The Student Experience

Student numbers are increasing year on year. This year, the figures from UCAS show that the number of applicants is up 9.7 per cent – roughly 42,000. So we can see all is going to plan in terms of the widening participation agenda. However, as universities are attracting unprecedented numbers of students, the race is on to find out what they want and to meet their expectations. The student experience is the broad term relating to every aspect of university life – from academic contact hours to the condition of accommodation – and it has become hugely important to universities over the last decade. While attention has always been paid to the non-academic aspects of university, it is now more important than ever. This fresh attention to detail and drive for quality in all things pastoral – as well as academic – can be pinned to the notion of students as consumers. William Archer of i-Graduate, the independent benchmarking and consultancy service responsible for the in-depth CUBO Student Living Report, as well as consultancy advice for many universities across the UK, says: “We are in a time when we have to recognise that students are customers who have a choice as to where they attend university.” This means that academic excellence alone is no longer enough; the whole experience must meet students’ expectations and match up with competitor universities. DIALOGUE In his recommendation on improving the student experience, Professor Paul Ramsden wrote to the Government: “There is growing recognition that students have a major role to play in the enhancement of teaching and assessment. Universities and colleges are increasingly positioning students as engaged collaborators rather than inferior partners in assessment, teaching, course planning and the improvement of quality and are using student representatives as central contributors to the business of enhancing the student experience.” To gauge student expectation, the satisfaction of today’s students is ceaselessly monitored. Besides institutions running their own reports, the NUS runs the National Student Survey, UNITE runs the Student Experience Report, and the QAA runs its own qualitative report on top of countless others. According to Archer, the key to success is not to bombard students but to open a logical dialogue with them. “Getting student feedback is not an entirely new thing,” he says. “There is evidence going back 600 years; it’s about how we get this feedback – it needs to be logical. There are some universities where students are being asked questions every week, in an uncoordinated fashion. With so may people appearing to care the overriding message is ‘we don’t talk to each other’. So a unified strategy for stakeholder dialogue is important.” In the process used by i-Graduate, students are approached once and then approached a second time if there are any further questions relating to relevant areas, creating a logical dialogue with one entity. UNCERTAIN TIMES Establishing what students want is particularly important, not just to individual institutions trying to get an edge on their competitors, it is important in national terms too. “In these uncertain times it is more important than ever that we do know what students are thinking and saying about their experience.” says Archer. By uncertain times, he is referring to the uncertainty surrounding funding and decision making in the sector, but more importantly he is referring to the globalisation of HE and the way UK HE has come to rely on international students for revenue. “For many institutions, the income from international students is many times their surplus. Any significant decline in numbers would have a severe impact,” he says. In his The Future of Higher Education: Teaching and The Student Experience report, Professor Ramsden warns that: “Competition between UK and overseas universities to attract international students is likely to intensify, particularly as more countries offer programmes taught in English and provide education at standards which are ‘good’ rather than exceptional, but at much lower cost to the student.” International students have made a – potentially very costly – decision to invest in their future by studying in the UK rather than Australia or America. “It’s important that we never lose sight of the fact that every international student in a UK university has made an important decision,” explains Archer. “We have the most uncertain time of all in terms of understanding the markets where students are coming from…we can’t be sure of the numbers of international students that will turn up next year.” This is a particularly difficult area to monitor because the decisions of these students can be based on finances and exchange rates. As Archer explains, the pound getting stronger against the dollar may deter overseas students and make the US a more appealing option. “America is becoming a more proactive recruiter,” he says. “We know that 50 per cent of all international students who came to the UK last year were considering America. That translates to more than £1bn in discretionary spend that landed in the UK, but that could have easily gone to the US. That’s only direct expenditure in fees.” Only by monitoring international students and their expectations can we maintain our success in an increasingly competitive and ever-changing international market. WHAT DO STUDENTS WANT? So what do students want from their university experience? “If you were to say the primary purpose must be to educate and therefore for students must be to learn, it’s not surprising that the academic elements are of significant importance,” says Archer. “However, the decision on choice of institution or field of study – and county of study – is significantly driven by employment expectations.” This means that universities need to address their relationships with business and upgrade their careers departments, according to Archer. “The biggest mismatch between expectation and reality is around the employment connection. It’s direct work placements – it’s about careers and connections. While that’s an inevitable outcome, it’s not resourced around that. This is the biggest challenge for universities in the UK at the moment. The sector is seeking to respond to that but must consider whether the employment departments are fit for purpose in the 21st century.” This mirrors recommendations from the CBI that universities strengthen their links to business to give students better work experience and better chances of finding work. ACCOMMODATION While the need for visible