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Presentation by Vanilla Research for University of Exeter
10 July 2009
HE Advisors Research
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Objectives
‘What should we be doing to engage the key influencers and how could we persuade them to recommend
Exeter to their students?’
• Within this overall aim: Identify key influencers in schools.
Explore their activities and working environment.
Gain an insight into the way communications are dealt with.
Assess Exeter’s school mailings.
Understand perceptions of Exeter and our competitors - which universities are recommended the most frequently, to what type of students and why?
Learn how to engage them and strengthen our relationship.
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Approach
• 10 Face-to-face interviews with HE Advisors 2 in Devon and Cornwall 2 in Bath/Bristol area 2 in the Midlands 2 in Greater London 2 in the South of England
• 3 Independent Schools, 2 Grammar Schools, 4 Comprehensives and 1 Sixth Form College.
• A mix across Exeter’s Recruitment Tier (3-5) and Outreach Activities.
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Summary
• Common structure to HE support across schools• Head of Sixth Form usually key advisor
but not influencer
• Do not see it as their role to recommend• And do not have time to ‘gen up’ on all unis/courses• We saw a relatively detached view to marketing
communications Most skimmed, binned or simply filed - little is read
• Test for info is ‘is it of objective use to students?’ rather than ‘what does it tell me about this uni?’
The structure of HE advice
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The human resources
• The more common structure:
HE support and guidance led by, primarily provided by Head of Sixth Form
Overall responsibility for HE support, conduct key one-to-ones, review Personal Statements, organise HE evenings, cascade key info down to Tutors.
Supported by 6th Form Tutors who help to prepare students to think ahead
Help more in terms of setting students off on the right path, rather than helping them with final decisions.
Often supported by an HE Co-ordinator/Librarian role
Managing prospectuses, guiding students to right information etc.
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The human resources
• Variations are often on the same theme Tutors more involved in larger 6th Forms Asst Heads of Year supporting Head of Year Connexions available, but more for careers than UCAS Specified individual takes on Oxbridge support role
• Two dedicated careers advisors (out of 10) Both in larger establishments
• Head Teachers not directly involved
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The physical resources
Some ‘libraries’ smarter than others…..
But all had one central location for prospectuses, uni guides, etc
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Time resources
• HE support a core part of their role 2-3 hours a day in the Autumn term On top of teaching duties - very time pressured
• Most schools followed same approach Initial collectives sessions e.g. UCAS process Then scheduled one-to-ones in Autumn term As well as an open-door policy Often with a regular (institution neutral) email/newsletter
bulletin
"I have to be able to answer questions all the time, on the stairs! There's a constant flow of students going
to tutors and to me."
Are universities recommended?
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Perceived role of an HE advisor
• HE choices treated very seriously• A lot of time and effort invested• Structured formalised approaches• Emphasis on information and making decisions • Perhaps as a result:
“It's not my job to recommend unis.”
"I don't steer them, I get them to think about what they want."
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Get students to make their own decisions
• What career they would like to move into;
• What subject they would like to study;
• What their likely grades are;
• Which part of the country;
• Big city, a smaller city or a town;
• Happier in a campus setting?
• Style of teaching of a particular course or university;
• Experience of Open Days;
• University League Tables.
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Rare exceptions
Might ‘recommend’ based on:• Feeling a particular student might really ‘fit in’
somewhere• If they think a student is about to make a big mistake• Previous experience of applications from that school
e.g. good track record of offers for medicine at Birmingham Or poor track record of getting offers from Edinburgh
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The curious nature of League Tables
“Unless they are for subject quality, like the one from the Times, I think they are pretty much rubbish."
"I tell students not to pay attention to League Tables - they can be misleading."
"We tell the students they're a ready source of information but don't believe the positions."
"I know one university that employs 3 people to work out how to push them up the tables! Things like whether to include annual
expenditure in capital projects for example!”
“Our students are driven by reputation and League Tables – as driven as the parents.”
• Echoing findings of recent Year 12 research Where their importance is sensed to be increasing
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Are Oxford and Cambridge recommended?
• No• But they don’t have to be
• Most schools regularly had students go to Oxbridge• And of course handle applicants differently• But mainly because the process means they have to• To some extent schools downplayed Oxbridge“The onus is on the student to put themselves forward.”
• Oxbridge obviously exerts a gravitational pull, but over students and parents more than HE Advisors
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University perceptions
• Card sort exercise - Bath, Durham, Warwick, Bristol, Nottingham, Cambridge, Oxford, Cardiff, Southampton, St Andrews, Kings College London, Loughborough, Edinburgh, York, Birmingham and Exeter
• Often sorted: by geography - important to students Popularity with their students - conscious of ‘track record’ Difficulty of getting into - reflecting importance to HE
advisors of ‘getting offers’
• Only rarely were they sorted by academic reputation“All are premier league, all are strong academically, and
we send students to all of them.”
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If pushed…..
Oxford and Cambridge Acknowledged as top two
Durham, Bristol, Edinburgh
Sometimes grouped with those above, sometimes with group below.
Exeter, Kings College London
Sometimes grouped with Durham and Bristol and Edinburgh, sometimes a (small) step below.
Loughborough, Warwick Seen as great at some things (e.g. engineering at Loughborough), less good overall
Nottingham, Birmingham, York, Bath, Cardiff, Southampton
Grouped with higher tier by one or two, not by others
St Andrews ‘Different’ to the rest, but very good
To be read with a health warning:
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Seen as a group rather than a hierarchy
• HE advisors did not really think along strict hierarchical lines (a là League Tables)
• See them more as a group of top unis, and ranking them is splitting hairs
• More likely to see them in ‘access’ terms than quality
“Oxbridge, Edinburgh, Bristol and Durham are difficult to get into, the others offer more room for negotiation.”
