digital device trends among international students international - q1... · • smartphone users...

Digital device trends among international students

A collaborative study between Study International and the University of Salford Business School, Centre for Digital Business

2015

Study International 2March 2015

Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Background

3. Methodology

4. Trends in Device Usage

5. TrendsinTraffic

6. Audit of UK University Websites and their International Pages 7. Survey Trends and Findings 7.1 Device Usage 7.2 Age of Respondents 7.3 Device by Gender and by Country 7.4 Disciplines of Interest by Country

8. How to Take Advantage of Increasing Mobile Device Usage

9. About Study International

10. About University of Salford Business School


The student decision journey has moved online. One in ten prospective students now search exclusively online for classes and programmes, a Google and Compete study found in 2013. Given that international students contribute £5 billion a year to the UK economy (UUK, Value of Universities to UK plc), online activity among international students could be worth more than £500 million annually. With mobile device internet usage rising rapidly in all of the major international student markets, mobile strategy is a big and growing business opportunity for universities.

Universitiesdisplayinformationontheirwebsitesinvariousformatsandtheonlineexperiencecanbedifficultforprospective students. When potential students are using a mobile device, there is further complexity.

It was this challenge, faced by today’s international students, which prompted Study International to analyse mobile usage and the international student experience as they research education choices. The aim of the researchisfirstlytohelpstudents,andsecondlytoenableuniversitiestoimprovethequalityofmobileinformationtheyofferforprospectivestudents.Itishopedthatthereportwillgeneratediscussionregardingtheincreasingimportanceofmobilecommunicationsinhelpingstudentsfindtherighteducationpathway.

Lastly the research introduces a new methodology in the area of international student research. A combination of university expertise, two years of internet data and survey information provided by trained student advisors. This reportpresentsaglobalsnapshotoftheextensivedatacollectedandmainfindingsproduced.Itsuggestsclearopportunitiestoincreaseinternationalstudentrevenuesforuniversitieswhoarewillingtoadopteffectivemobileweb strategies.

1. Executive Summary


Global Student Mobility Facts

• The movement of students between countries is now a mass movement. The global population of internationally mobile students more than doubled from 2.1 million in 2000 to nearly 4.5 million in 2011, reaching 5 million in 2014 (ICEF, 2014).

• Global internet users will reach 3 billion in 2015, predicted to reach 5.3 billion by 2018 (eMarketer, 2014).

• Smartphone users reached 1.75 billion in 2014, and is expected to exceed 2.1 billion in 2015 (eMarketer, 2014).

• In the US 75% of high school students regularly use a smartphone and 42% of high school students regularly use a tablet at home or school (Harris Interactive & Pearson, 2014).

• 334 million Africans will have a smartphone by 2017 (informa-Africa Telecoms Outlook, 2014).

Study International Student Data

• 1.8 million prospective students accessed Study International’s network of sites during 2013, generating 25,496enquiries.11.9%oftheseenquirieswerefrommobilephones.

• During 2014 Study International received 3.5 million visitors, generating 65,217 international student enquiries-17,512ofwhichcamefrommobiledevices,anincreaseto27%.

• NoticingthistrendStudyInternationalconductedadeepdivecensusof804internationalstudentenquiries(from selected markets: Colombia, Nigeria, Jordan and Malaysia) asking them about their mobile usage.

• 121 UK university sites (and international pages) were audited to grade them on mobile experience and compatibility.

Salford Business School: Centre for Digital Business

Based in the University of Salford’s new campus at MediaCityUK, the Centre is made up of a multi-disciplinary teamofacademicsthathaveearnedaninternationallyrespectedreputationforhighquality,relevantandaccessible research. All members are active researchers, educators in technology and business and are involved in business engagement through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Expertise at the Centre is focussed around the application of digital technologies and information systems within business settings.

2. Background

Recommendation #1: Recognition that mobile should be a central part of any university’s marketing strategy.


Tounderstandhowuniversitiescanbenefitfromthisdualforceofmassstudentmovementandthesurgeinsmartphone ownership, Google Analytics and in-house survey data were used to produce a two part evidence-based report.

1. StudyInternationalstudentenquiryanalyticsbetween2013and2014includingover5.3millionwebvisitsandover90,713enquiresinthisperiod.

2. Study International conducted a comprehensive survey of 804 prospective students from four key international student markets - Colombia, Jordan, Malaysia and Nigeria.

