Introducing new signposting feature to highlight your latest course delivery details.

Students have a right to know exactly how the courses they are applying to, and will be paying for, are going to be delivered.

As recently as last week, some high profile institutions have begun making headline-grabbing decisions regarding the delivery of their courses, from those that are committing entirely to online teaching, such as the University of Cambridge, to those who are going in the opposite direction and implementing a plethora of steps to make in-person and on-campus delivery safe. Others are treading that fine line between the two, such as the University of Manchester who has declared its intention to start with online delivery and transition to in-person later on in the term.

Students are increasingly resistant to making their final decisions without having received clear information regarding the mode through which their course will be delivered. Institutions need to make sure that students know what they are signing up for and to include this crucial information as early on in the decision-making process as possible. In a year when Clearing is set to be more important than ever, with even greater numbers of students waiting until they have their results to make a final choice on their higher education future, it’s vital that there is a simple function in place to help students filter by the delivery method they are willing to be taught in.

To ensure that students can easily access all the information they require, and that institutions are connecting with students who are a good fit, IDP Connect is introducing a range of new signposting features across both our Domestic and International sites.  This new functionality will ensure students are fully aware of how courses will be delivered from the start to the end of their research as well as providing institutions with well informed, quality leads.

IDP Connect’s coronavirus course delivery signposting will be delivered in 3 different ways: “Alerts”, “Information” and “Filters”.

Alerts:

The “Alerts” function on IDP Connect Websites will act as an important notification or signpost to ensure that students are aware of changes to course delivery during and post the coronavirus pandemic. With so many institutions changing how specific courses are delivered, students may not immediately be aware that a course or institution is delivering online or partially online teaching, or even maintaining on-campus and in-person. The “Alerts” will feature: on the profile page of an institution, on a specific course page and in search results.

The "Alerts" will feature across the IDP sites to ensure that students do not miss these important signposts regarding changes to how their Higher Education course and experience may be delivered.

Information:

Information regarding how a university is delivering its courses, and how specific courses are being taught, is available at all key points in the student journey. On search results, university tiles will automatically feature information on the delivery methods being used by the institution as well as whether and when a course will transition from online to in-person teaching. Students can then find out more information and details further on in their research journey.

Filters:

With the new course search filter options, students will be able to isolate courses which will deliver courses via a mode that meets their needs or preferences. This filter option will be possible from the very beginning of a students course search, immediately removing courses which are not a good match and ensuring that institutions receive clicks from students who are aware of how the course will be delivered and are happy to be taught in this way.

The new signposting features are due to launch on both Domestic and International IDP sites in early July. Members of the IDP Connect team will be in touch with institutions shortly in order to collect the data needed to effectively implement this new feature.

For more information on the new features, please reach out to the team on either: ukclientpartnerships@idp-connect.com or internationalclientteam@idp-connect.com

 *Please note designs are work in progress and may differ upon launch