The first year is critical to engage your students in the long-term. Make sure you provide them with an experience that will encourage them to stay and enjoy their studies by giving them the tools they need to succeed.

Reimagining the first year experience

In our latest guide, find out how to use educational technology to improve your first year student experience.

Learn how to make the best of the first year experience to set your students up for success. You will also find concrete tools and solutions to:

• Increase your institution’s retention rate
• Encourage successful student graduation
• Engage prospective students at your open days
• Improve the enrolment process
• Facilitate access to information and resources
• Promote campus community

Technology to the rescue

Today’s generation of students are digital ninjas. They live their lives through their phones. They expect to communicate with their institution and access information and resources the same way. 

Here are a few tips to address the needs of digital natives: 

• Listen to the student voice: use technology to assess your students’ needs, opinions and interactions with your institution (with the faculty, the staff, their peers…)
• Address your students’ pain points: once you have gathered information on what your students think and feel, make sure you provide them with solutions. For instance, it can be very frustrating for students to have to seek answers from multiple departments (admissions, administration, finances…). To make their lives easier, provide them with a single platform that contains all the resources and information they need
• Develop a student experience strategy with:
  • An enhanced onboarding process
  • A great first year experience
  • Experiential learning activities and campus events to foster a sense of community and belonging
  • Improved student support services, with a smoother communication and no institutional obstacles to success 
  • Career counselling services
• Provide access to a mobile-friendly digital environment so that you can send the right information to the right student at the right time, via their smartphones 

Want more tips and advice? 👇