Thestudentenquiryandtrafficanalyticshavebeencompiledthroughworkingwithover50universitiesandcollegesintheUK,Canada,AustraliaandtheUSonleadgeneration(studentenquiry)campaignsduring2013-2014.Dataandenquiriesareforpre-degree,undergraduateandpostgraduatestudents.Theenquirydatacomesfrom over 90 countries and includes all of the major international student markets.

For the survey, students were asked what type of courses were they applying for and, importantly, what device they were using to access available course information. Six student advisors from Study International spoke with 804 students to obtain the information on their mobile usage. Fully trained in guiding the students through to theapplicationandenrolmentprocess,theteamreachedoutviaphone,emailandsocialmediatoallenquiriesgenerated for campaigns globally.

The Centre for Digital Business at Salford Business School then analysed and interpreted the results of the survey and additional demographical data was also gathered to provide contextual background and enable greater in- depth analysis. A longitudinal study (2013-2014) of usage of Study International’s websites using a combination of data from sources such as Google, Bing, Yahoo and Study International’s own CRM system also supplement these findings.

3. Methodology


In2013StudyInternationaldealtwith25,496studentenquiries,11.9%weresubmittedbymobiledevice.In2014enquiriesreached65,217with27%attributedtomobileusers.StudyInternationaldecidedtoaskitsstudentstheir preferences when searching for programmes of study.

AfternoticingthistrendStudyInternationalStudentAdvisorsaskedthestudents:

‘Which device do you use when searching for courses online?’

Thefindingsshowthatthedesktopwasthedeviceofchoicefor65.6%students,24.65%usedtheirmobilesand9.75%usedatablet.Toacertaindegreethesefigureswereanticipatedgiventhegrowthofsmartphones,andthehistorical data, previously mentioned, that indicates a steady decrease in desktop usage.

This student feedback supports the wider, longitudinal data on device trends and given the current levels of investment in mobile infrastructure in key emerging markets in south Asia and Africa this trend is likely to accelerate further.

4. Trends in Device Usage

Recommendation #2: With nearly 1 in 3 online enquiries from the main international recruitment markets happening through mobile and tablet devices, it is critical that all university websites are cross-compatible for mobile, tablet and desktop devices.

What we've seen over the past 3 years

desktopmobiletablet

Q12013

Q22013

Q32013

Q42013

Q12014

Q22014

Q32014

Q42014

0.00%

25.00%

50.00%

75.00%

100.00%

Time

% o

f tra

ffic

from

dev

ices

What we’ve seen over the past 3 years


1.8millionprospectivestudentsaccessedStudyInternationalsitesin2013and3.5millionin2014.Akeyfindingfromthisanalysisisthesignificantincreaseofmobilephonesusedtoaccessthewebsites-risingfrom11.9%to27% from Q1 2013 to Q4 2014 - demonstrating an emerging trend in the student population. At the same time, tablet usage doubled - from a low base - with a corresponding drop in access through more traditional desktop or laptop devices.

As Study International has been purposely targeting mobile device users, this trend can be partly explained. With adoublingofitsviewingmarket,thereisclearlyincreasedengagement.Subsequentenrolmentshaveoccurredthrough cross-device digital usage.

Thisalsoraisesasupplementaryquestion:theeffectofoneuseremployingmultipledevicestoaccessthesamewebsite.Theexistingdatacannotconfirmthewaysinwhichusersareinitiallypursuingasiteusingmobiledevicesandthenmovingtoadesktoporlaptopforthemoreinteractiveelementsofenquirymakingsuchasformfillingand downloading documents.

Further research is needed to recognise the combination of conversion paths that involve multi-device sessions, but being multi-device enabled may have an impact on encouraging engagement/action/application.

5. Trends in Traf fic

Study International Traffic Breakdown in 2013 - 2014

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000desktopdesktop mobilemobile tablettablet

Pag

evie

ws

2013 2014

Study International Traffic Breakdown in 2013 - 2014


A Study International audit of 121 UK university website home pages found that 35% were not Mobile-Friendly. That is, they did not display in an easily read format with an iOS, Android, Blackberry OS or Windows mobile operating system. These systems account for 95% of the mobile devices being used worldwide (IDC, 2014).

For the universities that do have mobile compatible home pages, Study International graded the User Experience on a mobile device out of 10 on a number of design and usability factors. The average score across the university home pages was 6/10. In a further review of the sites’ practical use globally, Google’s PageSpeed Insights service was used, which resulted in an average score of 56/100. This outlines a number of common fundamental issues that would slow page loading of the website for international students.

