A fascinating study from The Ambassador Platform, What Makes or Breaks the Student Application Experience, finds that prospective students are more likely to apply to institutions when they feel a sense of connection and belonging – and that there are multiple steps along their journey to applying where institutions can foster these feelings. The research reminds us that international students’ decision-making is not only informed by objective analysis of options, but also emotion.
The following screenshot shows the characteristics of the survey sample of over 1,600 prospective students. Most respondents were international, and most were looking at undergraduate studies.
Characteristics of the sample. Source: The Ambassador Platform
University is not always the answer
One key insight is that surveyed students were not necessarily set on a university degree. Many were also considering work or apprenticeships.
While 39% said university was their main choice, 23% were considering work and 19% were interested in a degree apprenticeship.
The report notes:
“This is one of several data points in this report suggesting that prospective students increasingly approach the application process with the idea of a “return of investment” in mind. In this sense, university isn’t just a formative and educational experience, but an investment into future career prospects.”
This finding highlights how important it is to include messaging about career pathways and outcomes when promoting programmes.
Wanted: support … and email
The survey asked students what they value most when contacting a university, and more than half (58%) cited the quality of support they receive. Fully 94% said that email is their preferred communication channel, with the university website (59%) and WhatsApp (49%) next. The report makes an astute observation related to many students’ price-sensitivity:
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“Many international students have expressed concerns about the high costs of traditional communication methods, like phone calls. Universities can play a vital role by providing support for more affordable options, such as WhatsApp calls. This change would help students who live in a different country stay more connected with the university throughout the application process.”
Community matters
A strong majority (80%) of surveyed students said they were looking for a sense of belonging before arriving at a university, and most of those students were motivated by wanting to fit in (42%) and be reassured that they would be safe (21%).
Universities can instill this sense of belonging long before students arrive on campus – and doing so may well be crucial to a student’s decision about whether or not to apply. Three-quarters of students said they felt like they belonged at their preferred institution before their first day, and 17% said that they felt a strong connection even before they applied. Another 21% said they felt like they belonged after receiving their offer.
Students often feel a sense of belonging before arriving on campus. Source: The Ambassador Platform
These findings underline the importance of:
Welcoming, warm, personalised communications from the first point of contact with a lead;
Communicating admissions offers in a celebratory way – again using a personalised approach.
The survey report includes valuable insights from students, who were asked to comment on what is most important to them when applying. Examples of quotes include:
“All emails were responded to within 24 hours.”
“A student ambassador who was eager to answer my questions.”
“A conversation with a staff member, she was so patient and understanding. She explained everything very thoroughly and clearly. She attended to all my questions and even asked if I was satisfied with her answers. She is a very respectful and genuine woman.”
“Attending the Classics course overview session at [University], given so clearly and engagingly, was memorable for me, as I was immediately interested in the information given, and important information was communicated effectively. I was not bored listening, rather even more excited to work harder and apply to [University].”
“There was a time I forgot to upload a document during the application process, and when I realized it, I thought my application was done for. But then I received an email from them saying a document was missing and asking me to upload it so they could continue with the process. I felt so relieved after that.”
“While I was applying to a university in [State], I had already submitted my application. Three days later, I received an email from the university, and I couldn’t help but smile. The university considered me for an additional program with lots of benefits (travelling, etc.). As an international student, I was beaming with joy because I never expected it.”
Those are only some of the quotes included in The Ambassador Platform report – you can download the full report here. The study findings emphasise that it isn’t just the promptness of communications that matters to students – but the quality.
The following article is adapted from the 2025 edition of ICEF Insights magazine, which is freely available to download now.
There is a story, famous in some circles, about an international student who once sent US$53,000 to an Ivy League institution in the United States. But something went wrong: the university received the payment, but then it got lost. The university apparently did not have a way to connect the payment to the student who sent it.
Can you imagine the extra work, stress, and confusion that followed? Because the transfer was not attributed to the student at the time of payment, the student spent a difficult few weeks trying to demonstrate that they had, in fact, paid their fees.
