THE THOUGHTS WE HAVE

Higher Education is rapidly evolving, and today’s postgraduate students are navigating a landscape shaped by economic pressures, career ambitions, and shifting educational priorities. This report delves into the diverse motivations, expectations, and needs of postgraduate students, exploring how universities can effectively communicate and engage with this complex audience. 

At Havas People, we are thrilled to present our latest youth insight report, “The Focused Generation,” which delves into the evolving landscape of university recruitment in the wake of the pandemic and the ever-shifting economic, political and social landscape young people are faced with. As we approach the 2025 entry cycle, we believe that through robust insight, it’s incredibly important for university marketers to reflect on the significant shifts in young people’s attitudes towards higher education and how universities can adapt to meet these changing expectations. 

Our primary objective for this study was to comprehensively understand how the cost of living crisis impacts current and prospective students in their university decision-making process. It’s widely recognised that many students are considering dropping out or forgoing higher education entirely. However, our aim was to uncover the underlying factors driving this trend and provide you with actionable strategies to overcome these barriers within your marketing communications.

We encourage you to explore our research findings and consider what they mean to you and your institution.

Originally launched back in March 2020, our Life Interrupted study set out to track the impact of the pandemic on the lives and education of Year 12 and Year 13 students. ​Now, two years on, students in this study are out of the ‘worst’ of the pandemic, but given the disruption they have faced to their education, it is clear the long-term impact of the pandemic is still being felt today. ​

Download the 8th edition in our report series now for insight into the student perspective and how best to support and communicate with them over the coming months.

[Published on 03/08/2022]

After our ‘final’ report in October 2020, we believed that we were on the path out of the pandemic. Clearly this did not turn out to be the case. Instead, A-level students in England will have spent much of the 2020/21 academic year in some version of lockdown, with only a limited amount of classroom time. With this in mind, in 2021 we decided to reopen our Life Interrupted study for a short time, in order to speak to students about their experiences over the last academic year, and how it has affected their outlook regarding university decision-making and beyond.

[Published on 29/06/2021]

Life Interrupted! is the first report from our new study that tracks student perspective and offers universities actionable insights for their student recruitment communications in light of the global coronavirus pandemic. To download it, please fill out the form to the right.

[Published on 20/04/2020]

In our second report, we discover there are two distinct ‘personas’ emerging amongst A-level students. And both personas – for different reasons– are reconsidering their options. To download it, please fill out the form to the right.

[Published on 04/05/2020]

In our third report, we explore the at-home student experience, the digital learning experience, the discrepancy between predicted vs virtual grades and crucially, the students decision making and roadmaps for the future.

[Published on 18/05/2020]

In the fourth report of our Life Interrupted! insight series, we look at how students are ‘rating’ university websites, their expectations and experiences of virtual events and their latest hopes for university, given the strong likelihood that the Autumn term (at least) will be conducted virtually.

[Published on 01/06/2020]

In our fifth instalment of Life Interrupted!, our central theme is ‘safety’. We explore attitudes to physical safety and how this is influencing university preferences. We examine how lockdown has impacted personal or household financial security and how this is playing into university decision-making. And we get to hear reactions to recent Clearing developments and see whether these are providing a greater sense of security in terms of university admission. 

[Published on 26/06/2020]

Our sixth instalment of Life Interrupted! has been prepared in two distinct parts. In part 1, we take a look back at what happened to our community over the summer, and what their expectations were as they transitioned to the current academic year. In part 2,​ we look at how the pandemic has impacted the attitudes and beliefs of young people, and what the implications are for both universities and employers.

[Published on 29/10/2020]