• Giving clarity to students on how courses will be taught before they make choices for the autumn
• Enabling students to be released from acceptances if universities have to change their plans
• Introducing the projected completion and employment from entrant data (Proceed) to provide information on likely job and study outcomes for courses
• Gathering information from the National Student Survey to inform prospective students’ choices

• Looking ahead to autumn 2022, how certain are Year 13 students about applying to higher education and making their choices?
• The role of information sources and how important they are when it comes to decision making
• How do student experiences differ between virtual and in-person events, what are their experiences like and what does good look like?
• Observing trends in EU and international student recruitment with the impact of Covid and Brexit

•    While Student Welfare topics are generally stable in terms of media coverage, they peaked during the beginning of the 2020 academic year, at the height of the pandemic. The conversation has now returned to usual levels, but was enough done during the spike to prevent this from being an issue again in the future? 

•    The topic as a whole doesn’t always have to be a negative one, there are opportunities for positivity through initiatives such as the University of Bristol’s emergency alert protocol and the Office For Students’ online support platform, StudentSpace. 

• The policy initiatives which Staffordshire University aim to address as part of their Digital 2030 strategy
• How MarTech can support University’s policy initiatives including student retention goals
• Overcoming the challenges Universities face in successfully implanting new marketing technology

• Using a variety of platforms to ensure that key messages remain visible through the uncertainty of Covid-19
• Reviewing effectiveness and platform engagement to adapt strategies as the Covid-19 situation develops
• Developing the Team Teeside concept and celebrating colleagues and students who have gone above and beyond to support each other and the local community through a vibrant campaign
• Providing opportunities for prospective students to engage, ask questions and seek reassurance on a variety of platforms
• Adopting a more interactive marketing approach through Instagram Q&A sessions and the development of online open days

• Preparing a downloadable guide to writing the perfect Personal Statement through lockdown and launching a campaign via TikTok to reach as many young people as possible
• Launching the resource via a suite of In-Feed Ads with videos featuring student ambassadors
• Driving users to a landing page on the website via a call to action at the end of each In-Feed Ad
• Reaching more than 1.1 million young people in two weeks and resulting in over 7,000 clicks to visit the personal statement guide download page

• Addressing students’ concerns about starting university and what university life will be like post Covid
• Analysing changes in student satisfaction of their university, courses and accommodation from December 2019 to December 2020
• Responding to students’ increased strain on mental health and financial hardship
• Managing student expectations and responding to feedback and reviews

• We have conducted a research project with current LGBTQI+ students from across the UK to understand trends and their personal experiences of applying to university and the decision-making process.
• The research focuses on understanding what prospective LGBTQI+ students look for in university communications with a focus on inclusive language and information on support for LGBTQI+ students.
• Our research concluded that only 56% of LGBTQI+ students felt represented in university communications. In order for universities to solve this, we asked current students how they would like to be spoken to, supported and represented by universities.
• Within our talk, universities will hear from students themselves about what they need from institutions as well as how universities can engage prospective LGBTQI+ students within the application process.