Students Online: Global Trends 2015 – New Report

How do prospective students use online resources to research international study options? Do today’s applicants feel comfortable connecting with universities on social media, or would they prefer to keep communications more formal? What information are they struggling to find online, and which online platforms have the biggest impact on their final decisions?

These are some of the questions addressed in this year’s Students Online: Global Trends report, available to read online as of today. Based on an annual survey of prospective students around the world, the report explores:

• Attitudes towards online platforms
• Changing trends in device usage
• Informational gaps and challenges
• The emerging role of social networks
• Preferred communication channels

This year, the study draws on responses from more than 5,400 prospective students in 33 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America and Africa. Key findings include:

There is continued demand for offline communications

While online resources are playing an ever-growing role in prospective students’ research, offline sources of information remain highly valued. Perhaps surprisingly, younger university applicants are especially likely to place a high value on offline channels of communication, including print materials and opportunities to speak to university representatives directly.

Students still prefer email when contacting universities

For the time being at least, email is still king in the world of university/student communications. This remains prospective students’ first port of call and preferred channel for contacting and being contacted by higher education institutions. When used to best effect, email communications offer a rapid and personalized response, alongside good levels of authority and trust.

Social networks are emerging as an “essential” resource

For a majority of prospective students, social networks now play at least some role in their higher education research – often valued as a way to gain alternative perspectives to complement official and data-driven sources of information. Just under a quarter of this year’s survey respondents class social media as either “essential” or “very important” in their university research, with consistent levels of take-up across all age groups.

Students’ online research varies significantly worldwide

The international scope of the survey makes it possible to identify significant differences in attitudes and approaches among prospective students in different locations. Applicants in Latin America, for instance, are most likely to place a high value on social media as an outlet for university research, while those in the US and Canada are most likely to pick up the phone when contacting universities.

For the full results and analysis, access the complete Students Online: Global Trends report online.