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Anglophone universities have improved their dealings with prospective international students amid ¡°intense¡± competition for enrolments, according to a ¡°mystery shopping¡± study of over 100 universities in the UK, North America and Australasia.

The ¡°¡± found that student enquiries were eliciting warmer and more timely responses, with negative experiences almost halving and positive experiences multiplying.

Almost 20 per cent of institutions were rated ¡°excellent¡±, up from 4 per cent when the study was first performed globally in 2022. Average scores rose in all three regions, with 80 per cent of institutions achieving pass marks, compared to about 50 per cent in 2022.

¡°Intense global competition is driving universities to sharpen their interactions with prospects,¡± said Melbourne-based consultancy Edified, which developed the study with London-based education services company UniQuest. ¡°Students are...getting warmer, more personal and more helpful guidance at a critical stage in their journey.¡±

The study was conducted between April and June. Researchers posed as prospective students, contacting universities via channels including email, phone, enquiry forms, chatbots and ¡°peer-to-peer¡± tools.

The researchers followed pre-prepared scripts and adopted different ¡°personas¡± including a Kenyan school student, a Chinese university student, a Mexican parent and a German professional.

They rated university responses against 51 criteria including clarity, relevance, personalisation and ¡°findability¡±. Institutions earned scores out of 100, with ¡°communication quality¡± given a 40 per cent weighting. ¡°Impact¡± and ¡°responsiveness¡± each contributed 20 per cent of the overall score.

Universities achieved a global average score of 61, up from 55 in 2024 and 51 in the study¡¯s first two years. Australasia earned the best average score of 70, followed by the UK on 60 and North America on 53.

Edified said Australian universities were the ¡°most proactive¡±, offering enquirers more information than they had sought and guiding them to a ¡°clear next step¡±. James Cook University was the year¡¯s ¡°top performer¡± with a score of 85.

The University of South Wales was named best institution in the UK, while the Justice Institute of British Columbia earned bragging rights in North America.

The study found that 86 per cent of global enquiries had attracted answers, up from 79 per cent in 2022. However, Edified said responsiveness was not the most important driver of satisfaction.

Researchers proved far more inclined to continue dealing with universities that offered ¡°warm and tailored¡± responses than those providing ¡°quick, impersonal¡± replies.

This year¡¯s study analysed the social media platform WhatsApp for the first time, finding it ¡°the most reliable and satisfying¡± enquiry channel. UniQuest¡¯s chief market and partnerships officer, Jennifer Parsons, said this was no surprise. ?

¡°Students are getting quick, personal responses on a platform they use every day. [They] come back again and again to continue the conversation as they move closer to enrolment.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com