2015 Laureate/Zogby Global Student Confidence Index Submitted to: Matthew Yale, Laureate International Universities Submitted by: Zogby Analytics Jonathan Zogby, CEO John Zogby, Sr. Analyst May 2015 2015 Zogby Analytics Zogby 1
Table Of Contents Subject Executive Summary Methodology Demographics The Current Index - Survey Highlights The Future Index - Survey Highlights Noteworthy Findings by Country and Region The Takeaways Charts Figure 1 Current Index Page 3 4 5 6 8 11 12 13 18 Figure 2 Future Index 19 Figure 3 C 1 - Index (quality) 20 Figure 4 C 2 - Index (value) 21 Figure 5 Difference (quality minus value) 22 Figure 6 Current and Future Indices by region 23 Figure 7 Quality, Value and Difference by region 24 Zogby 2
Polling/Market Research Executive Summary Introduction: In 2014, Laureate International Universities and Zogby Analytics partnered to conduct the largest survey ever of student attitudes towards higher education: The 2014 Laureate/Zogby University of the Future Student Survey. This year, Laureate and Zogby introduce a groundbreaking index to track student attitudes about the future of higher education over time and across geographical regions The 2015 Laureate/Zogby Student Confidence Index. For the 2015 Student Confidence Index, Laureate and Zogby Analytics surveyed students from 22 countries in North America, Europe, Central America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. The 2015 Student Confidence Index is composed of two indices: the Current Index and the Future Index: The Current Index captures students confidence about adequacy of their countries current educational system, while The Future Index captures the extent to which they anticipate various education innovations (e.g. greater involvement of industry experts in creation, funding, and evaluation of course offerings) will occur in the future, and whether this will lead to better career and life prospects for future students. One consistent viewpoint from 2014 to 2015 was students interest in receiving an education that prepares them for a good career. Almost 80% of all students surveyed think that a primary purpose of education is to improve employment prospects and students were almost unanimous (93%) in agreeing that schools should provide mentors who can help with education and employment prospects. Students are also very keen on innovation and entrepreneurship 96% believe that their institutions should foster an entrepreneurial atmosphere, while 58% believe career development, job opportunities, and mentoring will be provided directly by employers online and in real- time 15 years in the future. To gain further insight into student s sentiments, Laureate and Zogby evaluated the Current Index based on quality and value. The Current Index showed that most students are confident that their higher education system provides a high- quality education. But there was more Zogby 3
variation in the Current Index, as well as two C sub- indices, in respect to student confidence in their current education system across countries, with Turkey and Morocco being the lowest and Panama and Cyprus the highest. When countries are grouped into regions, students everywhere show concern about the value of education. When it comes to the Future Index, which tracks career- oriented trends in higher education, most students felt certain career- oriented innovations described in the survey will take place fifteen years in the future. There was less variation in the Future Index when compared to variation in the Current Index. The countries where students feel these changes will most likely occur are Panama, Thailand and China. The countries where students feel these changes are least likely to occur are Turkey, Italy and Spain. Methodology The 2015 Survey was comprised of 23,313 Laureate students from 43 Laureate institutions in their international network and 4,058 students at other institutions in Brazil (506), China (504), Mexico (507), USA (404), Spain (400), Peru (408), France (401), Chile (510) and Turkey (418). Appendix A provides responses to the 2015 Survey. The Current Index is based on questions 9-14. The Future Index is based on questions 23-39, excluding question 32. The value obtained for the Current Index and the Future index will be scaled to 100 next year allowing for easy comparison with future years. Responses to all questions on the 2015 survey were provided as numbers on a scale 0-100. A value of index for each individual was calculated as the arithmetic average of all questions comprising the index. The final value for each index was calculated as the arithmetic average of all individual index values. For comparison purposes, 2015 survey questions 23, 24, 26 and 27 were the same as 2014 survey questions 10, 17, 24 and 30. The raw value for these questions was 66.48 in 2014 and 64.65 in 2015 making the actual (scaled) value of the index 100 in 2014 and 97.25 in 2015. Zogby 4