That is an admittedly extreme example, but variations on it are common. Consider the hundreds of thousands of students studying abroad today, and you quickly understand the importance of making it simpler for students and families to pay fees across borders, currencies, and financial systems.
The point at which a student makes a payment is a crucial step towards their enrolment, but it is one that often doesn’t get enough attention. In fact, if you don’t make it simple enough for students to transfer fees to your institution, you may be sacrificing student recruitment and retention.
Financial transactions are part of the student experience
The number of institutions that have been grappling with this problem explains why a new category of payment services designed for the international student sector is expanding rapidly. Service providers in this space – such as Flywire, Convera, EbixCash, Vavita, Flutterwave, TransferMate, and NexPay – harness technology and expertise in foreign exchange and financial systems to offer students and their families more affordable, faster, and easier ways to transfer funds abroad.
“When we started, the international student was completely neglected in terms of institutions understanding [these students’] payment experience,” says Flywire executive vice president of global education, Sharon Butler.
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“[Institutions] didn’t know that students climbed mountains and swam rivers to get payments to them. You think about all of the investment that people make in marketing and recruitment, but that last step, the payment, is often overlooked.”
Localisation is key
The goal is to reduce the complexity of moving money from country to country. Ms Butler explains: “If it is really going to be a great experience for families, it has to be localised to that market. We need to allow them to pay with something that is familiar. If it is easy and familiar, that is a great experience.”
Localisation can take many forms. For example:
A Chinese student who routinely uses Alipay Wallet might also want to use Alipay to pay international school fees.
The parent of an Indian student who needs to file tax declarations when making overseas payments might appreciate a payment process that provides them with those documents and prompts them to complete and file them.
Beyond transfers
New systems can also eliminate the need to transfer funds between countries, by instead “netting out” funds across foreign currency accounts operated by payment service providers.
NexPay CEO, Piew Yap, explains:
“Say a student in Vietnam wants to send AUD$20,000 to a university in Australia. Instead of a traditional wire transfer, we leverage our network of held funds in multiple countries. For instance, if we have sufficient AUD funds in Australia, we simply debit the equivalent amount in VND from our local account in Vietnam and credit the university’s account in Australia with AUD$20,000. This minimises transfer times, reduces transaction costs, and avoids the complexities of cross-border remittances.”
Speed matters
Speed in payment processing is another top goal for every payment provider, and reconciliation – which is the critical step of verifying payment X was made by student Y – can often slow things down. Many experts see blockchain technology as a solution.
“I believe blockchain technology will revolutionise the foreign exchange business,” says Mr Yap. “One of the most significant impacts is the potential for near-instant settlement times, eliminating the traditional delays associated with cross-border payments. Additionally, the decentralised nature of blockchain can reduce the risk of fraud and improve the overall security of transactions. As blockchain adoption grows, we anticipate a more efficient and streamlined foreign exchange market.”
[Editor’s note: A blockchain is a distributed database shared across a computer network. Because there is no way to change a block, the only key point of trust in the system is the point where a user [or computer program] enters data. This reduces the need for trusted third parties along the way, thus improving transaction time and costs.]
That speed of processing is more than just a matter of customer service or expedited reconciliation. It can also affect how quickly students can receive admissions documents to support visa applications, be eligible to register for courses, and arrange housing.
Set exchange rates
Much reporting and reconciliation is automated within specialised payment systems, and this opens the door to new payment models, such as instalment programmes.
“We offer flexible payment plans to accommodate the financial situations of students,” says Mr Yap. “For example, a student might choose to pay their tuition fee in up to 48 instalments [in advance of programme start], with the exchange rate set at the beginning of the payment plan. This allows them to manage their cash flow more effectively, knowing that their rate won’t change throughout the period.”
Simple solutions
Sending funds internationally has always been a complex business with significant compliance and regulatory requirements and many other moving parts. Not everything can be simplified, but specialised payment services are making transactions easier, faster, more affordable, and more transparent for students, parents, agents, and institutions alike.
As such, they represent an important new lever for improving international student experience and satisfaction by reducing transactional friction.
New Zealand’s international student enrolments are bouncing back amid strong public support for internationalisation. The recovery is taking longer than in other major destinations because New Zealand’s borders were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic for much longer than in most countries, only opening again in mid-2022.
