Universities' digital strategies fall short in global survey

A global research study by Unit4 shows 73% of the American undergraduate and postgraduate students surveyed believe their universities need to improve their digital strategies, with 40% stating that complex, non-digital student administration impacted their study time. The study involved more than 2,000 students studying in the US, France, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore, Benelux, Australia, and New Zealand, and responses across degree levels and countries was said to be consistent. Almost 87% said they would use an app which monitored their educational progress.

Research

Study Reports Students Are Dissatisfied with Their University’s Digital Strategy

A new, multi-national study also found that students want to see a single application to track progress on their degree.

A global research study by enterprise applications provider Unit4 revealed that one-third of students in the United States feel student administration systems do not meet their expectations. Approximately 73 percent of students surveyed for the study recommended that their university review and change its digital strategy.

“The research was designed to deliver insight surrounding the digital experience around university administration, and whether providing a great digital experience to students gives institutions a competitive advantage,” according to a news release. The goal was to “measure students’ perceptions of their universities’ current digital offering and administration.”

DJS Research, a market research company, conducted the survey in March and April this year. More than 2,000 full-time and part-time students studying in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Benelux, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand participated in the study. The responses were consistent across undergraduate and postgraduate students in the various countries.

Students want to see their universities do a better job at digitalizing student administration and collaboration, with 44 percent of those surveyed saying that student administration is managed digitally “a little or not at all,” according to a news release. The lack of digital solutions for student administration has affected students in the U.S. specifically, where 40 percent of respondents said that they spend less time studying because the administration is too complex. As a result, one-third of U.S. students said that they now have a bad impression of their institution.

Students answered that they would like a single application accessible from any device to manage their entire university life. Approximately 87 percent said an app that shows their current progress in their degree would be a useful tool.

An infographic of the survey results can be found on the Unit4 site; additional information is available on the DJS Research site.