2015
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NATIONAL STUDENT
HOUSING SURVEY
Information Pack
Contents
Executive Summary
3
Primary Objectives
5
Awards
6
Question Set
7
Reporting
8
Still Undecided?
9
Getting Involved
10
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2
Executive Summary
o The National Student Housing Survey (NSHS) is an annual survey of students in higher
education. Since 2007 more than 60 universities and 21 private hall providers have chosen to
switch to the NSHS.
o Understanding accommodation performance is vital to securing a high quality experience for
students. More than 90%1 of students say that accommodation is an important factor in
university selection, and poor individual experiences significantly increase negative word-ofmouth about an institution; students talk about it.
o The NSHS has a number of significant advantages over alternative survey options:
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Professional design, analysis and reporting
Mobile-friendly and easy to complete
Benchmark against comparators (paid)
All promo materials and incentives provided
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Industry-recognised awards for performance
Save hundreds of hours of your staff time
Standard top-line reporting is FREE – low risk
The highest paid reporting option is just £600
(for universities)
Actual figure 92%. Research conducted Feb – May 2014 by Red Brick Research. Based on responses from 18,829 students.
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Executive Summary
o The NSHS has a standard ‘core’ question set to allow for benchmarking, but additional
questions can be added to target specific local issues.
o Timing is flexible; the survey runs nationally from the beginning of Feb to the end of May
allowing individual universities to schedule promotion to suit them. A split promotion either
side of Easter is often the most effective and avoids NSS clash.
o The NSHS is easy to complete, highly-focussed and completely relevant to students daily
lives so response rates are typically high and impact on ‘survey fatigue’ minimal.
o For further information and project credentials visit http://www.nshs.co.uk
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Primary Objectives of the NSHS
The survey covers the full student journey, including the initial decision-making process,
moving in, the accommodation experience, and reasons for moving on. The analysis of survey
results can help accommodation providers answer key questions:What do different students want from their accommodation?
How do they go about finding and selecting their accommodation?
What is their experience of booking and moving in? How could it be improved?
How do students feel about their accommodation amenities and services? How should we
prioritise improvements?
 What is better or worse about our accommodation compared to others locally or nationally?
 Where do students go when they leave our accommodation, and why?
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The NSHS is a powerful business tool, enabling participants to benchmark their performance
against local, regional and national results across all types of student accommodation. The
question set is evolved in collaboration with participating institutions and Private Hall Providers
ensuring that the survey remains up to date and relevant.
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Awards
The NSHS recognises excellence; each year a number of awards are made to organisations receiving
outstanding student feedback across the a range of criteria. If you have registered to participate, and
your students have completed the survey, you will automatically be eligible for the Awards.
There are currently 10 awards categories covering a whole range of aspects of accommodation from
Broadband to Environmental Management. All the awards are calculated objectively based purely on
student feedback.
In addition to the awards, we also issue our coveted International Accommodation Quality Mark to
organisations demonstrating outstanding levels of satisfaction among international students.
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Question Set
The survey takes a comprehensive look at all aspects of the student accommodation
experience, from the search process right through to reasons for leaving, and everything inbetween and covers these key question areas:
The question set has matured and stabilised over the last few years to allow participants to
track their relative performance over time and measure the impact of changes to the local
accommodation landscape.
In addition to the ‘core’ question set, we can include additional custom questions to help you
address specific local issues, or smooth the transition from an existing internal survey. Please
contact us for pricing.
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Reporting
 When the survey closes at the end of May we'll quality-check, clean and process the data
before conducting a comprehensive analysis.
 Reports will be prepared including all the benchmarking, demographics, free-text responses
and customisations you've asked for. Reports are delivered in an accessible high-impact
PowerPoint format allowing you to easily publish, extract, present and share the key findings
with colleagues.
 Alongside your reports, you can also access our Data Portal allowing any member of your
team to explore results in detail through interactive charts and tables covering every aspect
of the survey.
 Finally, we'll also share our analysis reports and infographics illustrating the trends and
opportunities emerging at a national level to help you develop successful long-term plans
and strategies.
 Full details of the available
reporting options and prices
(for universities) can be
found on the website.
Private hall providers and
universities with specific
requirements should contact
us to discuss the options.
 Sample reports are available
on request.
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Still Undecided?
If you are still not sure if being part of the NSHS is for you, we have some additional resources
that you might like to see, or please call us or e-mail us with any questions .
To request any of the following please e-mail info@nshs.co.uk or call us on 01892 249650.
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Reporting Options
Question Set
Sample Reports
National Report for last year
NSHS Accommodation Award Winners for 2014
Materials to help you promote the survey
List of Universities, HE Providers and Private Hall Providers who have previously participated
NSHS Handbook
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Getting Involved
Register Now - Universities, HE Institutions and Private Hall Providers can register to
participate in the survey by:
Calling us on 01892 249650
or
Visiting our website www.NSHS.co.uk and clicking on the Pricing and Registration page.
Following Registration we will send you a copy of the NSHS Handbook, which will guide you
through each stage of the process from registration to receiving your reports.
We’ll stay in touch with you at each stage of the process. If you do have any questions or would
like to discuss any element of the NSHS please just call us on 01892 249650 or e-mail us
info@nshs.co.uk
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www.redbrickresearch.co.uk
Red Brick Research
1 Mount Ephraim Road
Tunbridge Wells
TN1 1ET
National Student Housing Survey
01892 249 650
01892 249 650
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info@redbrickresearch.co.uk
www.nshs.co.uk
info@nshs.co.uk
Please contact the dedicated
project team:
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