For many years, considerable research has been conducted to determine what factors drive a student’s decision when choosing a school. Colleges and universities would love a magic formula that leads to attracting the best and brightest students, but every student is different, and every new class of students has different expectations. However, research has revealed that one of those critical factors is facilities.
Walking around a beautiful campus or seeing how busy and accessible the university’s library or student hub is can make the difference for a potential student trying to picture where he or she could fit in for the next four years. The role that facilities play has in fact two dimensions: on one hand they attract brand new students and on the other hand they retain current students and make them stay.
More than two-thirds (67%) of students view facilities as a crucial part of their decision to attend a university, according to a survey published by the Association of University Directors of Estates. In the UK, eight out of ten students said facilities played a role in them choosing a university. When institutions can offer an attractive and functional campus, they’re not only offering something that more than two-thirds of students are looking for, they’re also setting up an environment that can achieve better engagement from their students.
Keeping up with student expectations is easier said than done. Many higher education institutions are under constant financial strain and are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their business decisions in alignment with the goal of attracting top students. However, leveraging new and innovative technology may be the solution.
By empowering students with the right technology, mobile technology in particular, institutions give them the ability to contribute and actively engage with their environment (campus, student halls, library..). When students find a broken desk, a cracked window, or a room where the A/C isn’t working, and have the ability to immediately submit a maintenance request to their university to get it fixed, they become part of the institution’s improvement process. When students have the ability to reserve a space in the library, or find an instructor from their phones, they are more productive and involved.
Moreover, they evolve from simply being a stakeholder to being an engaged stakeholder for the university.
Giving students more control of their environment affects the way they view their student experience. It gives them better opportunities to collaborate and better access to the university’s learning and support services. It helps universities get better feedback from their students on a much timely basis, which impacts important decisions for the university as they plan for the future.
When equipped with the right technology and processes, colleges and universities have an opportunity to enable students to become active participants in streamlining their own processes, which in return benefits both the student and the institution. And with enhanced process improvement, comes the opportunity to not only uncover operational efficiencies, but the ability to also attract and keep happier, more satisfied students.
