The Student Sentiment Report in the Eduventures® Research App analyzes responses from the annual Eduventures Student Sentiment Survey to better understand student perceptions about institutional marketing and communication as well as their inherent college search behaviors. The survey is administered to a national panel, and can be segmented by region. Using this report, your team will be able to make data-driven decisions to improve communications strategies and provide the right information to students when they need it.
Navigating the Report
The Tabs across the top of the report allow you to toggle through different pages containing insights and figures derived from the survey information.
- Student Profiles provides a breakdown of survey respondents by graduation year, Student Mindset™, and other demographics - GPA, State, Income, first generation, transfer status, first-time freshman etc.
- Search Strategies™ identifies and defines six inherent search strategies used by the incoming class.
- College Search Process outlines what tools and technology students use while researching potential colleges.
- Institutional Outreach explains the types of communications students received from institutions and their reactions to them.
- Information Sources provides visualizations on the information sources students received, trusted, and responded to during their college search.
- Social Media shows how students use social media during their college search process.
- Mobile Use provides detail on the use of mobile devices during the college enrollment process.
Within each page you will find filters that allow you to manipulate data within the tables and figures to derive specific insights for your needs. The filters are primarily located on the left side and customized to each page. As an example, Figure 1 is located in the Search Strategies tab and would allow you to adjust your view to see what communications First Generation, African American students remember receiving.
Figure 1. Types of Communications First Generation College Bound, African American High School Students Received During Their College Search. 
Top Insights By Tab
- Student Profiles
- How do prospective Student Mindsets™ correlate to upcoming classes I’m planning to recruit?
- Search Strategies
- How do are incoming classes approaching their research for finding the right-fit college?
- How do student search strategies influence the?
- How do seniors and sophomores approach their college search differently?
- What tools do I need to provide to make students’ short lists of colleges they will apply to?
- What are the top 3 sources of information that made students aware of college programs, and which were most trusted?
- College Search Process
- What devices and technologies do students use to interact with my school?
- How quickly should I respond to student inquiries?
- At what stage in their college search do students fill out a profile on my website?
- Institutional Outreach
- What types of communications do student remember receiving from institutions?
- How do students react when receiving communications from my school?
- How do students feel about sponsored ads for colleges?
- Information Sources
- What information sources do students use and trust during their college search?
- What people strongly influenced student decisions to apply and enroll at certain schools?
- What communication pieces are most helpful to sophomores vs. juniors vs. seniors?
- Social Media
- Do sophomores, juniors, seniors use different social media channels for their college search?
- How do sophomores, juniors, seniors use social media as a resource for researching colleges?
- Mobile Use
- How do students use mobile devices to search for colleges?
- Do students use apps to apply and stay in touch with colleges?
About the Research:
The Student Sentiment Survey is conducted in March for the current enrollment year. In 2018 a national panel of 4,700 high school seniors, juniors, and sophomores responded to the survey.
For more information about market research or improving your marketing tactics using Encoura, please reach out to your Regional Director or email us at contact@encoura.org.