Overview

With a cost-of-living crisis following in the wake of pandemic disruption, now is a difficult time to be a student. And while there is no easy fix for the many challenges that modern university applicants must content with, Staffordshire University knew that human connection would go a long way to improving the offer-holder journey.

Partnering with CampusConnect, the university has created a bespoke, branded community space that empowers incoming students to come together, make friends, and ask questions. Through this new platform, offer-holders can find support and reassurance, and enjoy a genuine sense of belonging leading into their first semester.

Rapidly evolving applicant needs

The profile of university applicants has changed drastically in the last few years. The COVID-19 pandemic caused immense upheaval for students at a critical juncture in their education journeys, and now many are facing unprecedented financial pressure from the worsening cost-of-living crisis. Some incoming students are now carers, more and more must work part or full-time to support their studies, and many were not even able to take exams at the end of their school careers.

Putting student needs first has been at the centre of Staffordshire University’s DNA for more than 100 years. And so, seeing the new challenges and anxieties that its offer-holders were struggling with, the organisation wanted to do more to support incoming students and ease their transition into university life. Annabel Fallon, Head of Digital Engagement at Staffordshire University, explains:

“We wanted to create a sense of belonging. Even before their first semester, we wanted offer-holders to be able to make friends, ask questions, and speak with existing students.”

What the university needed was a touchpoint for human connection, and as a global leader in technological innovation, it knew that digital platforms held the answer. Annabel Fallon continues:

“We had some success using Facebook Community to manage our core undergraduate new starter community, and WhatsApp to nurture segments of our international audience. But as the needs of students evolved, we were keen to find a university-owned space where students could better connect with one another, and where we could build a true community.”

Launching a bespoke platform at scale

Staffordshire University began looking for a dedicated, unified platform that could serve as a hub for its entire applicant community, and CampusConnect quickly emerged as the ideal option. Annabel recalls:

“CampusConnect stood out because it felt like a very organic solution. It enabled us to build our own engagement plan around what offer-holders wanted, and mould it around our ongoing, evolving strategy. It really aligned with our student-centric philosophy.”

Using CampusConnect, the university created a custom, branded community space that could support the full breadth of its incoming student audience, enabling it launch at scale for undergraduates, postgraduates, and international students.

To set up content, forms, and groups, the Staffordshire University CRM department worked closely with CampusConnect, as Annabel Fallon explains:

“CampusConnect felt like a part of our team, and they care about making a difference to people using the platform. We had what felt like a very bespoke setup, but the implementation was still smooth. That’s one of the main reasons why I’d recommend them.”

Even after implementation, CampusConnect’s experts are continuing to support the university through ongoing optimisation and community management. Gemma Smith, Director of International Recruitment and Development, comments:

“We love how CampusConnect tailor solutions and provide a community manager, Adele, who is like an extension of our team.”

Building on a successful first cycle

Staffordshire University has now completed its first annual cycle using CampusConnect for all of its unconditional firm offer-holders. The university’s goal was to create a more welcoming and supportive environment for its incoming students, and the results speak to the project’s success: 90% of firm offer-holders engaged with the platform, with an 82% enrolment rate for students that engaged.

Bie, an incoming student, relates their experience with the platform:

“I got to meet a lot of people from my course on CampusConnect, and we’re all in a group chat together. This means that we feel less nervous about starting uni as we’re already familiar with the people we’ll be studying with and we can’t wait to finally meet up when everyone moves to Stoke!”

According to Annabel Fallon, Bie’s account is a good reflection of the broader, positive sentiment that the new platform has generated:

“Users have told us that CampusConnect helped them feel more prepared for their first semester. They were able to make friends with other people on their course, and it’s been especially valuable for international students who had the opportunity to make in-country connections that wouldn’t previously have been possible.”

Staffordshire University has gathered this student feedback through integrated user surveys, which combine with additional CampusConnect analytics capabilities to provide staff with a much more detailed and genuine understanding of offer-holders’ worries and concerns. This new insight not only empowers team members to better support users and tailor the CampusConnect platform according to student priorities, it also feeds into wider university decision-making.

Student ambassadors are another key component of Staffordshire University’s engagement strategy. These ambassadors are existing students who volunteer to help answer offer-holder questions, provide reassurance and guidance, and share their experience of life at the university. CampusConnect has been a game-changer for student ambassadors, with the unified, purpose-built engagement platform multiplying their reach and potential impact exponentially.

Following the success of its first cycle, Staffordshire University intends to offer CampusConnect even earlier this year, enabling applicants to make connections sooner. What’s more, the university hopes to take advantage of new CampusConnect capabilities such as livestreams and on-demand content to complement the social features it is already using. Annabel concludes:

“CampusConnect really seems to share that common mission of making a difference to future students. At the same time, they are committed to helping our staff do the best job we can.”