career progression is most pressing to students, Williams’ research also reflects the consensus that such pastoral considerations as accommodation, access to the internet and social spaces rank highly among students’ greatest concerns. “Accommodation features strongly,” he says. “It’s not why students choose a university, but it’s important for your accommodation portfolio to be appropriate for the spectrum of expectations represented by your students.” It’s this spectrum of expectations that is so important for universities to understand – unnervingly, not all students want the same thing. “The assumption is that everybody needs more en-suite rooms,” explains Archer. “While for some students - and the conference business - that is important, in reality there are some students that will prefer shared facilities and communal living.” INVESTMENT Institutions are improving and upgrading facilities to meet student expectations, but how can the investment be tracked for a return? Naturally, upgrading accommodation or a catering facility and monitoring the money taken by the new facility compared to the old one will reveal how the investment is paying off. According to Archer, though, the big returns on investment are more difficult to measure. “The indirect financial returns are how an improvement impacts on the perception of the university and students’ recommendations and therefore future recruitment,” says Archer, who sums it up: “The Ambassador effect. As people give good reports of their university, they are actively encouraging others to come.” Great facilities or academic excellence alone are relatively unimportant when compared to the pulling power of the Ambassador effect. If UK HE is to succeed in perfecting the student experience, it will first have to succeed in opening dialogue with students and getting a grip on what students want. In this respect Archer says the UK is ahead of the competition: “The UK leads the world in this area. Universities and governments in 13 countries have now followed the initiatives that are being taken in the UK. We should be proud of that.” In the race to perfect the student experience, knowledge is power and the UK is outperforming the competition. UB Ask the Expert David Russell from The Russell Partnership comments on HE catering ■ The University of Edinburgh was described by the Russell Partnership as “adopting a holistic learning policy by considering what goes on in its dining halls as well as its lecture halls.” Can you outline what steps were taken by the Russell Partnership to implement this? The holistic food policy embraced the physical human and social drivers within the student and staff food experience. Physical modifications included investment within catered halls and the university main food venue. This investment created a student focused contemporary design environment, an enhanced customer journey, an extended food range and facilitated flexible opening hours to meet the shift in study patterns. Human needs were met with an emphasis on nutrition. A nutritional audit and team nutritional workshops drove menu redesign and an emphasis on food cooked to order. The social needs were met through providing environments to encourage accidental meetings, maximize the use of external areas and space designed to ease the use of technology. ■ New research reveals almost a third of 17 – 25 year olds starting university in the autumn will live at home to save money. What effects do you think this could have on both the Universities themselves and private companies providing supporting facilities? Lloyds TSB published a study this month identifying one in four students will live at home. UK Youth Parliament in March published a report stating 36% of students will select a university on financial grounds. Universities UK identified over a ten year period a doubling of students living at home. The reality is studying at home is a growing trend and has been influenced by changes in HE Policy including the drive for widening participation and changes in funding. A study undertaken at Liverpool University “choices and experience of HE students living in parental homes” identifies three implications. The need to target local students with dedicated literature, establishing support groups for local students to meet growing strong links with the local community. The impact on the food and accommodation is far reaching, in accommodation terms a reduced demand, UK Universities report identifies a 8% reduction of students living in halls over a ten year period. Does this trend impact our food business? Well, if you do nothing, a demand drop will be felt. However, programmes to build engagement and drive up user group penetration mitigate this customer demand shift. Lunch is the core student revenue generator within the sector and will remain so. The trend drives a need to review product range and move ‘value snacking’ away from ‘fuelling’. Sector space and commercial models, built on contemporary user groups needs to provide tangible evidence on future space needs and optimum revenue targets. ■ In your experience, what are the most important aspects of a university catering facility? The Russell Partnership strategies are market driven. Over a two year period we have spoken face to face with over 20,000 staff and students. The research supports three key catering facility drivers. Location within six minutes walking radius, combining food, retail, ground floor, highly visible locations. Environment cited in research as “friends go there”, modern, bright, light, zonal and flexible. Value incorporating product choice, range, quality and price. With evolving patterns of learning through the “Learning Living Room Environment” (combined food, social and learning space), provides the anchor to success. ■ What are the most recent and popular changes Universities are having to make to their catering facilities? Why? The Rules of the Game have changed and are irreversible . With payroll, food and fuel inflation at unprecedented highs, the traditional approach to operating catering in a captive market requires radical re evaluation. New, contemporary and innovative operating options and solutions are required (and are available) for catering in ‘tomorrow’s’ environment. Tinkering at the edge is no option. Nutrition and sustainability are prominent on the customer agenda, they are no longer ‘nice to haves’ they’re core elements of the offer. These are now skill set needs requiring staff training and catering cultural change. This article appeared in the September issue of UB