The higher education market has become increasingly competitive and students have become more demanding and better informed about what services and support they expect to receive whilst studying at university.
As a result, institutions need to provide an excellent quality student experience to safeguard their continued organisational existence. Being committed to improving the student experience can increase the ‘retention’ of students by reducing withdrawal rates and aid student progression. It is also pivotal to a higher education institution’s (HEI) ability to attract students. It is no longer acceptable, if it ever was, to treat students entering this level of study as a homogenous group.
The increasing level of student diversity, the increasing costs of delivering HE, the reduction in government/ state funding and resource constraints means delivering an excellent quality student experience has never been more challenging for us.