Enrolments up 67% over 2022
A new analysis provided by data specialists Studymove finds that close to 70,000 international students were enrolled in New Zealand’s education system in 2023 according to the Ministry of Education. This represents a 67% increase over 2022, and the growth was mainly driven by university-level students. Universities recovered 86% of their pre-pandemic enrolments compared to an all-sector average of 60%.
International enrolment in New Zealand, all sectors, 2013–2013. International enrolments began recovering in 2023 and across sectors, they were at 60% of pre-pandemic levels. Source: Studymove, reporting on ENZ data
Uneven recovery
While the university sector had a strong 2023, recovery in other sectors was weaker: schools reached 60% of 2019 international enrolments and private training establishments (PTEs) and Te Pukenga got to 58% and 52%, respectively. The English-language sector struggled the most to recover enrolments (33% of 2019 numbers).
International student enrolment in New Zealand, by sector, 2019, 2022, and 2023. International students flocked back to New Zealand’s universities in 2023, while other sectors are still waiting for a more robust return of students. Source: Studymove, reporting on ENZ data
Source markets
On average across all sectors, China (64% of 2019 enrolments) contributed more to a rebound than India (46%). The number of Indian students dropped from about 17,300 in 2019 to 7,930. Another important market, Brazil, fell out of the top 10 in 2023. Brazil is mainly a vocational market for New Zealand.
International enrolment in New Zealand, all sectors, 2019 compared to 2023. Of New Zealand’s top three source markets, Japan and China are coming back stronger than India. Source: Studymove, reporting on ENZ data
However, India came back stronger for New Zealand’s universities, and 2023 enrolments from some other top ten markets were higher than in 2019, as shown in the chart below. Chinese enrolments in universities were close to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
Top 10 sending markets for New Zealand’s universities: 2019 versus 2023. Source: Studymove, reporting on ENZ data
Visa trends
In 2023, almost twice as many visas for first-time, full-fee students were approved as in 2022. The estimate for 2024 is 24,000 visas approved, which is not far off the pre-pandemic volume.
Number of first-time visas approved for full-time, fee-paying students, 2018–2023 with estimate for 2024. Source: Studymove, reporting on ENZ data
Strong public support for internationalisation
More than three-quarters of New Zealanders surveyed in 2024 by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) support maintaining (36%) or increasing (41%) the number of students coming into the country for studies.
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Commenting on the findings, ENZ’s Chief Executive, Amanda Malu, said:
“Since 2018 we have seen increasing support for the contribution international students make in key areas. Today 82 percent of New Zealanders agree that international students contribute to our cultural diversity, with 79 percent feeling they help local students learn about other cultures and ways of life, as well as contributing to local businesses during their studies.
This level of support is enormously pleasing. It tells us we can continue to steadily grow the number of international students in New Zealand and that they will continue to receive a warm welcome in our communities.”
The importance of social licence and data
The ENZ survey results are interesting to consider because of trends in Australia, Canada, and the UK, where (1) support for immigration is declining, (2) people aren’t always clear about what kind of immigration they are opposed to, and (3) governments are set on reducing the number of international students.
For example, in the UK, September 2024 Ipsos tracking research found that 55% of Britons want to see immigration reduced, up from 42% in 2022. The research revealed as well that Britons believe that asylum seekers represent more than a third of total immigration (37%) when the proportion is in fact 7%, that workers account for 26% when they actually compose 40%, and that international students make up 19% when the true percentage is 38%. When they were asked about different types of immigrants (e.g., nurses, doctors, engineers, fruit pickers), less than 30% wanted to see reductions.
The Ipsos findings underline the importance of breaking out international students from net migration statistics. Specifically, two things can be true at the same time: people may want to see immigration levels reduced while also appreciating the value of international students. For example, the Public Policy Institute at King’s College London conducted a survey in May 2024 that found that:
A majority (58%) of Britons want international student numbers to remain the same or increase.
Fewer than 3 in 10 (29%) believe international students should be counted in immigration statistics, slightly less than in 2023 (32%).