1. Demographics of Students Three- quarters of students are between the ages of 16 and 24, followed by 17% of students between 25 and 34. Seven percent are between the ages of 35 and 54, while less than one percent are 55+. Student Age Laureate and Non- Laureate Students Age range 16-24 25-34 35-54 % 75% 17% 7% 55+.4% What is your family history of education? Question 3. First in your family to attend a university/college Parents have attended university/college but did not graduate Parents graduated from university/college Siblings attended university/college but did not graduate Siblings graduated from university/college Other specify Not Sure Laureate and Non- Laureate Students% 32% 10% 34% 9% 31% 7% 4% Zogby 5
As for the demographics of Laureate s international network of students, 60% are female and 40% are male. The most common response for what students were studying was other (18%), followed by business (17%) and economics and engineering (both 14%). A majority of Laureate students (55%) are financing their education through family support. Others are utilizing a combination of loans (18%), scholarships (18%) and paying their own way (30%). As for where they live, a majority (59%) come from large cities of one million or more people. Among the Non- Laureate students surveyed about what they are studying, more than two in ten (22%) said other followed by engineering (15%), business (10%) and computer science (8%). There are mostly small differences between the distribution of academic studies among Laureate and Non- Laureate students. Non- Laureate students are paying for school through family support (58%), loans (21%), and scholarships (34%). Almost three in ten (29%) say they are also paying their way. The only significant difference between Laureate and Non- Laureate students with respect to financing is in how many have scholarships (18% for Laureate vs. 34% for Non- Laureate students). The areas where Non- Laureate students live are very similar to those of Laureate students a majority live in cities of one million or more people (62%). 2. The Current Index- Survey Highlights The Current Index captures students feelings about adequacy of their countries current educational system. The results measure student confidence about education quality and employment outcomes. Students who responded to the 2015 survey questions were given numbers on a scale of 1-100. Across the world, students are confident that their lives are improving because of access to higher education, but students increasingly believe that the higher education system must do a better job helping them transition to employment. As the survey shows, a majority of students (55%) feel strongly that courses will be designed by industry experts to prepare students to find a job at their companies when they graduate. *Percentages are based on values of 1-100 and represent the percentage of responses in the 61-80 and 81-100 intervals, which we believe measures a reasonable degree of confidence. Zogby 6
Quality of Education Most students are confident in the higher education they are receiving- - 51% of all students are confident that today's higher education system in their country is of high- quality. Fifty- nine percent are also confident that today's higher education system in their country will help prepare them to have a successful career. When separated out among different types of students: Majorities of Laureate students are confident, and significantly more confident than their peers, in the quality of their education systems and their ability to have a successful career.: o 53% are confident that their system is high quality. o 60% are confident their system will prepare them for a successful career. Non- Laureate students show less confidence in the quality of their education systems. o Less than half (44%) are confident that their system is high quality. o Slightly more than half (51%) are confident their system will prepare them for a successful career. Regionally, North American (58%) schools and Asian/Pacific schools (57%) are the most confident that their education systems are of high quality. The confidence in Central/South America (49%), Europe (45%) and Africa (35%) is considerably lower. The same trend holds mostly true when students are asked if they are confident that their education will prepare them for a successful career; North America (67%) and Central/South America (61%), are the more confident regions, followed by Asian/Pacific (56%), Europe (49%) and Africa (41%). When we examine all students surveyed, 44% are confident that today's higher education system in their country is flexible enough to allow them to graduate affordably and 43% are satisfied that today's higher education system in their country provides a good value for their investment of time and money. This is also in line with Laureate students: Laureate students are more confident than their peers about the value of their education. o 45% believe their system is flexible enough to allow them to graduate affordably. o 44% believe their country s education system is a good value. Zogby 7
