There are over 200 higher education providers across Australia and New Zealand, including universities, TAFE and vocational institutions. With so many players in the educational landscape — not to mention the competition from international providers — it’s logical that higher education institutions need new ways to stand out to potential students. For many, the answer rests in their ability to engage and support with students.
Here’s a look at the value of a superior student experience and how it supports your higher education brand.
The Need for Differentiation
Quality education alone is no longer enough to differentiate one institution from another. Today’s students are tech-savvy, time-poor and demand seamless, real-time access to services. They expect their learning environment to be the same.
For example, a 2022 study found that 91.5% of surveyed students expected ‘more advanced or innovative technology’ at university than in high school. Furthermore, 80% of Gen Z individuals want to work with cutting-edge technology in their future career, according to McCrindle.
This means students are unlikely to settle for higher education that fails to deliver relevant, modern experiences that fully prepare them for life in a technologically advanced world. Therefore, universities must digitise the student experience to remain competitive.
The Key to Superior Student Engagement
Superior student engagement doesn’t just deliver the technological experiences students are looking for. It fully immerses them in the higher education environment, both online and on-campus, helping them get more value from their graduate studies.
The key to superior student engagement is simple: build digital student experiences that educate and delight.
To create seamless interactions for students and stand out from the competition, your institution must improve operational efficiencies, reduce costs and automate processes through:
- Cloud-based solutions: Reduce TCO, easily integrate new technologies and improve student journey maps.
- Intuitive agent’s dashboard: Integrate all student touchpoints in a single platform, empowering agents with real-time contextual data to offer personalised service.
- Integrated channels: When united, human and digital channels enable superior service and increase operational efficiency.
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Deliver hyper-personalisation across your financial services.
Uniting these elements elevates the student experience and makes learning more memorable, accessible and valuable. Perhaps most importantly, these superior student experiences give learners and prospects one more reason to choose your institution over another.
A Lifetime of Learning
To see the real value of superior student experiences, it’s necessary to consider how it impacts the entire student journey, from pre-enrollment to graduation and beyond. Let’s take a closer look:
Recruitment
Students have many options when it comes to higher education, which means your university or institution’s recruitment process must grab their attention. Appeal to their technological nature by delivering a superior experience from the very beginning — including virtual reality campus tours, digitised meet-and-greets, chatbots to answer their questions and more.
Enrolment
Enrolment shouldn’t be a lengthy, frustrating or timely process. Instead, digitise the necessary paperwork and interactions so students enjoy a quick, seamless process on their channel of choice.
Financial Aid
Digital self-service options help students research funding choices before reaching out to a counsellor or financial aid office. When they’re ready for assistance, offer multiple communication options — including phone or video calls, emails or face-to-face meetings scheduled within an online calendar.
Course Registration
Once prospects have officially become students, they’ll need to choose courses that fulfil degree requirements and fit their schedule. Simplify these steps by putting course descriptions online, digitising registration tasks and providing chatbots to answer questions.
Education Support
Whether a student chooses to study on-campus, online or both, their experience should be seamless and valuable. Digital coursework, student portals, video chats with professors and online databases help students navigate their educational journey. For example, it should take only seconds to check grades by logging into a digital classroom.
Post-Graduate Progress
A graduate is far from a lost opportunity. Instead, you can continue your relationship with these students by modernising the post-graduate experience. Digitised tools and portals help provide personalised career support, on-campus employment opportunities and courses that complement their completed degree.
Improve Your Student Engagement Today
Hyper-digital experiences help attract, retain and support students. This differentiates your university or institution in a competitive environment — but, perhaps most importantly, it empowers the next generation to become great thinkers and leaders.
Improving your student engagement begins with modernising your contact centre, digital and CRM platforms. At GSN, we have the tools you need to integrate and improve your channels and touchpoints, creating experiences that help you stand out from the competition.
Are you ready to improve your student experiences? Contact us today to find out how GSN can help you and your students.
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Hyper-digital experiences help attract, retain and support students. Differentiate your university or institution in a competitive environment and empower the next generation to become great thinkers and leaders.