Only one migrant group – “refugees and asylum seekers” – was cited more in 2024 than in 2023 as a migrant category that should be counted in immigration statistics.
The Public Policy Institute found that most Britons do not believe international students should be counted in “the published statistics for ‘immigrants.’” Source: Public Policy Institute
The Public Policy Institute research, as well as ENZ’s research about public support for international students, are examples of data-based initiatives whose findings can be used in discussions with and advocacy for all levels of government.
The Old Students Association of Government Secondary School Akim Qua Town (GSS Akim), Class of 2008, successfully organized the first edition of their Back to School & Mentorship Project on November 27, 2024. The event, themed “Building Tomorrow Today,” aimed to give back to the school and inspire current students through mentorship and donations.
The programme featured a mentorship talk, a quiz competition, and the distribution of school bags, sandals, and other essential educational materials to less-privileged students. The day concluded with an after-project class dinner.
Speaking at the event, the National Interim President, Dr. Bassey Akaka, emphasized the importance of giving back to one’s roots. “It is our duty to help build the future by supporting the younger generation,” he said.
The BOT Chairman, Charles Ekanem, commended the efforts of the Class of 2008 and encouraged the students to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. “Education is the foundation of success, and we are here to support you on that journey,” he remarked.
The event also featured insightful talks from notable speakers, including former Girls’ Senior Prefect Mrs. Felicia Bassey, Mrs. Promise Osa, Michael Ogbor, Emeka Mboto, and many other alumni who graced the occasion.
The school’s principal, Mrs. Amayo Edet, expressed profound gratitude to the alumni for their thoughtful gesture and urged them to continue making a positive impact in their various fields. She also advised them to maintain unity and avoid leadership struggles within the association.
Students were thrilled by the donations and mentorship, expressing appreciation for the Class of 2008’s generosity and commitment to their growth.
This special feature is sponsored by LCI Education
“Now, more than ever, creativity and design play a pivotal role in shaping our world,” explains Dr Jamie Kemp, chief academic officer at LaSalle College Vancouver. “Creative problem solving is at the core of what it means to be an artist or designer today. It’s about making the world a better, more beautiful place while addressing some of the most pressing social and environmental issues of our time.”
As Dr Kemp reminds us, the creative sector is booming. Now more than ever, organisations need creative problem solvers, innovative thinkers, and creators of every variety.
That’s where LCI Education comes in. A leader in creative education, the LCI Education’s global community of higher education institutions traces its roots back to Montreal, where it was founded in 1959. LCI Education now operates 12 institutions across 5 continents – with thousands of faculty and staff supporting more than 20,000 learners worldwide each year. All told, LCI Education’s students come from more than 130 countries to join a global community of creative hubs based on an innovative education model that combines hands-on learning with leading technology to graduate job-ready creative professionals.
This year, the group is demonstrating its commitment to leadership in creative education with the opening of two expanded and reimagined campuses in two of the world’s important centres for design and creative industries: Vancouver and Barcelona.
Where East meets West
Vancouver is not only one of North America’s most beautiful cities, but it is also a vital intersection of cultures along the Pacific Rim and an important creative centre, especially when it comes to design, fashion, and gaming.
LCI Education has operated a college in Vancouver for a decade, but is now opening a new chapter on creative education on Canada’s West Coast. With its new campus, opening Fall 2025, LCI Education is bringing technology, active learning, and social engagement together in a 108,000-square-foot, seven-storey building.
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Nearly 90% of this new vertical campus is illuminated by natural light, and each floor will have social and flexible gathering spaces for students including outdoor patios on the third and seventh floors. LaSalle College Vancouver has been ranked the #1 undergraduate school in Canada for video game design by Princeton Review for ten years in a row, and the project architects have designed a giant screen in the Gaming Lounge for students who want to showcase their work, or experience the latest game releases.
An artist’s rendering of the new Vancouver campus.
“Through our investment in this stunning new campus, LCI Education is fuelling the growth of British Columbia’s booming art, media, culinary and design industries and further positioning Vancouver as a hub of creative education for the future,” says Jason Dewling, Chief Learning Officer at LCI Education. “We’re developing some of the most outstanding creative learning infrastructure in Vancouver in support of people all over the world who are pursuing their creative passions.”
