With A Level results out this week, new research reveals that UK students have given a thumbs down to the quality of information provided by university websites to help them make their decision on course and place of study.
Whilst most students (95 per cent) browse university websites as part of their research, just 38 per cent of UK students say the information they find helps answer their questions and nearly half (47 per cent) rate the website provided as ‘poor’ or ‘average’.
The importance for universities of having a good website is highlighted by the fact that students use more channels than ever before to reach a decision on their university with social media, careers advisors and independent websites the most popular research methods.
Furthermore it’s likely that universities will need to try even harder to attract students in future should Government plans to increase tuition fees get the go ahead. The research finds that (59 per cent) will consider dropping out of education if fees are hiked beyond £5,000 from their current level of £3,225.
Davin Yap, CEO of Cambridge-based web-self service software company Transversal, which commissioned the research said: “In these tough times, it’s getting more and more important for universities to compete for students. However they appear to be shooting themselves in the foot with websites that are not fit for purpose. Choosing a university is one of the most important decisions anyone can make. Universities need to make sure their websites answer the many questions students have.”
