Students are more demanding and that’s a fact that higher education institutions worldwide are currently dealing with in many ways. They are looking for a meaningful learning experience, deeper than just approving tests and getting a diploma at the end of the process, and that meaning involves different aspects of their lives, from academic to sports and social life.
It’s a whole new way to perceive higher education, and to evaluate it. In fact, several studies and surveys try to measure colleges and universities according to these features, instead of just counting the number of academics with a post-graduate degree or how many computers per person a campus has. As it happens in many other human activities, it´s no longer about products, but experiences, and campus management are taking actions in this direction, especially through engagement and student retention strategies.
In this way, Times Higher Education has recently presented the “Student Experience Survey 2016”, a comprehensive study about how UK students perceive the learning experience that they receive from their higher education institutions. This specialized source conducted a survey where more than 15,000 undergraduates participated answering questions between October 2014 and June 2015.
According to this document, beyond the results of this study, you can see some key factors that explain why students are more demanding. “One way to describe this change would be that there is now a more “professional” attitude to study. It’s not that students have become overtly “consumerist” (another of the big fears when £9,000 fees were introduced). Rather, it’s that they have become more serious about their own responsibilities and what they want to get out of their degree and, in turn, what they expect their university to do to help them fulfil these ambitions,” John Gill, editor of Times Higher Education, explains.
“This is reflected in the modes of study students want and get – Mr. Gill adds – including smarter use of technology, the way many organize paid work around study, and expectations in terms of the skills and experience they seek out to prepare them for a career. All this has a bearing on the student experience and makes understanding and responding to the demands of what may be called the “Student Experience 2.0” all the more pressing for institutions.”
Let’s take a look at the key results of the Times Higher Education survey.
The 6 most important features that students consider for a good higher ed experience
- Quality of teaching
- Good industry connections
- Sports facilities
- Good environment on campus
- High-quality facilities
- Good social life
Top five “most improved” universities
- Southampton Solent University
- University of Gloucestershire
- University of Derby
- University of the West of Scotland
- University of Chester
High-quality staff / lectures
Academic quality is still the most important feature for students. The other factors have also an important role in their campus life, but this is simply essential:
- University of Oxford
- Royal Veterinary College
- University of Cambridge
- University of St. Andrews
- Harper Adams University
Good industry connections
This is the only feature that is related with life after university, but it’s very important for students because they need to be sure about the future that university may provide for them:
- Harper Adams University
- University of Bath
- Loughborough University
- Aston University
- Imperial College London
- University of Oxford
- Robert Gordon University
High-quality sports facilities
Sports are a key element of the student experience, so facilities like gyms, stadiums, run tracks, tennis courts or football fields should be at the same high level as the rest of the campus:
- Loughborough University
- University of Bath
- University of Surrey
- University of Aberdeen
- Northumbria University
- University of Stirling
- University of East Anglia
- University of St. Mark and St. John
Good environment on campus
- Falmouth University
- University of East Anglia
- Edge Hill University
- University of Notthingham
- Loughborough University
- Harper Adams University
- Keele University
- University of Stirling
- University of Sheffield
- University of Leeds
High-quality facilities
Students matter about studying in clean and comfortable facilities with high-quality and modern equipment:
- Loughborough University
- Royal Veterinary College
- University of Oxford
- University of Sheffield
- University of Exeter
- Robert Gordon University
- Edge Hill University
Good social life
Student experience is also about relaxing and meeting with friends in a cafe or a bar, inside the campus, where you can socialize, have fun, watch a game on TV or even discuss what you just learned that day in the comparative anthropology class:
- University of Leeds
- Newcastle University
- University of Sheffield
- Cardiff University
- Loughborough University
- Harper Adams University
What other features do you think should be considered as main features that define a high-quality student experience?
