UK HE is facing a range of financial challenges, like never before. Changes to policy and university funding are only part of the problem. Even before the outbreak of Covid-19, a record number of 114 universities were reported to be in deficit. The recent release of financial data for 2019-2020 has also provided some early indicators of how the pandemic is affecting the sector, with a significant rise in costly, short-term borrowing and the sharp decline of residences, catering and conferencing making headline news. For the first time, even universities with large reserves that have embraced commercial ways of thinking have felt the loss of income from students and ‘associated activities’.

The world of student marketing and recruitment has always been fast-moving and highly competitive. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit added into the mix, even the most experienced student recruiters have been challenged beyond anything previously imaginable during the past few years.

COVID-19 has enormously impacted the international education sector. Results from the 2020/21 edition of the International Student Barometer (ISB) show a marked negative impact on student satisfaction. However, as demonstrated in i-graduate’s recent global report The global student experience; 2021 insights and analysis from the world’s largest student survey, satisfaction amongst international students studying in New Zealand has remained relatively high.  

From online student recruitment to integrated AI 

The advancement of technology and the importance of digital channels in student recruitment for higher education institutions (HEIs) was already firmly on the trends radar before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s annual National Student Survey, run by the OfS, found only 42% of students felt enough was done to help them. OfS head, Nichola Dandridge, said more must be done to look after students.  

The many Student Experience benefits of moving your student information system (SIS) to the cloud have been the focus of our recent blogs. However today, we look at the risk management benefits that are now making migrating your SIS the most cost-effective way to source the IT security you need to reduce the likelihood of crippling service disruption or data breach.  

As part of our annual Empower Online: Higher Education Conference, Tribal’s Higher Education Sales Manager, Matt Avery talked to Cloud Pre-Sales Technical Consultant, Paul Scott to discuss the journey to cloud and what considerations should be made, including understanding the potential cost of delay.

The BBC News article, Students: ‘Uni definitely not good value this year’, published in June this year gave further exposure to the student voice in the UK, and supported the findings of i-graduate’s student satisfaction survey, the International Student Barometer. The scrutiny placed on value for money has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. How do UK universities fair against their global counterparts, and where should university leaders focus their efforts and finite resources to improve value for money?

Tribal’s Empower Conference 2021 will be focussing on Higher Education and will provide a space where attendees can reignite their passion for the sector and focus on what brought them here in the first place. The Empower Online conference will be taking place on July 6^th-July 8^th 2021, and is sure to be a truly immersive digital event. If you are a Tribal Higher Education customer, here are five reasons why you should book your place now.

Predictive analytics will be the next logical step for many organisations, as educational institutions become increasingly data-led when making strategic decisions and the results, reports, and insights gained from predictive analytics continue to become more accessible. With more staff and stakeholders gaining access to data, predictive analytics will be integral to different roles across the institution.