New to UCL opens soon – discover how it develops the welcome experience

The annual New to UCL survey, organised by the Office of the Vice-Provost (Education & Student Experience), helps us understand what works well for new students and where we can improve.

The online survey takes around 15 minutes to complete and is open to new students at all levels of study.

The survey questionnaire gathers feedback from students on their experience of academic induction, as well as access to key support services and learning resources, and UCL’s communications. Students also give their reasons for choosing UCL and their programme.

Why the survey matters

Results and open text comments from New to UCL are always really helpful in developing the welcome experience for new students. Insights from previous editions of the survey have informed major changes in the welcome experience, such as UCL’s new welcome service for international students at Heathrow airport and the revamped pre-enrolment email schedule. 

Departments and faculties, meanwhile, can use the results and open text comments to continue fine-tuning their local welcome and induction events. 

Open text comments are often particularly valuable in highlighting ‘unknown’ issues not visible in quantitative feedback. These fresh insights are vital in such a rapidly evolving higher education environment. A strong New to UCL response rate in 2022 will bring in more student comments. 

Increasing student response rates

Over 7,000 students completed the survey last year, giving us a 31% overall response rate. This year, we’d like to hear from even more of our first-year students at every level of study. 

To encourage more students to take part, the Office of Vice-Provost (Education & Student Experience) has organised a prize draw for students participating in the survey. Students who complete the survey are automatically entered into a prize draw with a £500 cash jackpot and 50 runners-up winning a £10 Love2shop voucher. You can share this interview with last year’s jackpot winner with students in your area. 

The survey will also be promoted through posters, roller banners and digital screen displays across the UCL campus. 

How you can help 

Students are most likely to submit feedback when encouraged to by academic and professional services staff they know and respect, so departmental and faculty staff are very influential in securing a high response rate.

The New to UCL staff guidance document offers a comprehensive array of ideas on how to promote the survey to students in your area, along with templates for email and social media communications. You can also find visual assets for promoting the survey on the Templates & Guides webpage. 

Results and getting further support

New to UCL 2022 results at faculty, departmental and programme levels will be shared in late January.