Where industry, learning, and innovation connect
LCI Education’s roots go even further back in Barcelona, a city that has truly established itself as a European hub for art and design.
First established in 1928 as a fashion school, LCI Barcelona offers also diverse programs in art, design, communication, and technology. And newly opened for the 2024/25 academic year, the new LCI Barcelona campus is a seven-story, 120,000-square-foot building in the heart of Barcelona’s most creative and technological neighbourhood, district 22@.
Studio space at the LCI Barcelona campus, newly opened for 2024/25.
Alumni of LCI Barcelona include world-renowned designers and creative professionals, such as Domingo Rodríguez Lázaro, whose Dominnico brand is favoured by celebrities like Lady Gaga, Rosalía, and Beyoncé. Other notable alumni include Josep Font (designer), Maria Escoté (designer), Ruben Berkeley (animation), Juan Vidal (designer), and more. Those trail-blazing graduates perfectly reflect the global impact of LCI Education and its commitment to cultivating the next generation of leaders in the creative industries.
The new LCI Barcelona is now an even more impactful design education hub for Barcelona and Spain; a role that is reflected in the institution’s close relationship with creative industries in Spain and with major design and fashion events in the city. In 2024, for example, the campus was an important venue for programming during Barcelona Design Week.
“The world is shifting, rules are changing, but we are opening our doors to give people a chance to pursue their creative passions in state of the art facilities and a step beyond what you would expect in a classic school setting,” says LCI Education’s Europe Vice President Alessandro Manetti. “These are places built to deliver an incredible student experience and to make their dreams come true.”
For more on each of these landmark, future-focused campuses, please visit LCI Barcelona and LaSalle College Vancouver online.
The reinstated acting Vice Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Unizik), Prof Joseph Ikechukwubelu, has informed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the public that normalcy has returned to the Institution.
Ikechukwubelu stated this while briefing Journalists at the University’s Exco Chamber on Monday.
He said the intervention of Mr President have put to rest, the VC’ship crisis rocking the University.
According to the acting VC, today, the November 25th, 2025, gentlemen of the press, I am glad to grant this press conference, the first after my reinstatement and resumption of office as the acting Vice-Chancellor of this University, named after Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, GCFR, the doyen of Nigeria’s independence struggle; Zik of Africa, who led the vanguard for the emancipation of the black man; who was an implacable pan-Africanist.
“We pride ourselves as the University of All Times; at all times and in all circumstances, we strive to stay ahead of others in academic advancements and in the use of same to impact positively on society.
“It is against the foregoing that the untoward actions taken by the now dissolved Governing Council of the University in the process of the appointing a Vice-Chancellor and a Registrar for the University must be seen as shocking and most regrettable; a brazen disregard of the University Act and known processes for such appointments in the Nigerian University system.
“Had this disingenuous action succeeded, it would have set a dangerous precedent in the Nigerian University system and this University would have been bastardised by further acts of impunity.
“We thank the President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. His Excellency’s intervention has shown that he has a listening ear, is a sticker for due diligence and is committed to his Renewed Hope Agenda, which has indeed renewed our hope in Nnamdi Azikiwe University that there will be respect of the University Act and due process.
“We salute the Minister of Education Dr. Olatunji Alausa. Before his redeployment to the Ministry of Education, the imbroglio in Nnamdi Azikiwe University regarding the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar had been festering, for sometime, apparently unattended to. On assumption of office, he took prompt positive action to address the challenge.
“We must not forget the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, who was also instrumental in resolving the impasse.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Mr. Chris Jibreel Maiyaki, the Body that directly supervises Nigerian Universities also played his expected role. Nnamdi Azikiwe University cannot thank them well enough for rescuing us from this debacle.
“We appreciate the efforts of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nnamdi Azikiwe University Chapter and its National Executive Committee, as well as the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) for the dogged fight that succeeded in arresting this ugly episode.
