Why do UG students choose Lancaster? Acceptors

1
Why do UG students choose Lancaster?Acceptors
Decliners Survey Results 2015

• Emily Hargreaves, Market Research Officer
• August 2015

2
What we did

• Revised survey going out to acceptors and
  decliners covering
• Applying to university
• Perceptions of Lancaster University
• Reasons for accepting / declining Lancasters
  offer
• Communications
• Finance
• Survey was live from January 2015 until July 2015
• Sent to all UG acceptors and decliners at point
  of decision

3
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.

4
Where else are our applicants applying?
5
Theyre 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

6
Which UK universities are our applicants also
applying to?

• Northern Russell Group Institutions are our
  competition for UK students

• Whilst EU and international students are also
  considering universities further afield

7
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

8
Choosing a university
9
We know university choice is difficult to explain
I decided to go to universities that I felt
clicked with me a bit better.
I preferred the atmosphere at XXXX.
This university is where I would like to spend
the next few years of my life!
It is my dream university.
I felt that Id fit in well here.
I preferred a different university.
10
Reasons for accepting UK

• Course content and university reputation are the
  biggest hooks for UK students

11
Reasons for accepting EU Intl

• University reputation was the biggest influencing
  factor for EU and International students

12
Reasons for accepting in full
13
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

14
Reasons for declining in full
These options were not included in the response
list, but were the most commonly stated other
responses
15
Location of Lancaster University
Decliners
Acceptors

• The location of the uni is as much of a positive
  for acceptors as a negative for decliners

16
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

17
How will they pay for their studies?

• My own money / savings
• Student loan
• Money from parents / family / friends

18
How does our financial package compare?

• Broader cost implications of studying are a major
  factor especially for Intl applicants
• Our tuition fees are comparable to other unis for
  UK applicants
• Greater variation for Intl 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

19
What do they think of Lancaster?
20
We are friendly, modern and welcoming
21
We are a quality, reputable institution on the
rise
22
But they dont 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
23
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

24
Engaging with applicants
25
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

26
iLancaster

• Usage of iLancaster is slightly higher among UK
  applicants
• 17 use it a lot, compared to 10 EU and 13
  Intl
• However, EU and Intl applicants found the app
  more helpful in deciding whether Lancaster was
  for them
• 46 of EU and Intl 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

27
Conclusions Recommendations
28
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

29
Any questions?

• Please contact Emily Hargreaves, Market
  Research Officer
• e.hargreaves_at_lancaster.ac.uk