New Student Experience Trends Dashboard from Qualtrics and
College Pulse gauges the current state of the postsecondary student
experience and highlights opportunities for institutions to
prioritize student well-being
Key findings of the research include students lacking awareness
of mental health resources, experiencing discrimination and feeling
unprepared to enter the workforce
Incorporating student feedback into institutional decision
making is associated with a higher level of student
satisfaction
Higher education institutions are falling short in supporting
student well-being as mental health issues continue to have
substantial impact on young adults, new research from Qualtrics
(Nasdaq: XM) in partnership with College Pulse found. The 2023
Student Experience Trends study found nearly one in five students
(18%) don't know if they have mental health resources available to
them, and among students who are aware of mental health resources,
over half (55%) reported problems with the resources.
The research comes at a crucial time during Mental Health
Awareness Month, and as young adults (aged 18-25) in the United
States have the highest prevalence of mental health illness
compared to any other age group, according to the National
Institute of Mental Health. To identify and understand the student
perspective on key moments in the student journey from
postsecondary education to job readiness, College Pulse and
Qualtrics surveyed over 2,700 community college, four-year
undergraduate and graduate students across the US. The research
aims to inform critical areas of improvement for the student
experience, including mental health, discrimination and
post-graduation preparedness.
As mental health challenges persist, higher education
institutions are faced with the need to provide better student
support
As studies consistently show, students face challenges with
accessing mental health resources. The 2023 Student Experience
Trends study found more than half of students (55%) reported
problems with mental health resources, with 27% saying the biggest
problem is that students don’t know what’s available to them.
Similarly, less than half of students (47%) reported that they
would be likely to use their institutional resources if they were
having a mental health crisis. This issue is further exacerbated
with certain types of students:
- Lack of awareness of available mental health resources is 21
percentage points higher for students at two-year colleges compared
to students at four-year colleges (32% compared to 11%).
- Students at public institutions are 10 percentage points less
likely than students at private institutions to say they would use
institutional resources in a crisis situation (44% compared to
54%).
Students cited other problems with using mental health
resources: 19% of respondents noted long wait times, 15% reported
the system is difficult to navigate, and 6% cited resources are too
costly.
“This data showcases an opportunity for higher education leaders
to improve the quality, availability and promotion of mental health
resources in order to improve the student experience and their
overall well-being,” said Dr. Katie Johnson, senior research
manager for education at Qualtrics. “Research shows that the
psychiatric workforce is shrinking at the same time that student
needs for mental health support are growing. While the value of a
trained counselor cannot be replaced, technology-powered solutions
can improve efficiency by helping institutions understand student
barriers to using mental health resources, opportunities for
improvement and the ways students want to be supported, freeing up
more time for counselors to focus on directly supporting
students.”
Discrimination and sense of belonging are critical to
address
The dashboard uncovers new insights on the prevalence of
discrimination in higher education institutions, with nearly one in
three students (31%) sharing they have experienced discrimination.
For students who identify as a gender other than binary male or
female, 75% noted they’ve experienced discrimination. Students of
color also reported having experienced discrimination at higher
rates than their white counterparts.
A student’s sense of belonging and overall satisfaction with
their higher education experience is impacted when they face
instances of discrimination or when diversity, equity and inclusion
(DEI) needs are not met:
- The types of discrimination most often reported by students
were based on race (11%), political views (10%), social class (7%),
religion (6%) and gender identity or expression (6%).
- The majority of students (62%) agree that leaders make DEI a
priority. However, just under half (47%) say they are free to voice
their opinion on controversial topics without fear of
repercussions. On both measures, students of color and those who
identify as a gender other than male or female are less likely to
agree.
- Students who feel connected to their peers have a higher sense
of belonging. Overall, 64% of students feel like they belong at
their institution but this number is 55 percentage points higher
(87% compared to 32%) among students who feel connected to their
peers.
“An institutional culture that fosters diversity, equity and
inclusion isn’t just a nice to have, it’s an imperative to make
students feel like they belong and can thrive at their institution,
driving overall satisfaction, success and retention,” continued
Johnson.
Workforce preparation is key to student perception of value
of higher education
The dashboard also examines students’ concerns around
preparedness to begin college-level coursework, as well as
post-graduation preparedness to enter the workforce. For college
readiness, only about a third of students (32%) reported that their
high school education made them feel very or extremely prepared for
undergraduate-level coursework.
Preparedness for undergraduate education varied based on the
following factors:
- Private high school students felt more prepared than students
from public high schools
- First generation college students felt less prepared than
students with a parent who completed college
- Students of color and Hispanic students felt less prepared than
white students
When it comes to workforce readiness, 68% of students reported
that their current education is preparing them for the job they
want after graduation. This subset of students were more likely to
think that their education is worth the cost (70% compared to 25%),
a critical component of student satisfaction with their higher
education experience. When asked to make a tradeoff between a great
student experience with lower job prospects or a poor student
experience with higher job prospects, 59% of students preferred the
option with higher job prospects.
“For the 31% of students who reported considering transferring
from their higher education institution in the last year, the most
common reason cited was not feeling supported,” continued Johnson.
“We’re hearing directly from students that they’re more satisfied
with their experience when their institution listens, understands
and acts on their feedback. Doing so is critical for student
success and institutional success.”
For more, see the 2023 Student Experience Trends Dashboard.
Methodology
In January of 2023, Qualtrics and College Pulse launched a
student experience survey to 2,700+ current college students in the
United States. The survey includes nationally representative data
of community college, 4-year undergraduate and graduate students.
Findings uncover student perceptions in key areas of the student
experience: high school to college transition, admissions,
onboarding, campus safety, student voice, DEI and belonging, mental
health, job readiness, education value and student outcomes.
About College Pulse
College Pulse is a survey research and analytics company
dedicated to understanding the attitudes, preferences and behaviors
of today’s college students. College Pulse delivers custom
data-driven marketing and research solutions, utilizing its unique
American College Student Panel™ that includes over 750,000 college
students and recent alumni from 1,500 two- and four-year colleges
and universities in all 50 states. For more information, visit
collegepulse.com or @CollegeInsights on Twitter.
About Qualtrics XM for Education
With over 20 years of experience in education, Qualtrics now
serves over 1,000 education institutions across K-12 and Higher
Education around the world—including 99 of the top 100 business
schools and over half of the top 50 U.S. school districts—helping
them understand and improve the experiences they deliver. Qualtrics
solutions are purpose-built to help leaders in education understand
experiences across departments, take the right actions to attract
and retain students and staff and increase engagement and success.
Qualtrics’ XM for Education solutions uncover unique insights into
the student journey and empower school leaders to close experience
gaps—driving increases in enrollment, retention and graduation. To
learn more, please visit qualtrics.com/education.
About Qualtrics
Qualtrics, the leader and creator of the experience management
category, is a cloud-native software provider that helps
organizations quickly identify and resolve points of friction
across all digital and human touchpoints in their business – so
they can retain their best customers and employees, protect their
revenue, and drive profitability. More than 18,750 organizations
around the world use Qualtrics’s advanced AI to listen, understand,
and take action. Qualtrics uses its vast universe of experience
data to form the largest database of human sentiment in the world.
Qualtrics is co-headquartered in Provo, Utah and Seattle, and
operates out of 28 offices globally. To learn more, please visit
qualtrics.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230511005325/en/
Media Contact: Geraldine Lim press@qualtrics.com
951-318-3494
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