for improvement:– Make applicant email content more engaging– Enhance course information in iLancaster – what do they want?– Engage more with international applicants
