UK / Ireland

National Student Housing Survey

Information PackThe Industry StandardAccommodation Survey

It’s very easy to set up andplaces little demand onyour time once it’s outthere. All you need do iswait for the results to comein!”Andrew Gibson, Marketing &Communications Manger,Lancaster University

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Contents

Executive Summary 1

Primary Objectives 2

Awards 3

Internal Awards Programme 4

Question Set 5

Reporting 6

Republic of Ireland 7

Still Undecided? 8

Contact Us

www.nshs.co.ukwww.nshs.ie

studenthousingawards.uk

+44 (0)1892 249650

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1. Executive SummaryThe National Student HousingSurvey (NSHS) is an annual surveyof students in higher education. Thesurvey runs across the UK and in theRepublic of Ireland (NSHS Ireland).

Since 2007 more than 70Universities and 30 Private HallProviders have joined the NSHS. In2017 over 35,000 students took partmaking the NSHS one of the largeststudent surveys in the UK.

Understanding accommodationperformance is vital to securing ahigh quality experience for students.

Some Facts:

More than 90% of students say thataccommodation is an importantfactor in university selection, andpoor individual experiencessignificantly increase negative wordof mouth about an institution andimpact the wider universityexperience.

Conversely students who have apositive accommodation experienceare more likely to become university'brand advocates’.

Why the NSHS?

The NSHS has a number ofsignificant advantages overalternative survey options:

● Professional design, analysisand reporting

● Mobile-friendly and easy to complete

● Benchmark againstcomparators (paid option)

● All promo materials andincentives provided

● Industry-recognised awardsfor performance

● Staff time and cost saving

● Standard top-line reporting is FREEand low risk

● Highly affordable reporting options forthose seeking extra levels of insight

The NSHS has a standard ‘core’question set to allow forbenchmarking with short or longsurvey options. Additional questionscan be added to target specific localpriorities.

Students complete the survey inArabic, Chinese (simplified), German,Hindi, Malay, Portuguese, Spanish,Welsh and Irish.

The NSHS is easy to complete,highly-focussed and completelyrelevant to students daily lives soresponse rates are typically high and‘survey fatigue’ is minimal.

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The NSHS is a powerful businesstool, enabling participants tobenchmark performance againstlocal, regional and national resultsacross all types of accommodation.The question set is evolved incollaboration with participatinginstitutions and private hall providersensuring that the survey remains upto date and relevant.

2. Primary Objectives of the NSHSThe survey covers the full studentjourney, including the initial decision-making process, moving in, theaccommodation experience, andreasons for moving on.

The analysis of survey results canhelp accommodation providersanswer key questions:

1. What do different students wantfrom their accommodation?

2. How do they go about finding andselecting their accommodation?

3. What is their experience ofbooking and moving in? Howcould it be improved?

4. How do students feel about theiraccommodation amenities andservices? How should we prioritiseimprovements?

5. What is better or worse about ouraccommodation compared toothers locally or nationally?

6. Where do students go when theyleave our accomm., and why?

7. How does accommodation impactstudent wellbeing?

Timing and SurveyLaunch

Register

Choose your wave eg. whenyou will send the survey toyour students

Autumn Spring

Send us your hall details andcheck the survey (Includingcustom questions andmodules)

Launch your survey campaignat a time of your choosingwithin your opted wave

Watch and monitor yourresponses and live data

Receive your new insights andreporting

The National StudentHousing Survey gives us afantastic insight into whatour students are telling usand forms part of ourcontinuous investmentstrategy”Lucy Mole, Sanctuary Students

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3. National Student Housing Awards

The National Student Housing Awards(NSHA) are unique. We don’t takewritten nominations and there are no‘expert’ judges. Each year data from theNSHS feeds into the National StudentHousing Awards programme.

The awards recognise excellence instudent accommodation across a rangeof criteria.

There are currently 13 awardscategories covering a whole range ofaspects of the accommodationexperience. All the awards arecalculated objectively based purely onstudent feedback. The Finalists andWinners are announced in June andSeptember of each year.

In addition to the awards, we issue ourcoveted International AccommodationQuality Mark (IAQM) to organisationsthat demonstrate outstanding levels ofinternational student satisfaction.

