STUDENT MONITOR
Custom & Syndicated Market Research In The College Student Market
(201) 612-8100
Converting Data to Insight
™
Who is Student Monitor?
Since 1997, Student Monitor has published the only national, syndicated market research study of the college student market serving the needs of marketers targeting students as a consumer group or for recruitment including the Fortune 100, government agencies and non-profits.
Published twice annually, the LIFESTYLE & MEDIA study provides an in depth, comprehensive understanding of how students consume media, their consumer behavior, attitudes and interests.
Published each Fall, the COMPUTING & THE INTERNET study details student ownership, use and purchase intent of desktops and mobile devices. The study also examines in depth the role of the Internet in and out of the classroom.
Published each Spring, the FINANCIAL SERVICES study examines the Financial Services needs of college students including Personal Banking, Student Loans, Credit & Debit Cards and other Financial Services Products (investments, insurance).
Methodology
One-on-one, on campus intercept interviews are conducted among a total of 1,200 full-time undergrads enrolled in 100 representative, Four Year colleges and universities throughout the U.S.
Respondent quotas insure equal numbers of males and females, year of study and a representative sample consistent with the U.S. Census Bureau regions and divisions based on school location (North, South, Midwest and West), type of school (Public or Private), and enrollment.
Student Monitor conducts four national syndicated studies each year among Four Year full-time undergrads.
Our sample of 100 campuses is designed to be representative of the total universe of more than 8.2 million full-time undergrads.
Our findings are based on the results of 1,200, hour long, one-on-one, in-person, on-campus intercepts.
Lifestyle & Media
College students are active consumers, with the interest, resources and mobility to shop for a wide variety of products and services. The study begins with an Executive Summary providing the reader with the high level findings of the full study in a narrative format.
Chapter 1 - "Media" details what students are watching, reading and listening to in both traditional and digital formats.
Chapter 2 - "The Internet" examines students' online behavior to include how much time students spend online, specific online activities, specific sites visited, online purchase behavior and student use of music related sites.
Chapter 3 - "Activities & Interests" tracks student participation in a variety of student activities both on and off campus.
Chapter 4 - "What's In & Who's In On Campus" identifies trending products, activities and TV programs "IN" on campus.
Chapter 5 - "The Mood On Campus" captures student attitudes and perceptions specific to campus life, current events and student debt. Additionally this chapter includes measures of top of mind awareness for 10 categories of products and services.
Chapter 6 - "Students As Active Consumers" quantifies student ownership and use of credit cards and debit cards, traditional and mobile banking, where students shop and how much they spend.
Chapter 7 - "Textbooks & Learning Materials" tracks the number of course materials acquired, the number and format of acquired traditional course materials (new, used, rented and eTextbooks), where the materials are acquired as well as the amount spent for these materials. Additionally student use of OER, Online Homework Solutions and LMS are quantified.
Chapter 8 - "Demographics" provides a profile of students based on age, life experiences, where they live during the school year, employment during the school year, personal earnings, monthly discretionary spending, annual HH income, GPA and ethnic background.
The Lifestyle & Media deliverable includes an Executive Summary, interview and data tables. Custom banners are provided at no extra cost. Additional elements include the high level findings provided in a graphic format (PowerPoint) and an in person, on-site or remotre presentation of our findings.
Computing & The Internet
The study begins with an Executive Summary providing the reader with the high level findings of the full study in a narrative format.
Chapter 1 - "Computer Attitudes & Experience" details student attitudes about their adoption of new technologies, top of mind technology brands, perceptions of the best brand of desktop, laptop and tablet together with quality and value ratings for the major hardware brands.
Chapter 2 - "Computer Ownership & Purchase Behavior" examines students' ownership of desktops, laptops and tablets including purchases made or gifts received during the Back To School shopping period (June through September). Students report when and where they acquired their computer or tablet, OS upgraded or used and purchase intent by type of computer and brand.
Chapter 3 - "Wireless Speakers/Wireless Headphones" tracks student ownership and purchase intent of Bluetooth speakers and headphones on an individual brand basis.
