Understanding students before they arrive: early insights from the pre-arrival questionnaire pilot
Pre-arrival questionnaire pilot findings show that pre-arrival insight into students’ expectations and circumstances helps universities support transition earlier and more effectively.
The transition into higher education is one of the most influential moments in a student’s journey. How confident students feel, what they expect from learning, and the concerns they carry into their first weeks can shape engagement, belonging, wellbeing and continuation.
To help the sector better understand this critical stage, Advance HE, the University of East London and Jisc came together to deliver a national pilot of a pre-arrival questionnaire for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students. Funded by the Office for Students through its Equality in Higher Education Innovation Fund, the project aims to improve equality of opportunity by enabling earlier, more targeted and informed support for students from all backgrounds.
Initial results from wave one of the national pilot have now been published, sharing findings from the first cohort of participating institutions. It demonstrates the value of gathering insight before students arrive and shows how shared digital infrastructure can help institutions turn that insight into action.
Why a national pre‑arrival survey?
Across the sector, institutions already collect a wide range of student data, but much of it is gathered once students have started, or after pressures have escalated. The pre-arrival questionnaire project sets out to address this gap by piloting a national, standardised pre‑arrival survey that captures students’ prior learning experiences, expectations, motivations and concerns as they enter higher education.
By improving understanding of students’ pre‑arrival experiences, the project aims to inform policy and practice, standardise data collection and usage across the sector, drive local initiatives to better align expectations with reality, and generate robust evidence on disparities in student experience and outcomes.
The questionnaire is based on the extensive work of Dr Michelle Morgan, dean of students at the University of East London, who has been running surveys in this space for more than 15 years. Her work demonstrated how powerful early insight can be in enabling real‑time, preventative support and in ensuring students’ voices shape the student experience from first contact through to induction.
As Jonathan Neves, head of research and surveys at Advance HE, explains:
“We are delighted to be working with UEL and Jisc to design and deliver the first national pilot of a pre‑arrival survey to undergraduates and postgraduates across providers in England. This will be an important survey which aims to result in students making the best choices for them so that they can flourish and have the opportunity to secure the best outcome possible through their UG or PG experience.”
Powering the pilot with Jisc online surveys
All participating institutions delivered the pre-arrival questionnaire using Jisc online surveys. The platform provided a secure, scalable and flexible way to run the questionnaire across different institutional contexts, while supporting consistent question design and benchmarking at sector level.
Institutions were able to choose how and when to deploy the survey. Some invited all incoming students, while others targeted particular courses or cohorts where transition insight was most needed. Surveys were run pre‑arrival, on arrival or shortly afterwards, depending on local operational constraints and priorities.
Crucially, Jisc online surveys also enabled participating providers to benchmark their results against the wider pilot group and to disaggregate findings by student characteristics such as age, disability status, commuter status and route of entry. This combination of local and sector insight helped teams interpret results with confidence and take action quickly.
As Kathryn Heywood, head of business intelligence at Jisc, notes:
“Previous research has long shown that there is a sector‑wide gap in knowledge about new students’ expectations and experiences. This pilot is an important step in addressing that gap. It gives providers the information they need to give new students the best possible support to succeed.”
What did the first wave reveal?
The findings show clearly that students arrive at university with diverse learning histories and uneven preparedness. Prior educational experiences vary widely, including differences in teaching approaches, assessment practices, feedback and access to technology. These differences shape expectations about contact hours, independent study and digital learning in ways that do not always align with the reality of higher education study.
While most students described themselves as digitally confident, experience with key academic tools was inconsistent. Almost one in five encountered some digital approaches to learning for the first time at university, and around 60 per cent faced some level of digital access risk through reliance on older devices, limited data or shared equipment.
The findings show clearly that students arrive at university with diverse learning histories and uneven preparedness.
Financial pressures were already prominent before arrival. Many students reported concerns about the cost of living, debt and travel, and the vast majority anticipated working during their studies. Students with caring responsibilities, commuter students, disabled students and those who are first in their family to attend university were more likely to expect high working hours, increasing potential risks to engagement, wellbeing and continuation.
Belonging also emerged as a significant pre‑arrival factor. A notable minority reported frequent loneliness in their previous place of study, and these experiences strongly predicted concerns about fitting in and making friends at university. Disabled students and carers, in particular, reported lower confidence across academic, social and practical aspects of transition.
At the same time, expectations for employability were strikingly high. Most students expected their degree to improve employment prospects and provide practical experience, even though fewer anticipated using careers services directly. This highlights an expectation‑engagement gap with important implications for curriculum design and early messaging.
Turning insight into action
Across institutions, pre-arrival questionnaire data was used extensively to inform real‑time decision‑making, shape strategic conversations and enhance student support before and after arrival.
Universities drew on the findings to adapt induction activities, redesign campus tours, and strengthen communication about key services such as careers, mental health and financial support. Many produced student‑facing outputs including summary presentations, short videos, guidance resources and targeted follow‑up for individuals who indicated specific needs, such as SEND support or concerns about balancing study and paid work.
Internally, the data was shared with senior leadership, learning and teaching committees, admissions, recruitment and student services teams. This helped staff better understand shifting student demographics, commuting patterns, digital confidence, and expectations around feedback, assessment and university life.
Staff better understand shifting student demographics, commuting patterns, digital confidence, and expectations around feedback, assessment and university life.
In several cases, institutions used the pre-arrival questionnaire to inform wider strategic discussions around retention, employability, programme design and communication practices. Workshops and design‑thinking sessions translated insights into concrete changes, while the data acted as a catalyst for cross‑departmental collaboration by revealing who incoming students are, how cohorts are changing, and where support needs to be joined up earlier.
As Dr Michelle Morgan explains:
“The questionnaire has given us valuable insight into our students’ prior learning experiences, expectations on entry and any concerns they may have. It has enabled us to provide targeted support in real time and ensure that students’ voices help evolve the student experience from first contact through to pre‑arrival, orientation and induction.”
Join the next wave of the pre-arrival questionnaire
The first national pilot demonstrates that understanding students before they arrive is not just valuable, but transformative. Pre-arrival insight enables institutions to move from reactive support to early, preventative action, strengthening belonging, reducing risk and improving outcomes.
The pre-arrival questionnaire project will continue until June 2027, with further waves expanding participation and strengthening benchmarking across the sector. To maximise its value, the project needs wide engagement from universities and colleges across England. The next wave of the national pilot is underway with recruitment open and data collection taking place between September to November 2026 with results following soon afterwards.
If you want to better understand your incoming students, benchmark against peers, and use trusted, sector-led insight to shape transition, induction and support, now is the time to get involved.