“My immediate task as acting Vice-Chancellor is to douse the tension arising from this opprobrious malfeasance and return the University to normalcy, with a mind frame that the entire saga, has ended with no victor, no vanquished. I therefore solicit the cooperation of all concerned to enthrone in the University an ambient environment that would conduce to a hitch-free, rancour-free appointment of a Vice-Chancellor and a Registrar by the incoming Governing Council.
“While I act as Vice-Chancellor, I shall continue with the vision which I had adopted during my earlier stint as Acting Vice-Chancellor, to: Beautify UNIZIK; Light up UNIZIK; Excellent UNIZIK; Digitalize UNIZIK; and Secure UNIZIK otherwise known as BLESSED.
The VC used the briefing to informed the management of the University that some of the court cases has been taken care of, by the President intervention.
It was gathered that for the past five months, the University have engulfed in a harsh leadership crisis over who becomes the new Vice Chancellor of the Institution.
Mr Paul Eshiemomoh, National President of University of Calabar (UNICAL) Alumni Association has disclosed that it takes journalist to shine the light and dispel darkness in any society.
Eshiemomoh made the remark on Friday during a courtesy visit on the Ernest Etim Bassey, Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River Council in Calabar.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the the alumni also used the opportunity to honour Archibong Bassey, the Chairperson of the Cross River Council of the NUJ and first female Chairperson in the South-South region.
The president who came to seek a synergy between the NUJ and UNICAL Alumni to promote the UNICAL brand said it was fool-hardy for any society to work in isolation of the press, it simply meant that such organisation has chosen darkness over light.
Reacting to the 50th anniversary of UNICAL in 2025, he said the institution was like a golden hen that produced golden eggs which in turn provided many of the golden chicks enjoyed in the society.
“We are about to set up a diaspora group of UNICAL alumni and we already got a list of 25 alumni in three continents of the world in two days.
“This is to tell you that UNICAL may be small in Calabar but it’s name as evidence in the certificate of different people in different parts of the world is a global brand.
“NUJ has a very important role to play in projecting the UNICAL brand because we do not want to remain in darkness, we want to celebrate our alma mata at 50 and we cannot do it without the world knowing,” he said.
Responding, Bassey thanked the alumni for honouring her while noting that as a graduate of UNICAL herself, she was shaped into a thorough bred professional and had always been passionate about her alma mata.
She said the visit was a call to service adding that the union would continue to partner with with the association to continue to promote the UNICAL brand.
She however appealed to the association to carry the union along with its programmes to enable it effectively plan towards playing its role.
The Cross River State Government, under the Office of the Special Assistant to the Governor on Students Affairs, hosted the Cross River Students Entrepreneurship, Employability, and Mentorship Summit (CR-SEEMS 2024) on Tuesday. Themed “After Studies, What Next?”, the summit aimed to bridge the gap between academics and the professional world, equipping students and graduates with the skills, mentorship, and opportunities required for post-graduation success.
The event brought together key stakeholders, including the Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Hon. Peter Odey (represented by a delegate), the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, and various government officials, entrepreneurs, and students from across the state.
Key Highlights
Special Assistant to the Governor on Students Affairs, Mr. Joseph-Kelvin Enyam, opened the event with a call to action for participants to take full advantage of the summit. Emphasizing the importance of bridging academia and industry, he announced plans for post-summit mentorship initiatives. “Our aim is to ensure you transition seamlessly from the classroom to the workforce or entrepreneurship. Take this information seriously as it will shape your future,” he urged.
Mr. Enyam further highlighted the government’s commitment to youth development, attributing the success of the event to the unwavering support of Governor Bassey Otu, the Deputy Governor, and the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly.
Deputy Governor Peter Odey, represented at the event, commended the theme of the summit as timely and relevant. Reflecting on his journey from being a student to becoming a teacher, he urged students to embrace entrepreneurship, adaptability, and integrity in navigating the challenges of the real world. “Success today isn’t just about certificates; it’s about the skills you acquire, the values you uphold, and the opportunities you create,” he said.
He encouraged attendees to prioritize focus, diligence, and honesty, adding that the state government is committed to providing platforms and policies to support entrepreneurship and employability. “Take full advantage of mentorship opportunities, and don’t shy away from starting small,” the Deputy Governor advised.