If you have registered to participate, andyour students have completed thesurvey, you will automatically be eligiblefor the NSHA for free.

Headline Awards

1. Best University Halls

2. Best Private Halls Provider

3. Best Customer Service

4. Best Value for Money

5. Best Student Community

Additional Awards

6. Best Small Provider

7. Best Individual Accommodation

8. Best Student Broadband

9. Best Learning Environment

10. Best Environmental Management

11. Best Specialist Accommodation

12. Best Moving In Experience

13. Best Booking Experience

WINNERBEST UNIVERSITY

HALLS

NATION

AL

STUDE

NT HOUSINGAW

ARDS

QUALITY MARKINTERNATIONAL

ACCOMMODATION

NATION

AL

STUDE

NT HOUSINGAW

ARDS

FINALISTBEST ENVIRONMENTAL

MANAGEMENT

NATION

AL

STUDE

NT HOUSINGAW

ARDS

It really supports all the hard workwe’ve been doing in the team.Knowing that it’s based on whatstudents really want and themtelling somebody else that, is just thebest. It’s the best way you could getan award.”Heidi Fraser-Krauss, Director of InformationServices, University of York

We’re delighted at Queen MargaretUniversity …It’s entirely based onstudent feedback and that meansit’s truly a recognition of what wehave wanted to achieve.”Professor Petra Wend, Principle and Vice-Chancellor, Queen Margaret University

The fact that these awards arebased on student feedback is one ofthe key elements of them… the factthat it’s they who are voting for itmakes it all the more meaningful.”Professor Mark Smith, Vice-Chancellor, LancasterUniversity

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awards backed up by the credibility andindependence of the NSHS.

The awards have ignited a positive andfriendly sense of competition across theoperational teams, and have helped toindependently re-enforce best practiceand recognise those individuals whocontribute most to making SanctuaryStudents a great place to live and study.

For a copy of the Full Internal AwardsCase Study or for more informationplease get in contact.

The Internal Awards Programme offersorganisations the opportunity tocelebrate success within theiraccommodation teams using externalindependent data.

The Awards categories are shaped andadapted to meet the needs of seniormanagement and accommodationteams, all data is drawn directly fromthe NSHS.

Always looking for innovative ways torecognise and reward best practice,Sanctuary Students has pioneered theuse of the Internal Awards programme.

The programme supports operators likeSanctuary in delivering internal staff

4. Internal Awards Programme

“It was a fantastic recognitionof all the hard work that we allput in prior-to and during themove-in period to ensure that

each student's experiencewent smoothly.”

Sanctuary Site Manager, Best SanctuaryStudents Moving in Experience

“It was brilliant to be able toshow our efforts were making adifference. The certificate has

pride of place in our reception!”

Sanctuary Site Manager, Best SanctuaryStudents Student Community

“The NSHS gives us anunparalleled insight intowhat our students thinkabout our services; it isone of the key drivers ofchange across ourBusiness.”

Sam McMillan, Director,Sanctuary Students

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Questions to maximise thestudent experience

Key PerformanceIndicators (KPIs)

LearningEnvironment

Studentsatisfaction

Moving in andrent costs

Student accom.pre-research

Question set areas

Features

Design andspace

Communicationsand marketing

Socialenvironment

Moving on andre-booking

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5. NSHS Question SetThe survey takes a comprehensive lookat all aspects of the studentaccommodation experience, from thesearch process right through to reasonsfor leaving, and everything in-between.

The question set has matured andstabilised over the last few years toallow participants to track their relativeperformance over time and measure theimpact of changes to the localaccommodation landscape.

In addition to the ‘core’ question set, wecan include additional custom questionsto help you address specific localissues, or smooth the transition from anexisting internal survey. Please contactus for pricing.

Custom Question Case Study -International Student House

International Students House (ISH)provides a vibrant student centre in theheart of London to over 600 residents.

The accommodation charity took part inthe NSHS for the first time in 2017 andrecently saw an increase in usage of itsBistro / Common Room thanks tofindings from the NSHS.