Non- Laureate students are notably pessimistic about the value of their education systems. o 39% were confident that their education system was flexible enough to allow them to graduate affordably. o 37% were confident their country s education system was a good value. When examined regionally, students in North America (58%) and Asia/Pacific (52%) are more confident that their countries education system is flexible enough to allow them to graduate affordably, followed by Central/South America (41%), Europe (29%), and Africa (29%). 3. The Future Index- Survey Highlights The Future Index captures the extent to which students anticipate education innovations (e.g. greater involvement of industry and experts in creation, funding, and evaluation of course offerings) occurring in the future, and the extent to which these innovations will lead to better employment and life outcomes for future students. Responses to all these questions are numbers on a scale 0-100. The results offer a glimpse into the future regarding education trends and graduate employment outcomes. Most students surveyed are optimistic that entrepreneurship, mentors, lifelong learning, certifications, and career- oriented outcomes will be a part of their education experience 15 years in the future. After asking how prevalent each of these occurrences will be in the future, two- thirds of all students believe the changes mentioned above will be better compared to what the higher education system now provides, compared with only 5% who think it will be worse, and 11% who say the changes will make no difference. Outcome- Oriented Education Innovations More than half of the twenty- seven thousand students surveyed believe career and life prospects will be better than they are today (53%); majorities (54% and 52%) also believe institutions will devote more resources to graduate employment than they do today and that students, higher education institutions and governments will care more about the employment outcomes of graduates than they do today. This suggests a perceived link in increasing focus on outcome- oriented education and future students career and life prospects. *Percentages are based on values of 0-100 and represent the percentage of responses in the 61-80 and 81-100 intervals, which we believe measures a reasonable degree of confidence. Zogby 8
When it comes to higher education adopting innovations, all students felt the innovations Laureate promotes, electronic job matching systems (58%), apprenticeships (58%), and employer sponsored career development (58%), will all be more prevalent in the future. Many students (69%) also believe courses will teach students career- oriented skills. When we asked Laureate students about the future, 55% of students believe their career and life prospects will be better than they are today. About half of students (49%) believe that there will be more jobs available in the future than there are now. Worldwide, Non- Laureate students are more concerned about the future than their peers at Laureate institutions: o Only 44% of Non- Laureate students are confident future students career and life prospects will be better than they are today. o Less Non- Laureate students worldwide (42%), compared to Laureate students (49%), believe there will be more jobs available to higher education graduates than there are now. When it comes to regional attitudes about the future compared with those of the present, in the Asia/Pacific region attitudes are strongest; two thirds (67%) feel there will be more jobs available to higher education graduates than there are now, followed by Central/South America (44%), North America (42%), Africa (38%) and Europe (32%). The Asia/Pacific region (72%) had the strongest feelings when it came to the idea of institutions devoting more resources to graduate employment than they do today. This was followed by the Americas (both Central/South America and North America) with half of students feeling this will be prevalent in the future. When it comes to new higher education innovations, such as the ones Laureate stands for: electronic job matching systems, apprenticeships, and employer sponsored career development, Asia/Pacific students (66, 68 and 64% respectively) are the most likely to feel these changes will all be more prevalent for the three innovations mentioned above, followed by North America (64, 58, 61%), Central/South America (57, 57 and 58%), Africa (50, 43 and 49%) and Europe (43, 42 and 44%). It is notable that everywhere but in Europe, students are confident that these innovations will increasingly come to be the norm. Zogby 9
