1 School of Health in Social Science 2011 PG Entrants’ Survey Analysis

2 Contents Objectives Methodology Results Summary Recommendations Appendix: Questionnaire

3 Methodology All new PG students were invited to complete the survey online ( ed out by the School) 48 started and 46 completed the survey between 26 October and 5 December 2011, a response rate of 25% There is no weighting or quotas applied to the results, percentages are rounded.

4 Objectives To find out which information sources postgraduate students use when considering studying at the University of Edinburgh and how useful they find these sources. To find out what information students find most influential when choosing to study a particular subject at the University of Edinburgh. To find out the primary reasons why students choose to study their particular subject at the University of Edinburgh and to identify any gaps where they would have liked more information. All above mentioned information should inform the School’s marketing activity, for example, key messages, advertising and communications

5 Results

6 1. Student Population

7 Demographics Age Gender Country of residence Gender, age of survey and region of residence among survey respondents were representative of the whole PG population in the School. None of the variations from the actual student population is statistically significant. No of responses: 48

8 Subject areas The response rates for Counselling and Clinical Psychology are significally different from the actual; student population. Counselling is significantly underrepresented in this survey, while Clinical Psychology is overrepresented. Therefore, caution is advised when interpreting results. No of responses: 48

9 2. Information gathering

10 Timing More than a third of students began considering postgraduate study while pursuing a career. More than half (56%) started considering PG study during their undergraduate degree, while only 8% during a masters degree. Marketing activities should therefore be mainly directed at both professionals and UG students in the relevant areas. When did you begin to consider postgraduate study? No of responses: 48

11 Motivation For two thirds of students the motivation for postgraduate study was to obtain a PG level qualification and to study a subject in more detail. More than half also want to improve their employment prospects, while slightly less were motivated for reasons of personal development. Why did you choose to undertake postgraduate study? Please choose all that apply. No of responses: 48

12 Only 58% of respondents answered this question. Almost a third of them had used Prospects, Education UK and the Clearing House websites, each. Clearing House was not offered in the survey as an answer option but was recorded under ‘Other’ and should be included in the questionnaire in future years as a multiple choice option. The School should utilise the top ranked external websites for promoting their offerings to prospective PG students, by reviewing copy (key messages), by making sure all details and links to the UoE website are correct and by potentially considering advertising. Excluding the main university websites, which of the following websites did you use when considering which university to apply to? Please choose all that apply. Information sources: External websites No of responses: 28

13 Only 60% of respondents answered this question. University rankings are highly used; 79% of students used UK university rankings and still more than half World university rankings. Due to the importance of rankings they should be utilised in the School’s key messages and across all marketing channels. A fifth of students had seen a video on the University website. Social media were rarely or not at all used. Which of the following online tools did you use when considering which university to apply to? Please choose all that apply. Information sources: Online tools No of responses: 29

14 3. Decision-making

15 Choices Was the University of Edinburgh your…? The University was the first choice from the outset for 79% of students, and for the remaining 21% it was first choice among those institutions that offered them a place. What would make the School of Health in Social Science first choice from the outset to even more students? No of responses: 43

16 Previous study Almost three quarters of students were new to the University of Edinburgh, while a quarter had studied here before (half of which at UG and half at PG level). This should be taken into account when considering advertising the School’s PG offerings. Only about a quarter of students can be targeted internally (e.g. through direct communication), while three quarters need to be targeted externally, either through UoE’s own external marketing channels (e.g. website) or paid advertising (e.g. external course search pages). Key messages also need to be looked at in this context. No of responses: 43 Have you previously studied at the University of Edinburgh?

17 Most used UoE information sources There is a striking number of students who never used the University’s information tools. Only the University and School’s websites were used by more than two thirds of students. The School should focus on utilising these two information sources in the best possible ways, e.g. by making sure all content is correct and reflecting the School’s key messages and USPs, by regularly updating content (also news/events), by looking into possibly improving the navigation and investing in rich content (images, video…) etc. Recommendations from friends/colleagues or from students/graduates and Rankings were used by still more than half of students as well. How useful did you find the following when considering whether to study at the University of Edinburgh? No of responses: ca 45

18 Most used UoE information sources Looking at only those students who did use the University’s/ information sources, and by ranking their feedback on usefulness by average score, the most useful source of information is contact with academic staff in the subject area, followed by /phone enquiries to the University. The University and School’s websites still came 3 rd and 4 th, and recommendations from current students/graduates and from friends/colleagues 5 th and 6 th. PTO How useful did you find the following when considering whether to study at the University of Edinburgh? No of responses: ca 45

19 Most used vs most useful UoE information sources The University and School’s websites appear in both the top 5 used and top 5 useful information sources, as do recommendations from current student/graduates. Marketing efforts should be focused on utilising and further improving the websites, and on encouraging interaction between prospective students and current PG students as ambassadors. Staff (both academic staff and those who deal with /phone enquiries in the first instance) should also be made aware of the impact they have on prospective students’ decision-making. No of responses: ca 45 TOP 5 used sources 1.University website 2.School’s website 3.Recommendation from friend/colleague 4.University rankings 5.Recommendation from current student/graduate TOP 5 useful sources 1.Contact with academic staff in subject area 2. /phone enquiry to University 3.University website 4.School’s website 5.Recommendation from current student/graduate

20 Most influential factors How influential were the following in choosing to study your degree at the University of Edinburgh? No of responses: ca 45 The degree content is the most influential factor to students when students make their decision, followed by reputation (of UoE, and the degree subject), as well as the location. Career opportunities are influential to over two thirds of students, and University rankings/ Quality of teaching/ Funding to more than half too. These top ranked factors should be covered and feature prominently on the website. Maybe surprisingly at PG level, the profile of academic staff is influential only to less than half of the students, and more than three quarters of students are unaware of the RAE.