By utilising NSHS Custom Questions theteam asked students if they would beinterested in a free breakfast from 7.30 -10.00 am daily. The team used the

positive results to support a decision totry out free breakfast / brunch for all andhave now achieved a bustling social huband space for the student community.

We are happy to provide all interestedparticipants with a copy of the questionset for review.

A Bustling Bistro

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6. ReportingWhen you are ready to close the surveywe'll quality-check, clean and processthe data before conducting acomprehensive analysis.

Our new real-time data processingcapabilities mean reports can berequested as soon as you're ready toclose your promotion - there's no needto wait until the project closes.

Reports will be prepared including allthe benchmarking, demographics, freetext responses and customisationsyou've asked for.

Alongside the Powerpoint edition, you'llget access to an interactive onlineversion allowing any member of yourteam to explore results in detail throughinteractive charts and tables coveringevery aspect of the survey.

Finally, we'll also share our analysis,reports and infographics illustrating thetrends and opportunities emerging at anational level to help you developsuccessful long-term strategies.

Multiple Wave NSHS

The NSHS has Spring and Autumnsurveying periods. The two waves allowfor greater flexibility and an opportunityfor even more student feedback.

The Spring wave runs between 1stFebruary and 31st May. The Autumnwave runs between 1st October andfinishes during the first week ofDecember.

Participating organisations can chooseto either survey during both waves orduring the one that works best fororganisational need and capacity.

Full details of the available reportingoptions and prices can be found on thewebsite. Private hall providers anduniversities with specific requirementsshould contact us to discuss theoptions. We are happy to provide youwith the latest National Report.

Reporting TimeFrames

Spring WaveSurveying - Feb-MayReports Available - Jun

Autumn WaveSurveying - Oct-DecReports Available- Jan

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7. Republic of Ireland

Customer service and student feedbackis therefore essential in the delivery ofeffective student services. Commercialfactors are also important whenconsidering the projected growth inincome for Irish HEIs from studentaccommodation.

NSHS Ireland is a multilingual surveyand this includes Irish. All participantswill be able to compete for NSHSIreland Awards that will be specificallyfor the Republic of Ireland.

If you wish to find out more please get incontact or visit http://www.nshs.ie

NSHS Ireland offers a fantasticopportunity for universities and privateproviders to gain meaningful and cost-effective insights into their accom-modation and the wider student livingexperience.

The Irish government’s National StudentAccommodation Strategy highlights theimportance of the NSHS UK in gatheringstudent feedback and how this helps toshape the development of appropriatestudent services locally and nationally.

In Ireland student numbers are expectedto increase from 167,991 in 2014 to192,886 by 2024,with internationalstudents making up a key part of thisgrowth. This will bring its ownchallenges, with first year roomguarantees and high accommodationexpectations.

Projected accommodationincome for Irish HEIs

Higher Education Authority Ireland, Report onAccommodation: Demand & Supply, 2014

€51 Million

€90 Million

€120 Million

2014 2019 2024

“Opportunities forstudents to providefeedback and input isimportant for theintroduction anddevelopment ofappropriate studentservices”NATIONAL STUDENTACCOMMODATION STRATEGY,Department of Education and Skills,Republic of Ireland, 2017

I

WINNERBEST UNIVERSITY

HALLS2017

NATION

AL

STUDE

NT HOUSINGAW

ARDS

IRELAND

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8. Still Undecided?If you are still not sure if being part ofthe NSHS is for you, we have someadditional resources that you might liketo see, so please call us or e-mail uswith any questions .

To request any of the following pleasee-mail info@nshs.co.uk / info@nshs.ieor call us on +44 (0)1892 249650.

● Reporting Options

● Question Set

● Sample Reports

● Latest National Report

● NSHS AccommodationAward Winners

● Materials to help you promotethe survey

● List of Universities, HE Providers andPrivate Hall Providers who havepreviously participated

You may also like to visit the NSHSWikipedia page for more backgroundinformation and project history.

National Code

Although not officially endorsed by theANUK/Unipol Codes, the NationalStudent Housing Survey has beendesigned to meet the tenant satisfactionsurvey requirements of the ANUK/UnipolNational Codes.

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01892 249 650info@nshs.co.ukwww.nshs.co.uk