EXPECTATIONV

REALITY

A COMMUNICATION SURVEY REPORT BY TRIBAL

When it comes to communication in Further and Higher education; what students want, and what they all too often get, offers a

paradigm of the phrase ‘Old School’.

Here, Tribal’s research into the student communication reality, explores the shift from traditional communication methods, into

the more expected and modern world of student comms’ and how institutions that are embracing the technology needed to ‘get with

it’, are seeing vast improvements in student experience stats.

RESEARCH BY: TRIBAL GROUP

COMMUNICATION? WHAT’S THE

POINT?

THE THEORY BIT

“THE REALITY” V “THE EXPECTATION”

THE RESEARCH BIT

A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

WHEN REALITY MEETS

EXPECTATION – THE LOVELY BIT

OUR TOP TIPS AND NEXT STEPS

EXPECTATION V REALITY

WHAT WE’RE WRITING ABOUT

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THE THEORY BITCOMMUNICATION? WHAT’S THE POINT?

There’s a purpose to every communication effort we make. Communication is often centred on our goals and directly determines what we achieve, and what we receive. Through our language and the delivery of our communication, our goals reveal themselves.

Critical to Lasswell’s model for communication (Who - Says What - To Who - In which Channel – With What Effect) are three functions:

• Surveillance of the

environment

• Correlation of

components of society

• Cultural transmission

between generations

Observing the world as we see it today and in the near future is critical. In 2006, the reality was 9am until 5pm support, long enrolment queues, paper based grant applications and knowing what a student had done and what the student was currently doing. The expectation in 2006 was to be able to enrol from home, ask a question at any time, and receive notifications electronically through email. In 2016 however,

the 2006 expectation is the reality but the expectation has moved on. The environment is constantly changing, the only way to keep one foot in front is to continuously exceed expectations – something brands like Apple (love ‘em or hate ‘em) have been doing in recent years. It can be exhausting, and sometimes expensive to be ahead of a change curve. But boy is it worth it.

Connecting people together in a way that is deemed mutually acceptable is a must. We live in a noisy world. Learners are often using multiple screens, having multiple conversations and psychologically downloading millions of messages every second. Providers that expect to put information ‘out there’ for learners to find (email, Moodle, websites etc.) are quite frankly, not even leading the horse to water… let alone making it drink. Being held back by the parameters of technology is as costly as not using technology at all. The value of using current technological tools to share essential information is crucial. It inspires action, elevates credibility and trust and encourages not only two-way communication but multi-way communication, opinion, and satisfies the deep human physiological need for human relationships… albeit from

IMPROVES THE STUDENT

EXPERIENCE

NURTURES INTEREST HELPS STUDENTS SUCCEED

AND EXCEED

OFFERS FLEXIBILITY PROVIDES A FASTER

RESPONSE

IS AGILE, EFFICIENT, COST

EFFECTIVE

the safe distance of a screen. Facebook works because it centres on the need for a short term fix to loneliness and human connection (Maslow pyramid). It allows people to hear the souls of others and for them to hear theirs. Capitalism and indeed providers of education, need to focus on these deep needs genuinely and not cynically.

So why, if we know this, and with this all-encompassing student centric approach, are students disappointed with, and often put off from, communicating with their learning provider?

What happens when you put barriers in the way (even if you don’t know you’re doing it?). If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one around to hear it…. Bla bla bla. If there is a barrier to communication, communication ceases to be effective, and becomes pointless… it’s as simple as that.

Knowing what the intended audiences need, and what will be easily accessible to them are sure fire ways to ensuring your messages get heard. But what communication methods are providers actually able to expedite? We asked both staff and students to tell us their thoughts.

Colleges, Universities, and actually, anyone delivering any form of education, want to put students at the heart of everything they do. Of course they do – without students to engage with - the hallways would be empty of chatter, the classrooms dull without the hum of blue light from the ever increasing number of tablets and mobile devices that fill the room, and, of course, the world would be pretty well uneducated to say the least. It’d be like a business with no

customers, a play with an empty theatre or a performance sports car with no driver. It could be the best business idea, dramatic play or fastest car in the world, but without its goals being fulfilled, it is relatively useless.

Countless studies have proven that when students are engaged with their learning and their provider, they are more inclined to succeed with their studies. We know this, it’s like us saying lettuce is good for you. We know this too, yet obesity continues to be a problem.

The good news is, that around 6% of further and higher education providers are engaging their student’s rather well already. But we looked at what we could learn from both communication theory and targeted research to better support providers that are losing students; of whom they could have otherwise kept if they’d engaged with them a little better.

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THE SURVEY BIT

When asked, the students said they preferred to communicate with providers via a dedicated mobile app (60%), a direct message (for example, Snapchat or Facebook) (33%), or through their social media channels (35%). What’s more, 70% of students said they would prefer one single app covering all areas of their college or university life.

EXPECTATION

REALITY

In the majority of cases, providers are using email (98%) and postal methods (50%) to engage with students prior to admission stage. Only 6% of providers are using a dedicated mobile application. Only 6% are able to communicate with their students in the way their students would be most receptive to.

But the disconnect isn’t down to the staff.

The UK further education sector spends £48M on technology, and in England alone, the sector employs 326,000 staff with an average age of 46. Around 60% of the staff surveyed

fell into this age bracket, and the majority said they would like to have a single app for communication.

In later focus groups, when students were asked to describe traditional letter, email and Moodle communication tools, words such as ‘Dad’, ‘old and ‘slow’ were used, highlighting the issues staff have when they can’t get hold of students, many of whom have never used email or other ‘pull’ applications. One tutor admitted to spending over three hours contacting students about a cancelled lesson… This is an expensive reality.

