Choosing Lancaster through Clearing Clearing & Adjustment Evaluation Survey Results 2015 Emily Hargreaves, Market Research Manager October 2015

What we did… Short online survey sent out to all Clearing & Adjustment offer holders covering: – Applying to Lancaster through Clearing & Adjustment – Perceptions of Lancaster University – Reasons for accepting / declining Lancaster’s offer Survey was live for approx. two weeks in August 2015 Sent to all Clearing & Adjustment offer holders

Who did we consult? 66 acceptors, 15 decliners and 5 who had yet to make up their mind 85 Clearing applicants and 4 Adjustment applicants All respondents were in the age category 57 UK students, 10 EU students and 7 International students

Where else are our applicants applying?

Which UK universities are our applicants also applying to? Russell Group universities remain out main competition during Clearing & Adjustment, but with a wider geographic spread

Choosing Lancaster

Reasons for accepting University reputation is especially significant for students applying during Clearing & Adjustment

Reasons for accepting – in full

Reasons for declining The location of the university was the most common reason for declining Lancaster’s reputation is also a significant factor, emphasising the importance of work on League Tables

Reasons for declining – in full

What was their application experience like?

Speed of response 49% felt Lancaster was much quicker to answer their initial call than other universities 52% found Lancaster was much quicker to make a verbal offer

Level of service The level of service from call handlers was excellent 87% described them as very helpful and 63% said they were very knowledgeable How helpful was the call handler? And how knowledgeable?

What do they think of Lancaster?

We are a quality, reputable institution on the rise Reputable Ordinary Leading Aspirational Inclusive Established Falling TraditionalGround-breaking Rising New Exclusive Accessible Following Quality Unknown

But they don’t know quite how good we are! UniversityCUG RankingAverage Ranking Lancaster911 Exeter1016 Leeds19 Newcastle2624 Sheffield2723 Manchester2821 Liverpool3925

Five Great Reasons resonating well Clearing Acceptors / Decliners A UK top 10 University74%49% A collegiate university67%56% Top for student satisfaction60%47% Great for employability 45%42% A global university37%35%

Conclusions & Recommendations

Things to think about… University reputation is even more significant in Clearing & Adjustment – Work to improve league table position will put us in a stronger position – Consider how to exploit this in Clearing & Adjustment messaging Calls staff are giving students a great experience – Continue with staff training and support to ensure quality is maintained (or even improved!) next year.

Any questions? Please contact: Emily Hargreaves, Market Research Officer