Students Demand ‘Value for Money’ from Degree: UK
Universities to Prove their Worth in the Higher Education
Market
Slough, UK, 15 September 2011 – Influenced by a
stagnant economy, high inflation, fewer job prospects and rising
student fees, a survey of 1000 13 to 17
year-olds reveals a next-generation of undergraduate consumers
for whom a university’s ‘value for money’ will increasingly impact
their choices in higher education.
Universities will need to compete harder for students’
affections, whose evaluation criteria will no longer focus on
course subject or pubs and clubs ratio alone, but rather
post-graduate employability and flexible initiatives that maximise
the opportunity to study but minimise the costs associated.
Key findings from the survey of 13 to 17 year-olds, which was
commissioned by international IT solutions provider, Logicalis, and
conducted during summer 2011, reveal that:
- 65% believe they won’t get value for money from higher
education
- 50% are prepared to forgo the social aspects of university to
study from home
- 75% are more likely to complain on receiving poor service at
university if they’re paying higher fees
- 75% want shorter, ‘quick-time’ degrees to help reduce the total
cost of studying.
Unsurprisingly, 83% thought that fees should remain below £3,000
a year.
Chris Gabriel, head of solutions at Logicalis, comments: “Every
year tens of thousands of students set about proving their worth to
gain hard-fought University places. Our survey of 1,000 13 to 17
year-olds shows it’s now high-time that Universities prove their
worth.
“The introduction of higher fees has made the university
experience more akin to a business service, with students in the
driving seat. Universities will need to compete for the brightest
students – and the fees, league table results and revenue that come
with them.
“Those establishments that understand and embrace changing
student priorities – career over fun - must get the processes in
place to meet the expectations of a cost-conscious student
generation. Distance learning, shorter degrees, enhanced learning
resources and social channels for greater interaction with expert
lecturers, as well as demonstrable statistics of alumni employment,
will all help universities stay ahead of the competition.
” David Swayne, services director at Logicalis UK, added: “The
impact of fees has created a future generation of ‘consumer
students’, who look dispassionately at the pros and cons of
attending University. Universities have to make sure that they
adapt to this new environment and support both attending and remote
or fast-track students, the latter we predict will become a
significant sector of society in the future.”
About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international provider of integrated information
and communications technology (ICT) solutions and services founded
on a superior breadth of knowledge and expertise in communications
& collaboration; data centre; and professional and managed
services.
Logicalis Group employs over 2,000 people worldwide, including
highly trained service specialists who design, specify, deploy and
manage complex ICT infrastructures to meet the needs of over 5,000
corporate and public sector customers. To achieve this, Logicalis
maintains strong partnerships with technology leaders such as
Cisco, HP, IBM and Microsoft.
The Logicalis Group has annualised revenues in excess of $1
billion, from operations in the UK, US, Germany, South America and
Asia Pacific, and is fast establishing itself as one of the leading
IT and Communications solution integrators, specialising in the
areas of advanced technologies and services. The Logicalis Group is
a division of Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg and
London AIM Stock Exchanges, with revenues in excess of $4
billion.
For further information please contact:
Sarah Chidgey/Jennifer Manning
Cohesive Communications
T: +44 (0)1291 626200
E: Logicalis@cohesive.uk.com