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THE SURVEY BIT

Three quarters of the students surveyed expect to be contacted by their institution via a dedicated college or university app, rather than via their personal social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter or Whatsapp – in the focus groups – some students described it as ‘creepy’ if they were contacted by staff through private accounts.

EXPECTATION

REALITY

The reality is, 22% of staff don’t use any apps at all to communicate with their students, but a further 23% use multiple social apps to try and communicate with them – often through their own private and personal accounts. But desperate times call for desperate measures, the reality is, by using personal social applications, no matter how tight the privacy settings may appear, the welfare of students falls into question, along with the professional integrity of the staff.

THE SURVEY BIT

The phrase ‘doing more with less’ remains firmly on the lips of many providers and making efficiency savings is a growing expectation. For some, doing more with less is a sensitive balancing act; weighing up capital outlay and expenditure to make future savings, with a healthy income right now.

EXPECTATION

REALITY

The reality however, is that providers are spending a lot of money, communicating to students in a way that has minimal effect. Put aside, for a moment, the costs associated with lost revenue from a student disengaging and dropping out of education (potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds per provider), and look at the brass tacks of paper and postage expenditure. With a minimum paper and postage expenditure of £6k just for sending ‘Did Not Attend’ letters to students, and one College saved over £25k on their SMS bill, plus the administration effort needed to coordinate these (per provider) – we can start to see that doing less, spending less, but achieving better outcomes is very much achievable.

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WHEN EXPECTATIONS BECOME REALITY - A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

Every true love story ends with ‘In Summary’, right?

Well, in summary:

• Students do want to communicate with their provider, and their peers, through a dedicated, trusted college or university branded social app. Everything they need to know, everyone they might want to speak to, and familiar looking 24/7 access, all in one place, in their pocket.

• Students don’t wish to be contacted via email or letters and certainly don’t want to have to seek the information they need, away from the palm of their hand.

• Staff do want to communicate with students in a way that will get them most heard. They are keen to do this in a safe and secure way, which protects their professional (and personal) integrity.

• Both staff and students do want instant communication (instant feedback, attendance registers) and more variety of communication experiences (sharing of resources, videos, pictures of locations, and expressing instant opinion).

• Providers do want to save money on communication methods (print, postal, email etc).

So if students want this, and staff want this, what are the barriers?

It could be a knowledge gap between students and teachers on the resources available… simply – no one has gone out and made it happen or is aware of tools that could do this for them. It could also be an issue (and misconception) that people need to be shown (or perhaps made) to use it – or that they simply don’t have time for ‘another piece of technology’.

Research suggests that whilst there is appetite for a mobile app, they do require contribution from everyone to make it a success. Traditional communication methods are familiar and could be preferred over having to adopt a changed mind-set.

One thing is for sure, we are seeing the beginning of a communication revolution in education. Traditional methods like email are ready to be replaced with instant real-time communication amongst people. Businesses have been doing this for a while with tools such as Skype and Slack but now it’s time for students and institutions to communicate in a new way.

Being ready for the change is crucial. Instant 24/7 communication in the palms of students’ and staff hands, inevitably mean a cultural shift in order to react to it.

Providers that wish to bridge the communication disconnect, or want advice on how to do it, may wish to speak to Tribal about ontrack: buzz, an integrated private social network, allowing staff and students to communicate and collaborate in a safe and secure environment.

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TOP TIPS

Open social media in education is a minefield and should be avoided. Staff and students don’t want to open up their personal lives. So look for a secure platform with multiple control features that allow for safeguarding. Protect your staff and students by not blurring the lines between professional and personal life and allow students to contact staff and peers easily via an app that they feel is safe to use and appropriate for their college or university life.

Replace your SMS systems. Students see text messages as aggressive or spam not to mention they change mobile contracts and numbers on a regular basis. Move to an app based platform that will reduce the cost of using out-of-date communications methods*, increase retention rates, and drive student and teacher engagement through rapid adoption rates.

Think about how you can support Government safeguarding guidelines. Look for an app that provides a proactive, secure platform which you can use to actively support the more vulnerable students that allows for monitoring, is measured and audited.

If you don’t currently have the technology in place to effectively manage your chosen strategy, we can help.

Our private social network integrates with our student information systems to provide a seamless experience. We have built a system that allows you to put the student at the heart of your communication strategy. From improving engagement with class activities, to supporting real-time, relevant interaction through an app, your students will get the support they need and your organisation can work as efficiently as possible. From recruitment through to employment, we can provide you with a single view of all your communication with a student so that you can increase their engagement, retention and success and ultimately, improve your

revenue and targets.

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE?

DOWNLOAD THE ONTRACK OVERVIEW

WANT TO SPEAK TO US?

Send us an email at hello@tribalgroup.com

Get in touch on social media:

OUR TOP TIPS AND NEXT STEPS

*ON AVERAGE INSTITUTIONS ARE SPENDING £20,000 -

£25,000 A YEAR ON SMS MESSAGES TO STUDENTS.

NEXT STEPS

Collaborate, Engage and Support. Enable teachers and students to collaborate through persistent group timelines to post links, tips, hints & reminders. Engage with students through an app that gathers near immediate feedback, and can better inform them ahead of their next lesson or lecture. Provide support through efficient communication so teachers and students can communicate one to one or in groups, all in real time.

Build a community and better student relationships. Offer students a collaborative space to learn and support each other with in class activities and self-learning. Provide an app for students to socially interact and engage with your curriculum and extra-curriculum activities, deepening their sense of connection and increasing retention and success.

DOWNLOAD THE ONTRACK OVERVIEW

EXPECTATION VS REALITY

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AND SERVICES TO THE INTERNATIONAL

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND LEARNING MARKETS.