UK universities are currently riding high on the international recruitment wave. Student demand has snapped back and we’ve smashed international student targets a decade before deadline.
Yet Universities UK is cautioning against complacency in the face of fierce and rising overseas competition, which threatens the UK’s ranking as the world’s second most popular study destination. Its second report into international student recruitment, published last year, warns against dismissing the pre-pandemic pattern of the UK’s declining market share. As global competition intensifies it will be essential for institutions to have the right levers and mechanisms in place to attract and meet both student and education agents’ needs and expectations.
Applying to university is a big decision for anyone, but for international students it can be even more daunting. They are making a significant emotional, social and financial investment, while navigating visa and entry requirements and preparing to move to a new country.
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At Aston University the number of international students has tripled in the four years since 2019 and we’ve experienced the pressure meeting the rise in enrolments can bring. Here I offer some valuable lessons in how to successfully manage the flow of international student applications.
Creating an effective application and enrolment process
Provide real-time information: Giving prospective students up-to-date information on the status of their applications can help to minimise their anxiety and streamline the process on both sides. Not being kept informed about the progress of an application can lead some students to jump ship to other institutions.
We provide all overseas students with access to an online portal to track and manage their applications digitally, every step of the way. Universities could opt to build their own in-house portals, if they have the expertise and capacity, but there are also plenty of third-party providers including our own, Enroly, as well as Salesforce, Workday and Ellucian.
Students should be automatically prompted to upload the relevant documents, such as passports, qualifications and bank statements. They should be able to log in and see how their applications are progressing whenever they wish and access any required additional documentation specific to their own situations. This minimises the risk of visa refusal due to incorrect or insufficient documentation, which ultimately has a direct impact on the university’s visa sponsor licence.
If students have all the information they need in front of them, they feel more supported throughout the application process. This is borne out in the 62 per cent reduction in incoming phone and email enquiries we’ve seen since giving students greater oversight of their applications.
Prioritise support efforts: Given the large applicant numbers, institutions must prioritise those candidates who need additional support. Some prospective students might want to know if they can access help finding accommodation or discuss whether they are going to fit in and feel at home in the UK. Others will want reassurance that someone is there to guide them through their university journey.
The university team might need to speak to some applicants to ensure their choices of university and courses are the right ones: for example, to double-check the qualifications attained in their home countries are compatible with studying for their desired degrees, or to understand what their planned career paths are to give them the greatest chance of success.
Managing the application process is a balancing act because institutions want applicants to feel welcome and supported, but they must also take steps to verify the credibility of applications when necessary. The diversification of the international recruitment market brings big opportunities, but there are also clear risks. As Universities UK acknowledges, without good governance and effective risk management institutions are vulnerable to significant financial and reputational issues.
Ensuring there are auditable and robust mechanisms in place to verify that applicants have sufficient funds, for example, is essential. Administrative teams should set their automated systems to flag applicants that require extra support or checks, based on the information provided. We’ve done this by automating bank statement checks so that those with errors, or which don’t comply, are flagged for staff to examine manually and check that there is sufficient availability of funds.
Managing immigration issues: As internationalism becomes more important for universities, how to manage complex immigration issues more effectively should be a key consideration. Post Brexit, EU student applications between 2020 and 2022 fell to their lowest level since 1994, while applications from non-EU students increased to record levels in the same period, UK government figures show.
To maintain credibility and safeguard their licence to sponsor migrant students, all institutions must take a rigorous approach to compliance and ensure offers are made only to students whose reasons to apply are genuine. But weeding out the bogus from the bone fide becomes more laborious as application volumes increase.
Universities should use information in their applications systems to spot emerging patterns. We identified in recent years that many bank loan letters from Indian banks haven’t been meeting the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requirements in terms of information and format. So we were able to provide targeted advice to specific students to avoid their visas being refused and protect our sponsor licence. This has encouraged many Indian banks to revise and adapt their information and is a positive move for the sector.
For UK institutions to stay on top of the competition in international student recruitment, it is important to build in a high level of customer service to ensure an excellent student experience from the start, through the entire student journey to graduation, and beyond.
Christina Matthews is director of student experience at Aston University.
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