Furtherauditingwasconductedonuniversityinternationalpages.Theinternationalpage(s)isoftenthemaincontact and information point online for many students abroad in order to communicate with the university’s recruitment team.

40% of university international pages in the UK are not Mobile-Friendly.

6. Audit of UK University Websites and their International Pages

Recommendation #3: Central digital and marketing teams should ensure the international page is Mobile-Friendly in line with the rest of their web services.

UK Universities with a Mobile-FriendlyInternational Page

Yes No

40%

60%

UK Universities with a Mobile-Friendly HomePage

Yes No

35%

65%

UK Universities with a Mobile-Friendly International Page

UK Universities with a Mobile-Friendly Home Page


7. Survey Trends and Findings

7.1. Device Usage

The data shows that within the case study countries Nigeria has the highest proportion of mobile access at 34.83%, with Colombia second (25.93%) followed by Malaysia (23.88%) and then Jordan (13.98%).

Thisresultsinsignificantvariationsin the use of traditional desktops / laptops from 77.42% in Jordan to 55.72% in Nigeria. It may be that thisvariationisreflectiveoftheinfrastructure of the region - for example, the average 3G mobile internet speed in Jordan is 1Mb/s compared with Nigeria’s 2.1Mb/s (OpenSignal, 2014) whereas the UK has a current average speed of 6.1Mb/s (Ofcom, 2014). Improved 3G and mobile broadband plays an important role in international students accessing course information via mobile devices. This raises theimportantrequirementthatuniversitywebsitesneedtooffsetlackofinternetbandwidthbyoptimisingtheirwebsites.

Recommendation #4: Construction of university websites, and the international page in particular should employ caching, leverage and compression technologies to ensure the size in MB of the webpage is as small as possible.

Nigeria 55.72%

61.57%

67.66%

77.42%

65.59%

34.83%

25.93%

23.88%

13.98%

24.65%

9.45%

12.50%

8.46%

8.60%

9.75%

Colombia

Malaysia

Jordan

Average


7.2. Age of Respondents

WiththeexceptionofNigeria,theageofthestudentsenquiringisgenerallyconsistentacrosscountries.Thereis a predominance of interest from under 21s, who are likely to be directly continuing from lower levels of study. Asmallernumberareenquiringbetween22-25,theageatwhichmanypeoplewillbeutilisingtheirexistingqualificationsandenteringtheworkforce.

The rise at 26-30 is consistent with the demographics of students in postgraduate study, who are generally returning to higher education in order to hone their skill sets and assist their climb up the career ladder. This also fitswiththetypeofprogrammeaccessedineachcountry,withstudentsfromColombiabeingmoreinterestedinhigherlevelsofstudy,andtheMalaysianstudentsaccessingentrylevelqualificationsatayoungerage.Nigeriansmaybeapplyingatalaterageduetosystemicproblemsingraduatingontimeandaccessingofficialtranscripts.Students over the age of 35 may be parents, which is possibly likely in Malaysia.

7.3. Device by Gender and by Country

Consistently there is a greater use of mobile technology in general by women. However, there is not enough otherdataaboutaccesstodevicesineachcountrytodrawconclusionsaboutspecificculturalpreferencesorrestrictions. In this survey, men in Malaysia used the computer almost exclusively. In comparison, Malaysian womenshowedasignificantuseofmobileandtabletintroducinganinterestingdichotomy.

Recommendation #5: There is no “typical” student - contextual branding and website imagery needs to appeal and be accessible to prospective students ranging from school leavers to mature adults with families.

Age of Respondents

Colombia Jordan Malaysia Nigeria

<2122-2526-3031-35>35

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

Countries


Colombian women showed the greatest mobile use and lowest tablet use, and an interesting contrast is with that of Jordanian women who are the greatest users of tablets but the lowest mobile users.

Thefindingshavelittleconsistencyindeviceusebygenderorbycountry.

7.4. Disciplines of Interest by Country

Thissurveywasconductedwhilequalifyingstudentsforparticularprogrammes.Despitethisthereisstillnotablefindingsinthelevelsofinterest.OverallHealthsubjectshadanaverageinterestofonly9.5%whileArts&Humanities lead the way with 34.6%.

Althougheachcountryplacesadifferentemphasis on a discipline of interest based onandreflectingtheirculture,thereisstillevidence of common trends in international students desire to study certain disciplines over others.

Recommendation #7: The differences in popularity of some disciplines over others should be factored in when planning international student recruitment.

