NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Academic strengths most important factor for student college decisions

But YouTube generation need more information on colleges and want to get it through online video.

Results of a survey released today by Education Now!, a new TV programme and website (www.educationnowtv.com) for education decision makers, has revealed 39% of prospective and first year college students list 'academic strengths/specialities' as the most important factor when choosing which college to attend.  'Location' and 'recommendations of friends and family' rate second and third respectively. Students do not see entry requirements as a limiting factor, with only 7% listing it as influential when looking at prospective institutions.

Education Now! Logo

However, 53% of these students do not feel they have, or have had enough information when deciding which college to attend.

Students would like more information on such elements as 'views of the current students', 'grounds and facilities' and 'extra-curricular activities'. Information on the 'social scene' and 'information about the surrounding area' are also of interest to some students too, highlighting that students take a whole range of factors into consideration when making college decisions.

To get this information, 27% of students consult their school, whilst 22% find a campus visit more useful. The highest proportion of students (31%) however list online resources as the most useful source of information on their current or prospective college, with almost all (95%) of those asked saying they would find video a useful tool to aid college decisions.

Stephen Horn, CEO of WebsEdge (producer of Education Now!) commented "Our survey reveals a real gap in the Education sector. The YouTube generation of today are looking for colleges to embrace the types of communication that they use of a day to day basis. Colleges must try to disseminate more and varied information to these prospective students through developing new communication methods including online video. The potential is huge; it's not long now until we see 'multimedia prospectuses'". 

Education Now! is a new TV programme and website (www.educationnowtv.com) which provides video case studies of colleges across the UK. The Education Now! website (www.educationnowtv.com) provides education decision makers with a range of best practice case studies featuring universities and colleges across the UK. The programme will launch in spring 2009 after a successful pilot this autumn. It is produced by leading global online broadcaster, WebsEdge, who produce a variety of programmes and online TV channels for the public sector including the Local Government Channel and Global Health TV.

Notes to Editors:
A survey of prospective and first year college students aged 15-16, commissioned by WebsEdge (producers of Education Now!) and carried out by BMRB via a nationally representative GB Face-to-face omnibus survey.  Fieldwork 19 October-23 November.  A summary report and full data tables can be seen on request to chrisw@websedge.com.

For more information please contact:
Christopher Warner or Annabel Mitchell
chrisw@websedge.com or Annabel@websedge.com

WebsEdge
2nd Floor, Great Titchfield House,
14-18, Great Titchfield Street
London
W1W 8BD
020 7612 1830

About Education Now!
Education Now! is a TV show and website (www.educationnowtv.com) which will feature news and views from the world of education and showcase the latest developments from colleges, universities and other educational bodies. It is produced by WebsEdge.

About WebsEdge
WebsEdge is a provider of web-based channels for private and public organizations across Europe and America. The company helps organizations to increase their communications reach by delivering content through low-cost web-based TV channels.

In developing these tailor-made channels, WebsEdge enables clients to deliver professional television programming content to a potentially worldwide audience of broadband internet users. WebsEdge also works with clients to create broadcast-quality web-based TV programs tailored to specific sectors, organizations and audiences.

For more information on WebsEdge, visit www.websedge.com