Trust and Satisfaction in Higher Education Improves, Listening Lags

2023 Education Experience Trends Report shows opportunity for educational institutions to improve student and employee experiences

Colleges and universities saw highest jump in likelihood to recommend, increasing from 72% to 77% year over year – the highest gain across industries studied

However, 7 out of 10 consumers think colleges and universities could do better at listening, and less than half (44%) of education employees believe positive change will occur as the result of surveys

Colleges and universities have seen a bounceback in satisfaction, trust and likelihood-to-recommend post-pandemic, according to the 2023 Education Experience Trends Report from Qualtrics All three metrics are up compared to one year ago, demonstrating the institutional loyalty that colleges and universities have even when they are facing difficult challenges.

“This research shows that colleges and universities are at a critical crossroad in their relationship with stakeholders.” – Lee Perlis, Head of Industry Advisory for Education at Qualtrics.

However, the report also shows that colleges and universities lag behind other industries when it comes to listening to feedback. Seven in 10 respondents said higher education institutions could do better, compared with the global cross-industry average of 63%.

Education continues to feel the strain of challenging times, from balancing live-virtual-hybrid learning, to perceived low salary and bureaucratic processes, to declining enrollment and safety concerns. And an interesting paradigm shift is happening among students and families who view education as a public service, so colleges and universities face higher – and growing – expectations.

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Qualtrics surveyed more than 7,000 consumers¹ across 25 countries and over 2,500 employees across 27 countries about their experiences with educational institutions in 2022. The research provides insights, opportunities and recommendations to help inform education leaders on key areas of focus to navigate these challenging times and ultimately find success in 2023.

2023 Education Customer Experience Trends are:

1. Establish multi-channel feedback approaches so community members feel heard
2. Build trust with equity-driven decisions for greater impact
3. Use institutional loyalty to improve brand reputation
4. Put community members first to improve satisfaction

With satisfaction and trust on the rise, colleges and universities should take the opportunity to build their brand reputation and nurture positive experiences and outcomes. Efforts to improve student experiences must be grounded in intentional listening strategies, including the adoption of technology to make sense of all the information available and to move beyond listening to closing the loop and driving action. The same is true for the employee experience.

Faculty and staff at education institutions reported better experiences this year than in the 2022 trends report, as campuses and school buildings returned to normal. Engagement, intent-to-stay and employee experience vs. their expectation all rose in the 2023 trends report.

But 43% of education employees reported feeling emotionally drained from work, contributing to 35% feeling at risk of burnout. Further, only 39% of education employees agree that their pay is clearly linked to performance, down 11 percentage points from the global cross-industry average. With just 58% of education employees agreeing that senior leadership responds to feedback from employees, it’s clear institutions need to move beyond collecting feedback and demonstrate how the data is used to inform decision-making.

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2023 Education Employee Experience Trends are:

1. Improve employee satisfaction by aligning pay and performance
2. Build employee trust by acting on feedback
3. Reward employees for taking risks to fuel innovation
4. Provide professional growth to avoid potential burnout

A deeper focus on employee satisfaction rooted in open lines for feedback will help institutions make targeted improvements to the employee experience that builds trust and ultimately drives better outcomes for students.

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