For many young people, deciding where to go to university is a monumental choice at the best of times. What to study? Which city to live in for the next few years? But without the chance to visit campuses due to the pandemic, prospective students have been finding it harder than ever to make a decision that is right for them. And for the UK’s universities, the inability to host physical open days is also a major challenge.
“The main way you see a student normally is at an open day,” says Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute. “People turn up and see the campus and look around the halls. Obviously that can’t happen at the moment.”
Instead, young people are carrying out their research from home, via websites, social media and listening to peer recommendations, as well as attending virtual tours.
The Covid pandemic has forced universities to find new digital ways to showcase themselves and build relationships with prospective students. With fierce competition among institutions to recruit undergraduate applicants, many are being proactive.
Raffaella Cuccia, head of student recruitment and marketing at City University, says the institution has had to adapt its services and create a range of online opportunities where potential students can find out more about them. “We now offer more channels for prospective students to engage with us online via social media or chat services,” she says. “We have also been able to offer specific online events covering individual courses, where prospective students can talk with current students, [as well as] visa applications for international students.”
Another way universities are transforming their relationships with new students is through the application process. Salesforce.org Education Cloud offers a product called Admissions Connect, giving applicants more support and a personalised experience in their application process. For admissions staff faced with reviewing thousands of applications, it allows them to operate efficiently, effectively engage with applicants and strengthen relationships.
“It’s about creating that sense of belonging from the initial point of contact,” says Jane Armstrong, senior director for higher education industry solutions at Salesforce.org. “The shift to digital required universities to reimagine the experience of prospective students. Now, universities strive to deliver on this expectation by offering a more personalised experience.”
The London School of Economics (LSE) is one university that has benefited from the platform. It uses Education Cloud to better track its recruitment process to prioritise and support students who live in areas of socioeconomic deprivation or that have low progression to higher education, as well as those from lower-income households.
“Our Widening Participation programme prioritises working with young people from groups that are under-represented in higher education,” says Jess Bond, head of the programme. “We provide comprehensive information and advice about higher education, applying to selective universities, including LSE, and plenty of opportunities to interact with our current students.”
While students are likely to get more of a feel for a university if they visit in person, virtual open days do have their merits. In fact, virtual visits have been around for several years – albeit on a smaller scale – to enable prospective students who may struggle to afford the cost, or the time, of travelling to see several universities.
Dynamic, interactive virtual open days could also be a way for universities to reach more potential mature students, who will often be working, and find it harder to take time off for visits. According to Ucas, mature applicants (those aged 21 or over) from the UK have risen by 21%. Generally, mature students tend to wait until later in the cycle to apply, as they do not have the support of school staff or advisers to engage with and therefore don’t tend to see the deadlines as rigidly. Digital transformation can help to make the application process more supportive and inclusive for this cohort.
Ultimately, the pandemic has forced universities to modernise their approach to recruitment and they need to keep up with their future students. “It’s about creating a digital-first approach. Students expect a more personalised experience,” says Armstrong. “They are used to using offerings like Netflix, Amazon or Deliveroo, and institutions need that kind of technology to be agile.”
Learn more about Salesforce.org’s Education Cloud