Recommendation #6: Specific categories of students ( judged by country or gender) should not be assumed to hold a specific device preference.

Device by Gender and by Country

Desktop TabletDesktop TabletDesktopColombia

Smartphone Tablet Desktop SmartphoneJordan

Tablet SmartphoneNigeria

SmartphoneMalaysia

0

50

100

150

200MaleMale FemaleFemale

Devices and Countries

%

Device by Gender and by Country

Disciplines of Interest by CountryDisciplines of Interest by Country

ColombiaJordanMalaysiaNigeria

0 60 120 180 240

Science

Arts and Huma…

Business

Health

Number of enquiries

Sub

ject

Dis

cipl

ines


Strategy

Thefirststepforanyuniversitythatwouldliketotakeadvantageofthischangeinthemarketistodecidethatamobile strategy is important and worth investing in.

Technology

Ensure that your international page is optimised for mobile phones and tablets. This is a rapidly increasing communication medium between prospective international students and university recruitment teams. Our evidence suggests that 40% of UK university international pages are not Mobile-Friendly.

Content

Content and overall size of web pages needs to be brief and succinct to avoid restricting international users due to bandwidth limitations. Review your current websites and implement improvements.

Focus

Course preferences are consistent between mobile and desktop searches. We are not seeing any major trends at this point regarding age or gender demographics that are critical to student recruitment / marketing planning. Focus on access to information over mobile devices and less on gender, age or country messaging.

8. How to Take Advantage of Increasing Mobile Device Usage

Key Point Summary

If at least one in ten international students are searching exclusively online for their higher education choices, then our research suggests 30% of these students are searching with a mobile device. When considered as a proportion of international student revenue to the UK economy, then up to £500 million could be directly generated through online recruitment with over £150 million attributed to mobile devices. We believe that this number will rise rapidly in the next three years.


StudyInternationaloffersprocess-ledsolutionsforuniversitiesaroundtheworldthatwanttogrowtheirinternationalstudentnumbersinaninnovativeandcost-effectivemanner.Wemarketyouruniversitydigitallythroughanetworkofsearchandsocialmedia.Wegenerateenquiries,qualifythem,respondquicklyandmanagethemcarefully.Theseenquiriesconvertintoapplicationsandapplicationsintosuccessfulenrolments.

Webelievethatpeopleplusdigitalequalsaccesstoeducation.PoweredbyStudyInternational.comandhundredsof specialist micro-sites, we have a global, digital reach. We also run an experienced team of Student Advisors and maintaindirectpartnershipswithInternationalSchoolsaroundtheworld.TheStudyInternationalmainofficeisinBristol,UnitedKingdomwithabranchofficeinSydney,Australia.

Our data allows us to conduct market research with students to try and understand how they interact with universitywebsites,howtheysearchforcourses,andwhatdevicestheyuse.Forfurtherenquiriespleasecontactour Business Development Director, Graham Wood on +44 (0) 117 244 3750 or [email protected]

About University of Salford Business School

The Centre for Digital Business aims to produce academically rigorous research that builds our reputation as advisors to local businesses. Our members have a broad range of expertise that can be grouped into the following three areas:

• Strategic use of digital technologies

• Application of digital technologies

• Analysis of digital technologies

TheCentreforDigitalBusinesshasaninternationally-recognisedprofileofresearchindigitaltechnologiesand,given the University of Salford’s new campus at MediaCityUK, it is well positioned to be a facilitator and enabler for local and global businesses by providing a hub for commercially centred workshops, hosting key guest speakers, consultancy, postgraduate supervision, funding collaboration and providing bespoke training courses to equipstaffwithnecessarycriticaldigitalbusinessandanalyticalskills.

Tocontacttheco-authorsandforPhD/consultancyenquiries,pleasecontact:

Centre Director, Dr. Marie Griffiths on +44 (0)161 295 4237 or at [email protected] of Academic Unit, Dr. Gordon Fletcher on +44 (0)161 295 5851 or at [email protected] Lecturer in Information Systems, Dr. Maria Kutar on +44 (0)161 295 3056 or at [email protected]

About Study International

Digital device trends among international students

Main officeHybrid News Ltd, Colston Tower, Level 9, Colston Street, Bristol, BS1 4UX, United Kingdom

+44 117 244 3750Company number: 06993551

Branch officeGold Fields House, Level 2, 1 Alfred Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

+61 280 76 41 20ABN: 14 600 565 802

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