Global student conversion and retention specialist UniQuest has grown its network of UK higher education partners, following three new partnerships with the University of South Wales, University of Exeter and University of Glasgow. It sees the company reach a milestone of 50 partners globally since its launch in 2013.
UniQuest will support the institutions with proactive one-to-one student engagement throughout the applicant journey – from enquiry to enrolment – with the ultimate aim of boosting student numbers.
To date, UniQuest has helped its global partners to generate approximately £2.3 billion in tuition fees through nurturing students on the path to enrolment.
The new partnerships come as recent mystery shopper research from UniQuest revealed that universities across the UK are struggling to respond to and effectively engage prospective students, undoubtedly resulting in ‘lost’ enrolments.
The research, conducted in partnership with education consultant Edified, found that one in four enquiries from prospective students go unanswered by UK universities. In addition, only one in three communications from universities were described by mystery shoppers as ‘engaging’.
For the University of South Wales – UniQuest’s third Welsh partner – the engagement strategy will focus on nurturing all prospective UK students (postgraduate and undergraduate) and undergraduate International students. It comes as the University looks to build on last year’s offer to enrolment conversion and sets its sights on a higher recruitment intake for 2022.
UniQuest will focus solely on engaging with International offer holders for the University of Exeter and the University of Glasgow, aiming to support and encourage right-fit students from key overseas markets.
In addition to student engagement, UniQuest will also be delivering in-cycle and annual data-led insights to its new partners to inform their marketing and recruitment tactics. This includes live student sentiment analysis, such as ‘blockers’ to choosing that university, as well as insight into top FAQs.
Donal O’Connor, Director of International and Interim Director of Marketing and Student Recruitment at the University of South Wales, comments:
“We’re confident that UniQuest’s engagement services will deliver exceptional support for our future students. It’s clear that UniQuest has a deep understanding of the challenges we face daily. We’re particularly impressed by their strong grasp on applicant and enquirer sentiment which sets them apart from the field.
“Together, we aim to provide an experience that will be both consistently high quality and tailored to meet the individual needs and requirements of each student.”
Rachel Fletcher, CEO and Co-Founder of UniQuest, adds:
“Providing a positive, personalised and engaging end-to-end student journey is critical in today’s highly competitive education landscape. Every touchpoint is important, and a bad experience at any stage in the journey could easily result in a student simply opting to study elsewhere.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, we are seeing student behaviours change. Not only are prospective students growing in number, but they’re also becoming more demanding and feel more empowered in their decision-making than ever before – meaning universities have no choice but to impress. We’re excited to support the University of South Wales, University of Exeter and University of Glasgow as they aim to do just this.”
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