Student Expectations in the Era of Variable Fees

SROC 2007

Jon F Baldwin, Registrar

Overview

• Student Expectations

• The Student Experience

• Challenges

• Beyond 2009

Student Expectations

Which student?

• Full time Home/EU Undergraduate

• Part time Undergraduate

• International students (overseas fees)

• Returning to study

• Postgraduate students – taught, research

Student Motivations

• Gain qualifications

• Improve chances of getting a job

• Improve earning potential

• The ‘student experience’

• Learn about interesting subjects

• To be stretched intellectually

UNITE Student Experience Report 2007

What a student expects

• A high standard learning experience which is enjoyable, applicable & useable

• Access to academics & a readily available counselling service

• Definitive timetable

• Reliable information

What a student expects

• Friendly approach

• Good communication between university & students

• Resources e.g. library & computers

• Pleasant living environment

• Car parking, good bus service

What a student can experience

• Academics to be unavailable• Departments / Services close at 5pm• Lack of rooms, no timetables• Out of date information• Saturation of irrelevant information• To be passed around• To have to wait• Car park full, buses overcrowded

Student Satisfaction:National Student Survey 2006• High levels of overall satisfaction with the quality of

courses - over 80% definitely or mostly agree• 'The course is intellectually stimulating' (81%

definitely or mostly agree) • 'My communications skills have improved' (79%

definitely or mostly agree) • 'Staff are enthusiastic about what they are doing'

(80% definitely or mostly agree) • 'I have been able to contact staff when I needed to'

(77% definitely or mostly agree).

Student Satisfaction:National Student Survey 2006• Improvement since 2005 survey in the level of

satisfaction with resources provided by universities and colleges. – 79% (77% in 2005) of students definitely or mostly agreed

that the library meets their needs, and that IT and specialised resources are readily accessible

• Innovations and improvements – New facilities and student support schemes – Extended opening hours for libraries and other services – New assessment and feedback systems, and more effective

student consultation procedures

Student Satisfaction:UNITE Student Experience Report 2007• Most satisfied with –

– Availability of IT– Standard of teaching or lecturing– Opportunity to try new experiences

• Least satisfied with – – ‘Customer service’ received from the

University

Managing Expectations

• What do students expect?• What do students actually experience?• How do we square this circle?

The challenge is to develop managerial structures where academic & administrative staff are pulling together toward the same objectives

The Student Experience

Previous experiences

• Output / input

• Educational context

• Cultural / social context

• Technological context

Evolutionary Pressures – Market forces and competition– The new fees settlement– Consumer awareness– Information Technology– Need for agility and responsiveness

Rising Expectations• Accountability culture

– Information in public domain– Surveying culture– League tables– Government accountability (RAE, QAA)– OIA, Freedom of Information, Data Protection

• Competition in the HE sector (global)• Branding• Use of technology• Accessibility of services• High quality facilities and services

A result of variable fees?• Broader cultural change or variable fees?• Noticeable shift since ‘top up’?• Too early to tell impact• Little variation in fees charged• Levels of personal debt• Higher fees for PG and Overseas students• Bursary market

Impact of variable fees on admissions (so far)• Increase of 10% in the number of applicants

from 2004 to 2006• No evidence of correlation in the change in

the level of applications for full-time undergraduate places by institution and the relative generosity of their proposed student support arrangements

• Increase of 6.4% applicants from 2006 to 2007 – highest ever level

Universities UK, February 2007

UCAS, Applicants data as at 15 Jan 07

Challenges

Present challenges• Develop service culture for the consumer

student• Increase modularisation and choice• Widen access• Enhanced living and study environments• Grow PG students and increase research

income• HR Framework Agreement• Internationalisation

Responses• Developing quality of teaching and learning• Developing quality of facilities and services• Branding and reputation management• Customer relationship management• Accessibility to services

– One stop shops

• Online services• Student contracts

Service developments at Warwick• Online services for applicants

– PG application form, prospectus requests, open day booking, accommodation applications

• Online services for students, including – – Enrolment and re-enrolment– Module registration– Piloting online course transfer system– Student portal and access to teaching and examination

timetables– Mass mailing for staff from student records system– blogs

• The Learning Grid – 24/7 learning resource centre

• The Reinvention Centre – classroom space designed to facilitate research-based learning

Principles behind Service Culture

• To provide a high quality experience for students – a supportive, secure environment which is efficiently managed

• To maintain consistency of standards whilst recognising local requirements

• To maintain clarity, order and simplicity• To develop and adhere to threshold service

levels• To provide value for money

Meeting student expectations

• Seamless student experience– Pre applicant– Applicant– Student– Graduate

• Services need to be developed in parallel

• Understanding what students want

A culture of partnership• Recognise that we are together engaged in an

academic enterprise– Work with Departments to understand needs and raise

administrative capacity– Strategic approach– Warwick.ac.uk not Warwick Ltd

• The Warwick Way– Appoint academically literate administrators– Joined-up governance culture– Co-operation not conflict– Allow staff to do what they are employed to do.

Recent Developments

• Growing complaints culture– Accountable when things go wrong

• Increased parental involvement

• Heightened sense of investment

• Concept of investment and return – value for money– Contact hours

Beyond 2009

Beyond 2009• What happens if the cap on tuition fees is lifted?

– Differences in expectation according to fees– Fees market– Consumer expectations– Perception / reality of quality linked to price– Bursaries market to widen access and attract the best

students– Possible shifts in perception about the overseas

market if fee differentiation decreases between Home/EU and overseas students

– Increased variation in quality of teaching? (US model)– Increased competition due to demographic downturn

in Home market?