Student Attitudes Of the 27,371 students surveyed, an overwhelming majority (93% very and somewhat important combined) believe it s important schools offer career- oriented education innovations like lifelong learning options for licensing, certifications, personal growth, and managing change in the work force. Nearly as many (93%), also think it s important (very and somewhat combined) that schools provide mentors who can help with education and employment prospects. When it came to social issues, 92% thought it was important to protect the environment, 82% thought it was important to empower those who are less fortunate and 88% think it s important to fight hunger. Laureate students also want the flexibility to be able to have lifelong learning options and access to mentors while pursuing their education. o Students believe lifelong learning options for licensing, certifications, personal growth, and managing change in the work force are important (94% very and somewhat important). o Almost as many (93%) feel it s important that schools provide mentors who can help with education and employment prospects. o Laureate students are forward- thinking: eight in ten (81%) believe my education is preparing me for the world of work in the 21st century after my studies are completed. Non- Laureate students also feel strongly about social issues. o Slightly less Non- Laureate students (89%) feel it s important that schools offer lifelong learning options for licensing, certifications, personal growth, and managing change in the work force. o Almost as many Non- Laureate as Laureate students (91% vs. 93%) feel it s important that schools provide mentors who can help with education and employment prospects. o Non- Laureate students also have an eye on the future: three- quarters say my education is preparing me for the world of work in the 21st century after my studies are completed. Regional Attitudes follow the same pattern as with other major themes from the survey results. When it comes to schools offering lifelong learning options for licensing, certifications, personal growth, and managing change in the work force, every region was well over 80% when it comes to their beliefs about the possibility of these being offered in the future; the strongest attitudes are expressed by the students in the Americas (North, Central and South America) where 97% feel lifelong learning options will likely be available. Unlike other themes in the survey, Africa came in next with 93%, which was higher than Europe (82%) and Asia/Pacific (89%). When it came to providing mentors who can help with education and employment prospects, again the strongest attitudes are expressed by both North America and Central/South America (97% each), followed by 92% in Africa. Zogby 10
4. Noteworthy Findings by Country and Region There are many noteworthy observations to be made by comparing the Current and Future indices. The Current Index shows considerable variation in respect to student confidence in their current education system, with Turkey and Morocco being the lowest and Panama and Cyprus the highest. These student confidence rankings do not always correspond to the standard rankings of education systems provided by organizations like the OECD. Students in Turkey are also skeptical about career- oriented trends in education (the lowest Future index among all countries). When countries are grouped into regions, concern about the value of higher education is much more pronounced than quality. Responses by students in two developed European countries on the list, Germany and France, show considerably lower Future Index scores than Current Index (64.3 vs. 54.3 and 58.8 vs. 53.2, respectively), reflecting more concern about the prospects for future generations. The only other country with such a notable drop is Australia (66.4 vs. 60.2), where overall confidence remains high. Other developed countries, like the United States and Italy, show some concern for the Future (lower Future Index than Current Index), but only at modest levels On the other hand, in developing countries in Asia and in some parts of Latin America and Africa (Thailand, India, Malaysia, China to some extent, Brazil, Peru, and already mentioned Morocco), the Future Index is significantly higher than the Current Index, suggesting that these countries perceive their education system to be on the rise. It is interesting to observe differences by country among survey responses. In some countries students think much more highly of the quality than the value of the education they receive (for example Germany, France and U.S.), while in other countries it is just the opposite (for example Honduras, Italy and Mexico). Overall, the levels in the Current and Future Indices for Laureate Students were higher than for Non- Laureate students. At a country level, the only significant differences in measured indices are observed in US, Spain and, to some extent, Turkey. In the US and Spain, both Current and Future Indices are considerably lower (5-7%) for Non- Laureate students than for Laureate students, suggesting that Laureate students are more confident generally. In the case of Turkey, Future index is 5% higher for Non- Laureate students than for Laureate students. Zogby 11
