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    Case Study:

    How we helped UAL maximise conversion from applications

     #highereducation #arts #applicants #recruitment

    Arts(1)

    The Challenge

    Every year a number of applicants to university either withdraw before being offered a place, or are offered a place, but decline it.

    In most cases, the university will never hear from these applicants again. The University of the Arts London (UAL) wanted to get to the heart of what makes prospective students pull out. It was important to understand how the picture differed between the university’s six colleges, and the impact of other factors such as study level and demographics.

    “We realised this was a group of people we were putting quite a lot of resources into, but we didn’t actually know much about them.”

    Chloe Jepps, Market Analyst, UAL

    oxfordalumni

    The Solution

    Using UAL’s database, YouthSight conducted a quantitative study of people who had withdrawn or declined offers. We asked about the whole application process, including reasons for applying, barriers to enrolling, competing universities and feelings about the application experience. We also conducted a “deep dive” into key issues such as the interview process.

    After running the research successfully in 2016, YouthSight were invited to do it again in 2017, this time incorporating video research via SnapMe, with respondents filming their answers to certain questions. This helped bring the findings to life for the UAL team.

    The Outcome

    The findings – presented to the university centrally and to each of the six colleges – have informed UAL’s recruitment strategy and processes.

    The research revealed how, with so few opportunities to interact with the university before accepting a place, seemingly trivial matters could have a decisive impact on an applicant’s view of the insitution. This has helped each of UAL’s colleges improve the experience for applicants at open days and interviews.

    The findings also helped the university to address concerns about the cost of living in London, and communicate more effectively about the support it gives students to help with this.

    The second wave of the research allowed the university to compare results and get a sense of the direction of change. On the whole, the news was very good, including a 10% point increase in the number of applicants saying they had a positive experience – and we trust the figure for 2018 will be even higher.

    UAL Logo

    "We have a really nice collaborative relationship with YouthSight. We’ve been impressed with how professional they are, but at the same time, they’re very friendly and approachable. We were keen to work with them again after the experience we had the first time, and for our staff, this research has now become a staple part of the year"

    University of Arts, London
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