Chapter 4 - "Software" identifies what software students use, how they acquire it, the actual and perceived incidence of using unlicensed software and students' attitude about the practice of using it.
Chapter 5 - "Computing On Campus" captures students' use of school-owned computing resources and types of technical support provided by their school.
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Chapter 6 - "The Internet" quantifies the amount of time students spend online and how they connect, identifies both online and digital activities students participate in and types of files students download and stream from file sharing sites. In addition to identifying sites students visit, students report which social networks they use and how much time they spend with each. Students also report their online spending behavior and use of music-related sites.
Chapter 7 - "Demographics" provides a profile of students based on age, life experiences, where they live during the school year, employment during the school year, personal earnings, monthly discretionary spending, annual HH income, GPA and ethnic background.
The Computing & The Internet deliverable includes an Executive Summary, interview and data tables. Custom banners are provided at no extra cost. Additional elements include the high level findings provided in a graphic format (PowerPoint) and an in person, on-site or remote presentation of the findings.
Financial Services
The study begins with an Executive Summary providing the reader with the high level findings of the full study
in a narrative format.
Chapter 1 - "Checking & Savings Accounts" details student ownership of a checking account and how, when, where and why they opened their checking account. Students also report their share of monthly banking by method on and off campus. Similar data is reported specific to savings accounts.
Chapter 2 - "ATM & Debit/Check Cards" examines students' agreement with payment card features and their share of monthly spending by payment method. Students report the incidence and method of sending and receiving money to friends and family as well as the incidence of using mobile payment systems. Student ownership and use of ATM and Debit cards are reported.
Chapter 3 - "Computer & Mobile Banking" tracks student interest in banking online and the various financial transactions students do online. Students report the incidence and type of bank alerts used together with the number of bills students personally pay, the payment method used, the level of interest in paying bills online and what online bill payment features are important to students.
Chapter 4 - "Credit Cards" begins with students awareness
of their credit score, attitudes about the importance of having a good credit score including student awareness and use of credit agencies. Students identify which credit cards they have, which they have in their own name, the issuer of their card, credit limits, APR, frequency of using their card, amount of monthly purchases made with their card, the incidence of carrying a card balance and amount of that balance. Additionally, students report the incidence and type of receiving credit card solicitations, the number of new cards applied for, approved and activated.
Chapter 5 - "Other Financial Services Products" captures
students' ownership and purchase intent for a variety of insurance and investment products. Students identify the ownership of health insurance, potential health risks, interest in increasing their knowledge or literacy about various financial services products as well as the degree of parental influence about opening accounts and acquiring various services.
Chapter 6 - "Student Loans" identifies influential sources of information about paying for college and who has the primary responsibility to educate students about student loans. Students report top of mind awareness of student loan providers, the anticipated amount of student loan debt, the sources of their student debt, how long students anticipate to payoff their loans. Additionally, students report the interest rate for their student loan, who is responsible for repaying their loan and who will actually repay their loan.
Chapter 7 - "Demographics" provides a profile of students based on age, life experiences, where they live during the school year, employment during the school year, personal earnings, monthly discretionary spending, annual HH income, GPA and ethnic background.
The Financial Services deliverable includes an Executive Summary, interview and data tables. Custom banners are provided at no extra cost. Additional elements include the high level findings provided in a graphic format (PowerPoint) and an in person, on-site or remote
presentation of the findings.
Custom Research
Student Monitor is the nationally recognized, leading research service specifically targeting the college student market. While best known for our syndicated market research studies, we also possess extensive experience in custom research and consulting, and have helped clients in the Media, Financial Services and Tech categories to better understand college students.
Unlike general research companies, we've navigated through countless research and marketing programs on campuses across the country. This experience has provided us with the expertise to know where the potential potholes and challenges are and how to avoid them.
Student Monitor approaches custom research projects in two ways. Initially, we determine if the objectives can be achieved through our syndicated studies. Alternatively, we evaluate the full range of research methodologies, deploying the one that most efficiently achieves the objective.