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Perceptions of Exeter
• Strong and difficult to get into, but not quite as strong or difficult to get into as Edinburgh, Durham, Bristol
Very good but not outstanding."
“It’s in our top students’ top 5 choices, but not their top choice.”
• Beautiful location and campus - appeals to certain types
“It suits students who are ambitious but looking for a comfortable all-round experience.”
• ‘Reputation’, legacy or ‘urban myth’ of ‘home counties’ But this is acknowledged as changing
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Perceptions of Exeter
Individual comments around strengths
Individual comments around relatively weaker areas
Humanities (2 mentions)
Law (2 mentions)
History
The Arts (generally)
English (2 mentions)
Drama
Psychology
Arabic Studies
Education
Sports Degrees
Maths
Sciences
‘Closes departments down and follows the market.’
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An underlying emphasis on ‘getting offers’
• Across the interviews there was a recurring theme of securing offers Emphasise importance of students pitching at right level References to schools’ ‘track records’ with certain unis Recall specific advice from admissions tutors
• Does not imply HE advisors are interested in students playing safe
• But that they are more interested in hearing how students can make successful applications to a specific uni than how good that uni is
The role of marketing communications
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Managing an unmanageable deluge
“I get 30-40 items a day and 10 minutes to deal with them.”
• Given their teaching as well as HE workload, reading all the post and keeping up to date on all unis and courses is impossible (and unnecessary)
• Response to students’ queries as a result is often reactive They’ll go online/look up guides with the student
• And they use ‘rules of thumb’ to deal with post
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Prospectuses and subject brochures
• Almost always go straight to library - unread Neither time nor inclination to read them Can’t read each one ‘in hope’ of finding some fresh news
(e.g. capital investment)
• Similarly subject brochures seldom got to subject leaders
"We don't have masses of space - we want a brilliant prospectus with all the basics and the rest online."
• As a result had little to say on Exeter’s brochures Of more use to students, so keep in library, but wouldn’t
publicise them Those that did look at them echoed Year 12 students
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Open day posters
• Handled much more inconsistently - but no signs of any ‘policies’, other than all are treated equally
Smart, but few open days - includes one for Glasgow even though its not a particular destination for their students
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Open day posters
Less smart but mainly open days - a wide range including UWE, Marjon, Lancaster as well as Bristol and Durham.
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Open day posters
A tray for a high-achieving independent school, but little filtering - Oxford Brookes next to Oxbridge (‘though we might draw the line at Bolton’)
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Open day posters
• Ambivalence seems to stem from view that students should be - and are advised to be - finding out dates for themselves
• Exeter’s poster got mixed reviews Some saw it as ‘uplifting’ Others as too marketing-driven But even cynics said it wouldn’t stop them putting it up for
students
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A degree of cynicism
• Perhaps in light of their postbags, there was a degree of cynicism towards marketing communications ‘propaganda’, ‘eye candy’, ‘dumbed down design’ Even a pinch of guilt…..
• They don’t resent receiving it• But don’t pay too much attention to it
“I’d put it in the bin - it's clearly marketing material."
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The League Table Flyer
• Mixed views• Some cynicism (marketing and League Tables)
“Ranked 13th for what? Teaching? Research?”
• But also some positive views - as it was useful general information for students
• Its effect was summed up by the HE advisor who had it pinned up, but had previously guessed Exeter was ranked 30th
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Search for information rather than marketing
• Two examples highlight how they value and prioritise information, outside of its marketing purpose
• Queen Mary, University of London newsletter 4 out of 10 mentioned it spontaneously Articles on making the best of Open Days, student finance etc Of use to parents and students (and therefore advisors)
• Exeter’s Graduate Destinations brochure"I'd put it in the Exeter box and desperately try to
remember that I've got it there." Would be used in conversation with any student Might not raise likelihood of advisor recommending Exeter,
but might raise likelihood of students considering Exeter.
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‘Keeping up to date’ is also focussed
• Workloads mean little time for general reading up or visits to universities
• CRAC and UCAS events more popular than trips to individual unis Though some did run trips to local Open Days/Oxbridge But sense that general events benefit all students, trips to
individual unis benefit a few
• Few mentions of TES or other media past students, actual visits and personal experience greater
source of info than marketing literature
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There was still interest in an Exeter HE event
• Despite this, 7 out of 10 expressed interest in an HE event at University of Exeter, but only if it………. Offers a ‘real hook’ to stand out from crowd e.g. unravelling
the knot of student finance Offers general HE content (e.g. speakers from UCAS) as
well as Exeter content (e.g. your views on the A* grades) Offers a real inside track on admissions
"Course entry profiles are a step in the right direction, but there are still worrying examples of universities
not being transparent.”
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An appetite, rather than cynicism, for Outreach
• Consistent and strong take-up of in-person activities• Presentations to students• Presentations to parents• Taster sessions/residentials
• Inundated by mailshots, but not by offers of outreach• Existing relationships exist by accident rather than
design• Historic, local, or just right email at right time
• Eager for more links with unis (and Exeter)• For sessions that are of real benefit to students or parents• Though more often uni visiting the school than vice versa
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Recommendations - 1
• Provide HE Advisors with (subtley-branded) ready-made support materials.
• Accept that a lot of HE Advisors filter out ‘marketing messages’, and focus more on what is of objective use to students (e.g. Graduate Destinations brochure was seen of use to all students).
• Any HE Advisors day on campus should be positioned as being of general HE interest as well as relevance to Exeter itself.
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Recommendations 2
• Re-consider value of Subject Brochures - only a minority of HE Advisors or teachers read them.
• Use communications to improve transparency of admissions criteria.
• Expand as far as is reasonably possible outreach programme - focussing on what is of general interest to students.
