The University of Sheffield is no stranger to accolades. A founding red brick and Russell Group provider, home to the best Students’ Union four years running, and world-leading ranked research – it’s safe to say the university has its ducks in a row.
And one of the tenets of this success is its data-driven approach to decision-making.
Rachael White is a member of the student recruitment’s insight team, taking charge of futureproofing her university as well as answering the weird and wonderful requests of the academic departments and faculties:
We have used the UCAS EXACT data service since it was launched. There’s nothing else that offers this breadth and depth of data in a live cycle. The flexibility and scope of the tool is how we make decisions about admissions, open days, new courses, portfolio reviews, marketing campaigns, and loads more. It helps us to put data and evidence into the discussions taking place around our future.
Rachael White, Senior insight Officer (Market Research) University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield subscribes to 'The Daily', EXACT’s premium service, which gives it the opportunity to export a new data set five times per week. This allows the team to answer regular and repeat questions from across the departments, like those around subject areas, competition, and course titles – while also giving her the ability to look ahead and steer strategic direction with projections, demographics, and market trends:
EXACT gives providers the tools to spot incoming challenges, set their direction, and dive into specifics like decision times, quality of intake, ethnicity, STEM, WP, and much more. Whilst there are some universal questions, each university uses it differently to the next. What you get out of EXACT is defined by your individual need, we provide the data expertise.
Suzanne Campbell, UCAS
When it comes to the future, the University of Sheffield is building EXACT into its strategic long-term view:
We want to become more systematic in our large projects, whilst still offering immediate responses to the smaller or more niche questions. It’s also important to us to identify the new normal. Being able to examine data all the way back to 2001, and being able to remove 2020 and 2021, will enable us to see the real state of affairs in HE. Faculties have asked us more questions than ever during the pandemic, which we’ve relied on EXACT to provide the answers to.
In volatile scenarios, you need information quickly and reliably. If you’re looking for something specific, something live, and something now - EXACT can help.
Rachael White, Senior Insight Officer (Market Research) University of Sheffield
EXACT is trusted by universities of all shapes and sizes, for challenges of a variety of natures. To find out more, and put it to the test for yourself, get in touch.