5. The Takeaways: With more than 27,000 responses, the 2015 Laureate/Zogby University of the Future survey is the largest student survey ever conducted. It spans 22 countries and 10 languages. Overall, the results show students expressing a great deal of hope about the future, the education they are receiving, and prospects for meaningful careers. This is noteworthy because of the current unrest and slow growth in certain parts of the world, which has led to many younger generations being frustrated and restless. Based on the results of the survey and indices, students all over the world think the future will be brighter than the present because of the prospects for innovations and greater quality and value in higher education. This is good news for everyone. Laureate International Universities sets out to provide quality higher education and make it accessible and affordable to hundreds of thousands of students around the world. Based on the Laureate/Zogby Student Confidence Index, Laureate students are confident in this model and believe the investment they are making today will pay off in the future. When Laureate students are compared with thousands of Non- Laureate students worldwide, Laureate students felt more optimistic about their future, their potential for a successful career, and the value of the education they are receiving. When it comes to options such as lifelong learning, certifications, mentors and electronic job matching systems, Laureate students are more confident that Laureate provides them with these innovations, and will continue to do so, in the near future. Zogby 12
6. Charts Respondents' LocaWon: Laureate Students Peru 3% France 3% Turkey 1% Chile 10% Malaysia 3% Spain 1% South Africa 0% Australia 1% Brazil 27% China 19% Costa Rica 9% Panama 5% Mexico 11% India 2% Honduras 2% Cyprus 0% Thailand 1% Morocco 1% Portugal 0% US 1% Germany 1% Italy 1% Respondents' LocaWon: Non- Laureate Students Turkey 10% USA 10% Brazil 12% Chile 13% Spain 10% Mexico 13% France 10% China 12% Peru 10% Zogby 13
10. On a scale of 1-100, how confident are you that today's higher educawon system IN COUNTRY is of high quality. 15.0 9.0 10.0 1-20 21-40 37.0 30.0 41-60 61-80 81-100 12. On a scale of 1-100, how confident are you that today's higher educawon system IN COUNTRY is flexible enough to allow you to graduate affordably? 0% 81-100 16% 1-20 15% 21-40 13% 61-80 28% 41-60 27% Zogby 14
19. How confident are you that your current program will provide you with enough entrepreneurial skills to make a living and support a comfortable lifestyle? 4.0 2.0 17.0 31.0 Very confident Somewhat confident Somewhat not confident 47.0 Not confident at all Not sure 41. How important is it that your school fosters and encourages an entrepreneurial atmosphere? 3.0 1.0 1.0 20.0 1 Very important 2 Somewhat important 76.0 3 Somewhat not important 4 Not important at all 5 Not sure Zogby 15
32. Do you believe the changes menwoned above in queswons 23-31 will be beaer, worse or make no difference for students compared to what the higher educawon system now provides? 17.0 11.0 Bener 5.0 66.0 Worse Make no difference Do not know/not sure 34. Please tell me how common, based on a scale of 0-100% of the Wme, you think each of the following scenarios will be fibeen years from now: Students will decide which higher educawon inswtuwon to aaend primarily based on the employment results of 25.0 9.0 9.0 0-20 25.0 21-40 41-60 32.0 61-80 81-100 Zogby 16
39. Please tell me how common, based on a scale of 0-100% of the Wme, you think each of the following scenarios will be fibeen years from now: Students' career and life prospects will be beaer than they are today 25.0 12.0 10.0 0-20 21-40 28.0 26.0 41-60 61-80 81-100 Zogby 17
80 Figure 1. Current Index, By Country Scale 1-100 70 60 69.3 59.7 70.8 66.8 64.3 63.1 64.5 60.7 58.8 61.1 60.1 66.2 63.1 59.7 66.4 56 54.8 53.8 50.9 50 46.4 43.7 42.9 40 30 20 10 0 Zogby 18
80 Figure 2. Future Index, By Country Scale 0-100 70 65.4 70.9 67.2 65.6 69.9 67.8 70.2 60 58.1 62.6 59.2 62.3 61 61.9 61.1 60.2 53.2 54.3 54.5 54.9 50 47 50.6 48.6 40 30 20 10 0 Zogby 19
80 Figure 3. C 1 - Index (quality) Scale 1-100 70 60 68.8 58.1 69.7 68.9 66.5 64.6 63.4 61 60 58.2 58.6 55.4 69.6 67.6 61.4 60.4 57.9 53.5 50 44.2 46.3 47.4 44.8 40 30 20 10 0 Zogby 20
80 Figure 4. C 2 - Index (value) Scale 1-100 72.7 70 60 69.8 61.2 54.5 54.2 58.9 56.8 66.2 68.1 67.1 53.8 54.3 63.6 64.8 64.7 63.3 61.5 59.9 54.2 50 46.5 40 43.3 40.9 30 20 10 0 Zogby 21
Figure 5. Difference (quality minus value) 12 10.8 10 9.2 8 7.8 6.3 6 4 4.4 3.9 2.9 2 0.9 1.2 0.5 0-2 - 1-0.2-0.6-0.7-4 - 3.1-3.8-3.3-3.6-6 - 6.2-5 - 8-7.1-7.1 Zogby 22
C- Index F- Index Figure 6. Current and Future Indices by Region 80 70 68.3 60 59.9 61.5 63.9 52.5 51.4 50 40 30 20 10 0 Europe Americas Africa, Asia and Australia Zogby 23
Quality Value Difference 70 Figure 7. Quality, Value and Difference by Region 65 62.8 60 60 59.8 54.4 50 50.7 40 30 20 10 0 3.7 2.2 0.2 Europe Americas Africa, Asia and Australia Zogby 24