Student Mindset Conference: Spring Edition resources
Course is king: How language shaped student choice
Jo Richards, Senior Insight Lead, UCAS
Penny Eccles, CEO and Founder, Marketing Partnership
With over 32,000 undergraduate courses available through UCAS Search and 6.7 million annual users navigating them, course descriptions played a pivotal role in student decision-making. But what actually resonated when students landed on a course page, and what quietly pushed them away?
During this session, Jo shared findings from UCAS’ latest research exploring how students interpreted course language, what they prioritised, and where common terminology created friction. Penny Eccles then translated these insights into practical implications for providers, outlining what this meant for content strategy, governance, and academic engagement.
Training your academics to create kick-ass course descriptions
Tracy Playle, CEO and Chief Content Strategist, Pickle Jar Communications
Many institutions rely heavily on content produced by course directors. Yet academics were not marketers, nor should they be, and the content they created did not always resonate with prospective students.
In this session, Tracy explored how to better support academic colleagues in writing outstanding course content, while reducing the demands on marketing teams for copyediting.
Better course pages start before the writing: fixing the system behind the copy
Check out the latest blog from Tracy Playle, CEO and Chief Content Strategist at Pickle Jar Communications, on why better course pages start with stronger systems, clearer collaboration, and a sharper focus on what students need to make confident choices.
From vague to valuable: What students really think about course descriptions and what to do about it
What do students really mean when they say ‘course content’ drives their decisions? In this blog, Penny Eccles explores UCAS research, uncovering where course descriptions fall short and what HE marketers can do to improve them.
The latest UCAS research
Explore data-driven insights designed to help HE providers understand applicant trends, market shifts, widening participation opportunities, and the evolving needs of students.