Listening to the student voice: interview with Norland College, WUSCAs 2024 winner of the Small or Specialist category

For the last seven years Norland College has been named a category winner or runner-up at the Whatuni Student Choice Awards. At the WUSCAs 2024 they were crowned winner of the Small and Specialist category.  

We spoke to Dee Burn, Head of Marketing Student Recruitment and Brand at Norland College, and Dan Noutch, Digital Marketing and Student Recruitment Manager at Norland College, about how their win has impacted their institution and students, why the student voice matters, and how they’ve used this significant accolade in their marketing strategies.  

For many people, deciding which university to go to is their first big, life-changing decision. It will introduce them to a new course that will set up their career, a new city or town to call home and a place where they’ll meet new people. When making such a big decision in a crowded marketplace, it’s vital that they get to hear from those currently at that university.   Peer-to-peer communication is so important to young people as it allows them to ensure that the decision they’re making now is right for their future.  

This is amplified even further for small and specialist providers such as Norland where the weight of the decision is even greater due to the uniqueness of the training and student experience. When students are researching universities and see so many institutions offering a bewildering array of courses, seeing the reviews adds authenticity, relevance and pertinence to a university’s profile.  

When they see the WUSCAs award logo next to an institution’s name, they can rest assured knowing that it’s among the very best providers, voted solely by students themselves. That’s why we’re so proud to have been consistently named winner or runner-up at the Whatuni Student Choice Awards over the past seven years.   

Each year at Norland, we receive the reviews from Whatuni and our quality and standards team collate them alongside other feedback and survey results. They identify any common themes that could be addressed to further enhance the student experience. Recent examples of this include modifying the timetable to ensure there are more opportunities for students to work on Fridays and introducing more wellbeing and ‘stress busting’ activities for students.  

Constantly reviewing feedback and listening to the student voice ensures we’re continuously evolving to meet the needs of our students and improve all aspects of the student experience – from the curriculum that they study to the facilities that they learn in.  

Young people value peer-to-peer communication highly in all aspects of their lives. They’re aware of the impact their voice has and it’s important that they feel empowered to shape the future of education. Students also sacrifice a lot to go to university and pay a lot to attend. It is important that they have opportunities to share their views on what they enjoy and what they feel could be improved.    

While official information has its place and students value it, they also seek content that offers a real and genuine insight into studying at that university. That’s why reviews are so popular. Students recognise the importance of reviews and remember what it’s like to go through the process of choosing a course and a university. They want to give back and help other people who are in the same position they were in not so long ago.  

That feeling among students couldn’t be clearer at Norland. Our wonderful students recognise that coming to Norland is a unique higher education decision. For many, they were the only ones in their school or college to have heard of Norland. They want to support others considering the same decision, whether through Whatuni reviews, chatting to them on our website, supporting with open events or returning to their former schools to deliver talks.    

All universities’ websites provide a window into the student experience they offer. Student reviews tell us whether that vision is a reality. That’s why independent reviews are important; they validate universities’ statements with real student experience.   

Our 2024 award – our fourth win and seventh year in a row in the top two – demonstrates our unswerving commitment to providing our students with an excellent experience and the highest quality training in our field, perfected over 132 years. Norland offers an unrivalled programme in UK higher education, combining academic and practical training alongside a wealth of hands-on experience that leads to 100% guaranteed employment opportunities.  

Students benefit from small class sizes, high staff to student ratios, a rich variety of learning opportunities and a nurturing community of staff and students united by a passion to do their very best for children. Norland offers a truly special higher education experience, and our students clearly agree.    

Every staff member at Norland is dedicated to supporting our students to succeed. To receive such first-class recognition from our students over many years means the world to us. For our students, these wins are something they can feel justly proud of. Proud that they are part of this amazing early years higher education community, and proud that they have taken the opportunity to show their appreciation of the training and support they receive. Most significantly, their reviews are published and accessible to all, a legacy to their experience and perspective for future students to read. 

Like many small and specialist providers, Norland is too small to be included in university rankings and league tables which makes it hard for us to showcase the outstanding experience we provide. The WUSCAs offer Norland a rare opportunity to compete on a national stage and to receive recognition from the most important judges, our students.  

We proudly display our WUSCAs achievements prominently across all our channels and the awards are a highlight in our annual calendar. Most importantly, future students can read all the student reviews that have contributed to our awards and compare their experience with those of other providers in real time. Our WUSCAs achievements are evidence of our consistent excellence, helping to inform the life-changing decisions of future students.  

View our events page for more details and get in touch with us to find out how your institution can participate in Review Collection for WUSCAs 2025.