We’re at the halfway point, six weeks. Six weeks of insight into student attitudes during the COVID-19 crisis, from their feelings about exams being cancelled, how universities deliver their learning, to whether the summer plans will be changed...
But what do we really want to know? COVID-19 is creating unrelenting change for everyone, and the situation is constantly evolving. So, six weeks in, have students’ plans changed? Are they still planning to go to university in September? Have they had a change of heart during lockdown and are now aiming to do an entirely different subject, or planning to go on a gap year? Are all admissions figures for 2020 now out of the window?
Well maybe not, because this week, we found that a whopping 93% of students won’t be changing their plans to attend university this September. And what’s more, this figure has remained relatively unchanged throughout the project, so students are sticking to their plans.
And, despite uncertainty over start dates and teaching methods, only 1% of students said they were planning to change their university and only 3% said they were planning to change their course subject.
But there’s a catch
But don’t breathe a sigh of relief too soon. We also found that only 53% of students would be happy to start in September if it means learning will be delivered online only. This is huge. So, if that’s your back-up plan, it may be worth looking into other options, such delaying the start of term by one month, which 60% of students said they would be happy with.
As government policy continues to evolve, so do students’ decisions around their September start dates. We track these sentiments in real-time and release the findings every week, so that your marketing and business decisions can be based on real insights and data. We are also offering our full subscription, where not only do you receive the full report packed with insights each week, but we can also survey your student audience and overlay this data to benchmark against the nation’s. Upgrade to our full subscription today to stay informed and keep your business decisions on point during these strange times.
