Why Confident Higher Ed Arrivals Spur Longtime Student Retention
Graduating students often have two things on their minds come Graduation Day: their past and their future. As they face down a brave new world of uncertainty, they may experience similar feelings from their first day arriving on-campus – familiar feelings of dread and fear of the unknown. But this time, they just smile and brush it off, knowing how soon that empty void of nerves is filled by academics, friends and activity.
But, just as the void is real, so are the feelings which contribute to it. And, according to Unibuddy data, these nervous feelings of doubt can lead to student retention issues at any point in their higher ed journey.
So how do you melt away these nerves before they melt away the student? The solution, according to new Unibuddy survey data, might lie in building student confidence as they make their first crucial steps towards higher ed success.
In our new report, ‘Confidence Counts: Supporting students to journey beyond their comfort zone in higher ed,’ we unpack all the data from this idea of a link between student confidence and admissions and what you can do about it.
But, in the meantime, here’s what we’ve found about how confident arrivals spur longtime student retention in higher ed:
Student nervousness is real – and it can be destructive
Imagine you’re a prospective student researching higher ed institutions from where to launch your dreams. In addition to being overwhelmed by options and pressure to succeed, you’re also harbouring doubts about moving to an unknown place with unknown faces and unknown challenges. It can be positively intimidating.
Related: The melt dilemma: what are Gen Z’s doubts all about?
According to Unibuddy data, making friends is a top-concern of new students arriving on campus on the first day. Yet over half of students report they have no confidence in their own social skills. These stats lie in tandem with the 37% who worry about available career opportunities brought by the school they choose. Predictably, new Unibuddy data finds that the overwhelming majority of students are extremely nervous prior to arriving at their new school.
And these nervous feelings shouldn’t be discounted as 1 in 5 students don’t show up on the first day and 30% of those who do have doubts they’ll make it to the finish line.
So how do we toe the line between excitement and nervousness?
Building confident students begins well before arrival
What if we told you that 92% of Gen Z students say speaking with a current student prior to choosing your school is beneficial to their decision-making process? In addition to trusting current students as authentic voices, Gen Z considers this group to be their peers. By just speaking to a current student, a prospective student can alleviate the bulk of their nervous doubts at a single stroke – gaining the information they need to make a confident decision.
Related: The Gen Z Journey to Higher Education
Unibuddy helps enable P2P student-to-student connections through our Unibuddy Chat solution. Using this higher ed tool, prospective students can search, filter and engage student ambassadors on their own time, with their own questions, in a one-on-one environment. The resulting outcome of these authentic conversations affirms personalization and spurs honest candid discussion.
Confident students arrive ready to succeed
Imagine a day where new students arrive excited to school, excited to learn and 100% confident in their choice to study at your higher ed institution. These students do not have a care in the world, they already have friends they’ve met pre-arrival, know where they want to hang out and know which clubs and courses they want to get involved with.
Related: How Community Forums Drive Student Retention
With tools like Unibuddy Community, you can create pre-arrival groups of new students to mingle, chat and melt away that gut feeling in their stomach that they made a wrong choice. In addition to boosting enrollment and student retention numbers through the roof, these groups help students find their people and build the networks they need to succeed to their full potential at every step of their higher ed journey. This instilled sense of confidence is a quintessential part of ensuring student retention further down the line.
Related: University of Leicester Boosts Enrollment by 23% Since Implementing Unibuddy Community
The successful result? They walk across the stage at graduation with one thing on their minds: their bright future unfolding ahead of them.
Learn more about the data we’ve collected on student confidence in our new report, ‘Confidence Counts: Supporting students to journey beyond their comfort zone in higher ed.’
