But YouTube generation need more information on colleges and want to get it through online video.

Results of a survey released today by Education Now!, a new TV programme and website (www.educationnowtv.com) for education decision makers, has revealed 39% of prospective and first year college students list ‘academic strengths/specialities’ as the most important factor when choosing which college to attend.  ‘Location’ and ‘recommendations of friends and family’ rate second and third respectively. Students do not see entry requirements as a limiting factor, with only 7% listing it as influential when looking at prospective institutions.

However, 53% of these students do not feel they have, or have had enough information when deciding which college to attend.

Students would like more information on such elements as ‘views of the current students’, ‘grounds and facilities’ and ‘extra-curricular activities’. Information on the ‘social scene’ and ‘information about the surrounding area’ are also of interest to some students too, highlighting that students take a whole range of factors into consideration when making college decisions.

To get this information, 27% of students consult their school, whilst 22% find a campus visit more useful. The highest proportion of students (31%) however list online resources as the most useful source of information on their current or prospective college, with almost all (95%) of those asked saying they would find video a useful tool to aid college decisions.

Stephen Horn, CEO of WebsEdge (producer of Education Now!) commented “Our survey reveals a real gap in the Education sector. The YouTube generation of today are looking for colleges to embrace the types of communication that they use of a day to day basis. Colleges must try to disseminate more and varied information to these prospective students through developing new communication methods including online video. The potential is huge; it’s not long now until we see ‘multimedia prospectuses’”. 

Education Now! is a new TV programme and website (www.educationnowtv.com) which provides video case studies of colleges across the UK. The Education Now! website (www.educationnowtv.com) provides education decision makers with a range of best practice case studies featuring universities and colleges across the UK. The programme will launch in spring 2009 after a successful pilot this autumn. It is produced by leading global online broadcaster, WebsEdge, who produce a variety of programmes and online TV channels for the public sector including the Local Government Channel and Global Health TV.