21 Additional information needs Only half of the respondents replied to this question, the other half may have received all information they required prior to applying. The most common additional information need was more detail on the course content. Course content pages on the School’s website should be reviewed and updated if necessary. What, if anything, would you have liked more information about when researching your degree at the University of Edinburgh? No of respondents: 25

22 Uniqueness of studying at UoE Responses to this open-ended question were varied. Most frequently mentioned were the location, the content of the degree and the structure of the degree (e.g. combining theory and practice). PTO. When deciding where to study your subject, what were the unique elements offered by the University of Edinburgh that made you choose here? No of respondents: 31

23 Uniqueness of studying at UoE - comments Location, degree content, esp. combination of theory & practice, rankings & reputation “Based in Scotland, previously studied here at undergrad and felt that the quality of teaching was good.” “Programme has good reputation, found interview day well done and friendly, orientation of course appealed to me. “ “Style of course (periods of teaching and periods on placement)” / “Course that linked working and studying together, it was applied. “ “Here is one of the best universities in Scotland, especially in nursing and medicine.” “A specialized degree in PhD Clinical Psychology; positioning of the Clinical Psychology department in school of health in Social Science; a clear focus on children and adolescent mental health issues; range of CPD courses, and overall university world and UK ratings. “ “Counselling model of the dialogue between psychodynamic and person-centred approaches used by the dept of counselling here “

24 Association Which one of the following do you associate yourself with most? At PG level almost three quarters of students associate themselves most with their degree programme, and only just over a fifth with the University of Edinburgh. A small number of students (6%) associated themselves most with the School. (In comparison: At UG level 50% of students associated themselves with the University and 50 with the degree programme). Marketing efforts should be focused on promoting the individual PG programmes and their benefits (within the context of the University and School). No of responses: 46

25 Summary & Recommendations

26 Summary More than a third of students began considering postgraduate study while pursuing a career. More than half (56%) started considering PG study during their undergraduate degree, while only 8% during a masters degree. Students’ motivation was a mixture of professional and personal development reasons. For two thirds of students the motivation for postgraduate study was to obtain a PG level qualification, and for almost as many to simply study a subject in more detail. More than half also want to improve their employment prospects, while slightly less were motivated for reasons of personal development. Among external websites, postgraduate search pages Prospects and Education UK were used most widely. Due to the overrepresentation of Clinical Psychology in this survey, the Clearing House website was also used by a third of respondents. University rankings are highly used; 79% used UK university rankings, 52% World rankings The University was the first choice from the outset for 79% of students, and for the remaining 21% it was first choice among those institutions that offered them a place. Almost two thirds of students were new to the University of Edinburgh, while a quarter had studied here before (half of which at UG and half at PG level). The University and School’s websites were used by more than two thirds of students each. Recommendations from friends/colleagues or from students/graduates and Rankings were used by more than half of students too. The most useful source of information is contact with academic staff in the subject area, followed by /phone enquiries to the University. The University and School’s websites still came 3rd and 4th, and recommendations from current students/graduates and from friends/colleagues 5th and 6th.

27 Summary The degree content is the most influential factor to students when students make their decision, followed by reputation (of UoE, and the degree subject), as well as the location. Career opportunities are influential to over two thirds of students. Half of the respondents would have welcomed additional information before applying, mainly on course content. A few people were disappointed that they hadn’t known before that so many courses were provided online. Almost three quarters of students associate themselves most with their degree programme, and only just over a fifth with the University of Edinburgh. A small number of students (6%) associated themselves most with the School

28 Recommendations AUDIENCES: Target both professionals working in relevant fields, as well as UG students in relevant subject areas. Cross-promote the School’s PG offerings to current students at the University of Edinburgh, as they make up a quarter of the current PG student population and might be easier (cheaper) to reach. ADVERTISING: Consider advertising the School’s PG offerings on Prospects and Education UK. UNIVERSITY RANKINGS: Promote rankings as much as possible in all marketing materials (web, print, comms). WEBSITES: Utilise and further improve the School website as well as presence on main UoE website. INTERACTION: Encourage interaction between prospective students and current PG students as ambassadors. Make staff (both academic staff and those who deal with /phone enquiries in the first instance) aware of the impact they have on prospective students’ decision-making ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Provide more information on course content and delivery. Use the combination of theory and practice in many programmes as a unique selling point.

29 Appendix

30 Questionnaire 1. What degree are you studying? 2. When did you begin to consider postgraduate study? 3. Why did you choose to undertake postgraduate study? 4. Excluding the main university websites, which of the following websites did you use when considering which university to apply to? 5. Which of the following online tools did you use when considering which university to apply to? 6. How useful did you find the following when considering whether to study at the 7. How influential were the following in choosing to study your degree at the University of Edinburgh? 8. What, if anything, would you have liked more information about when researching your degree at UoE?? 9. When deciding where to study [INSERT SUBJECT AREA], what were the unique elements offered by the University of Edinburgh that made you choose here? 10. Was the University of Edinburgh your 11. Which one of the following do you associate yourself with most? 12. If you applied to university outside of the UK, what countries were they in? 13. Have you previously studied at the University of Edinburgh? 14. Please state your gender 15. Which of the following age groups do you belong to? 16. What is your usual country of residence? 17. What tuition fee classification are you? 18. Are you studying? 19. If you would be willing to take part in further research by the University of Edinburgh, please leave your name, address and country of residence below. This will not affect the confidentiality of your answers to this survey.

31 Programmes No of responses: 48

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