Your Voice, Your Future

What Prospective and Current Students are Thinking in the Coronavirus Crisis

CRi and The SchoolFinder Group wanted to understand what prospective and current students are thinking in these difficult times and how their thinking evolves as new developments and new initiatives are announced.

Thousands of students across Canada were happy to tell us what they thought.

Over 4,000 students completed Wave #1 of the Your Voice, Your Future survey between April 27 and May 3, 2020.
Wave #2 went out Friday, May 15, to be followed by Wave #3 on May 27.

Current Students

current students took this survey

Do you plan to return to college / university / school next term?

%

Yes

%

Neutral

%

No

This includes 85% of university students and 78% of college students. But only 78% of those who travel more than 200 km from their home to attend school agree they plan to return in the fall.

Would you return if classes are held online?

%

Yes

%

Undecided

%

No

If there’s one thing schools should improve, it’s communications.

Their quality, frequency and relevance are all highly correlated to students’ likelihood of saying they will return to their current school in fall 2020.

%

of current "undecided" students feel that communication with their post-secondary institution could improve

%

of current "undecided" students feel that their most important questions are not being answered

%

of current "undecided" students do not feel reassured about their school's fall 2020 plans

The 5 other factors examined in the study also showed major differences between those who decided to return and those undecided.

What are the best ways to communicate with you?

  • Email 92% 92%
  • Social Media 5% 5%

Webinars, phone and other channels got fewer than 3% of votes.

Good news for instructors!

%

of respondents finishing their current semester say their instructors are really trying to do their best.

Financing education next year

Even with the recently announced government grant program, 73% of current students who responded say they need a summer job to pay for their studies.

Prospective Students

prospective students took this survey

Where prospective students stand right now

%

of prospective students agree they would still attend their original top-choice school if they received an admission offer

%

say they're confident they can make progress on their educational goals

%

of prospects say they can adapt to whichever method is used to deliver classes this year

Communication with institutions

%

of prospective students feel that their most important questions are not being answered

%

of prospective students do not feel reassured about their school's fall 2020 plans

What are the best ways to communicate with you?

  • Email 87% 87%
  • Social Media 15% 15%
  • Webinars 5% 5%
  • Phone 10% 10%
  • Other online channels 6% 6%

Financing education next year

Even with the recently announced government grant program, 80% of prospects say they need a summer job to help pay for school.

Next Steps

To get your school’s questions added to the Your Voice, Your Future survey or to see how your current and prospective students benchmark against this pan-Canadian portrait, contact us.

Kirk Kelly
CRi
kkelly@cri-facts.com

Chris Wilkins
SchoolFinder Group
cwilkins@edgeip.com

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