A collaborative approach to the provision of online financial information involving student support, finance, marketing and communications and web design professionals, together with clear labelling from the homepage and commonly understood language, are just some of the points for good practice published today by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA).
The good practice guidance for universities and colleges has been informed by a small scale research study Improving information: HEIs’ provision of online financial information, commissioned by OFFA and carried out by Ipsos MORI in Autumn 2006. The study looked at the financial information needs, expectations and experiences of prospective students and the extent to which they felt satisfied financial information was clear and accessible on institutions’ websites.
The qualitative research involved depth interviews with key stakeholders in higher education, discussion groups with current HE students and depth interviews and accompanied web browsing with prospective students, their parents, advisers and teachers.
The conclusions of the research identified a number of points for good practice including:
• Co-opting an HEI marketing or communications professional onto the team responsible for publishing financial information on the website
• Prioritising student finance on the homepage
• Using commonly understood language, or language familiar to the target audience, such as ‘Student Finance’ and ‘Prospective Students’, rather than ‘Costs’ or ‘Undergraduates’
• Providing advice on budgeting and using case studies.
Of the students who took part in the study, most only looked for financial information once they had applied to university and some mentioned that most information had come from school based events such as seminars, talks from HEI representatives and activities carried out in class. Students also felt there was little variation in costs and funding between institutions.
Sir Martin Harris, Director of OFFA, said:
‘The sector has responded well to the changes brought about by the new fee regime. But this is only the first year and it is important that we continue to learn from the experiences of students as they go through the process in 2007 and beyond. We hope this guidance on the provision of online financial information will be of real and practical use to institutions in ensuring that their information is presented in a user friendly way.
‘This is a small scale study, but it’s a first step for us in working alongside universities and colleges to help explore and understand some of the most effective ways financial information can be provided to prospective students, in particular those from low income backgrounds.
‘Some of the findings about how prospective students access information may indicate there is more research to be done by OFFA around channels of communication and student preference.’
Link to OFFA research and good practice.