University Bursaries And Scholarships: Student Incentives – Or Not?
by Kathryn Jones
The question that repeatedly comes up, however, is whether financial incentives have made any difference to our current offer or have the potential to do so.
It's an interesting debate and I don't for one minute pretend to have the answers. But it's also one that requires a little clarity.
As a firm believer in the virtues of, and rights to access, higher education, I share the view with many others that there should always exist financial support that is essentially needs-based and intended to ensure that no one is deterred from university on the-basis of cost alone. The National Scholarship Programme has an intrinsic merit that should not necessarily be linked to recruitment targets or bottom line.
The financial support I am questioning is the kind which is primarily recruitment driven – to win over particular cohorts to select a specific institution or discipline over and above other HEIs.
It's a perfectly valid marketing tactic and one that pervades everyday life (the acronym BOGOF for 'buy one get one free' still amuses me). Back in November, it was reported that a range of universities were offering up to £10,000 to secure ABBs, including some on my patch.
A review of BCU's financial support offering for 2012/13 against that of competitors found it to be fairly modest. We did not go down the route of offering large chunks of cash to secure higher performing students or win back numbers in clearing. That said, nor did we not lose out on AAB students (though numbers are fairly small) and our recruitment performance, as per the UCAS figures released earlier this month, was very good by comparison with many others.
Our accepted applicant figures according to UCAS were up 1.8% on 2011/12 – the reality is that our enrolments after people withdrew or did not turn up were slightly down, but not by much.
Marketing logic tells me that we should be offering financial support packages that are at least on a par with our competitors. Yet I have to wonder that since we did not do this and, as it transpires, did not need to in 2012, would it really make commercial sense to increase the money we give out in future, if it goes to students that would come to us anyway?
A survey of our own enquirers for 2012/13 revealed that 60% said bursaries and scholarships were quite or very important, but 69% said they would not affect a student's decision to apply. Market research released by dh insight this month based on a small sample of Year 13 students predicted As and Bs found little awareness of financial incentives, essentially considered "a nice add on" rather than being a critical part of the decision-making process.
Similarly, the Institute of Fiscal Studies reported in November 2012 that the uncertainty of the whole process, with students often not knowing what bursaries and scholarships they might be awarded prior to making their application (and often after enrollment), meant that it made little or no difference to their decision.
The issue I have with much of this research is that it is based purely on student opinions. Unfortunately, we know that what people say and what they do aren't always the same. Not many students said they would pay fees of up to £9,000, but over 400,000 did and many more intend to do so; UCAS applications for 2013 are up about 3% to date I would like to see some robust market research that analyses the support offered at particular HEIs against their actual recruitment, particularly those that did very well in securing AABs, and the additional student numbers they were awarded.
The question remains: should universities be seeking to provide a competitive market offer when it comes to financial incentives or should they trust that their broader academic offer will be sufficient to recruit the numbers they desire? What are your views?
Kathryn Jones is director of marketing at Birmingham City University – follow the university on Twitter @MyBCU or read Kathryn's blog
Article source: Guardian Professional.
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