Last summer, Golden Gate University (GGU) identified a clear opportunity to strengthen how it engaged with prospective international students. Recognizing that this unique population requires a specialized approach - one that accounts for time zones, cultural context, and immigration concerns - GGU set out to enhance the consistency and responsiveness of its outreach. The goal: to ensure every prospective student felt supported from the start of their journey.
As Rocco Lamanna, Associate Vice Provost at GGU, explains: "international students require substantially more nurturing due to the extra steps required before they're fully enrolled". It meant that without additional specialist support, GGU faced the risk of its prospective student body looking elsewhere for their education.
"Thanks to a recommendation from a former GGU colleague with extensive experience in international admissions, we were introduced to UniQuest as a provider who could jump in and dig us out of a challenge that could've gone in a much different direction," says Rocco.
The solution
Our initial three-month contract required a swift and strategic approach, with limited time before the start of the fall term. We focused on both admitted students and late-stage applicants to maximize enrollment impact.
This meant:
- Targeted outreach to advise on next steps and excite students about enrolling at GGU
- Providing timely and accurate answers to student questions to keep them moving efficiently through the funnel
- Advising admitted students on key next steps—like securing their visa—and ensuring they felt prepared for each stage
- Capturing and tracking data on students’ progress through the visa process
- Encouraging students to defer, where appropriate, and walking them through the process
Results
In just the three-month window before the Fall 2024 intake, Rocco and his team estimated that we helped to secure an additional 50 new international student enrollments on top of projections. Not only did this grow the size of GGU’s student body, it also helped GGU to advance its long-term goal of diversifying its student body.
The success of this initial project led to a bigger and more comprehensive long-term partnership which kicked off in November 2024. We’re now providing ongoing conversion support for all international students from the first point of inquiry through to enrollment alongside our application processing service. Furthermore, the beginning of 2025 saw further partnership expansion: recognizing the value we bring to driving enrollments, GGU asked us to replicate our approach for domestic students.
This marks our first joint conversion and application processing partnership to support domestic conversion with a US higher education partner, bringing over a decade of expertise from the UK and European markets to the United States.
Contact us to explore how UniQuest can support your goals with to improve student engagement, application processing, and strategic conversion services.