Speaker Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, delivering the keynote address, stressed the importance of planning for life after graduation. He emphasized the need for students to think beyond their academic qualifications, develop technical and soft skills, and identify hidden talents. “Education is not the end of your journey but the beginning of a new chapter. Identify your passions, solve problems, and be bold enough to start small,” he said.
Citing examples of successful individuals who ventured into fields outside their formal education, the Speaker encouraged diversification and creativity. He also advised young people to shift focus away from politics as a primary career path, emphasizing the importance of entrepreneurship and self-reliance.
Call to Action and Future Plans
The summit concluded with a pledge by organizers to create mentorship groups for participants, aligning them with seasoned professionals in various industries. The government also highlighted initiatives such as the Cross River State Entrepreneurship Training Program to support young entrepreneurs with grants, training, and mentorship.
About CR-SEEMS
The Cross River Students Entrepreneurship, Employability, and Mentorship Summit is an annual initiative designed to equip students and graduates with the tools needed for success in an ever-evolving world.
With the resounding success of this year’s summit, Cross River State continues to reaffirm its commitment to nurturing the potential of its youth for a brighter future.
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half,” observed businessman and political figure John Wanamaker (1838–1922). This famous truism is relevant to the international education sector, where many institutions still do a lot of guessing about what is going right or wrong with regards to recruitment, marketing, on-campus student services, and admissions management.
The time for guessing is over. Demand for study abroad is volatile and fast-changing; students are considering an ever-wider range of destinations and institutions. Committing to data-backed strategies is the only way to remain competitive and to maximise return-on-investment (ROI).
It’s tempting to believe that intuition – perhaps based on years of experience and success – is enough, especially when margins are tight and data collection and analysis seems like a big investment. But consider this scenario:
Your institution ran a campaign or scholarship initiative that yielded some good results in a key market. But, could those initiatives have performed even better? Did the scholarship need to be that large or would demand have remained strong if it had been smaller or more targeted? Or vice versa: would a bigger scholarship have filled the seats you couldn’t fill in an undersold programme?
There is no way of knowing without data, because there are no comparison points or analytics. And so, the answers to whether your ROI was as strong as it could have been will always be at least slightly vague.
For many institutions faced with a less certain marketplace, answers to questions like these would be extremely important to know:
How do we increase demand/revenue for certain programmes? For example, in Canada, business courses are no longer linked to the Post-Graduation Work Program (PGWP). Study fields that are linked are agriculture and agri-food, healthcare, STEM, skilled trades, and transportation. Educators are trying to find out how to price programmes in those fields given that they are now the only ones tied to the PGWP. Would demand fall if the price went up? Which programme features could be emphasised to keep demand high (e.g., internships, on-campus housing, the ability to study at home for the first two years, etc.)?
If demand appears to be low, could it increase if we decreased tuition fees? How much of a price cut would make a difference?
Which programme/campus features are game-changers for prospective students? The answer would help inform marketing messaging and future investments in different services.
And for all these questions: how do the answers differ by international student market and segment?
At the 2024 CBIE conference in Ottawa earlier in November, attendees learned more about the benefits of optimising price, features, demand, and revenue in target markets.
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Oliver Fortescue, a partner in the education consultancy firm Edified, presented about the firm’s capability to determine the relationship between demand and pricing, and between demand and programme features, in key overseas markets. The model allows institutions to see how students’ “willingness to pay” changes according to different scenarios.
Mr Fortescue used a travel industry example to illustrate that most people will trade off certain features of a journey to arrive at a fare they are comfortable with – e.g., departure and arrival times, number of connections, allowed baggage, or carrier. If a traveller must arrive at their destination as quickly as possible, they might be willing to pay more. If they have more flexibility, they might be more likely to choose a less optimal departure time for a lower fare.
Example of a marketplace where we make tradeoff choices. Prices change substantially depending on timing in the travel industry. Source: Edified
Prospective international students also make trade-offs when deciding where to study. They consider such variables as campus location, cost of living, ease of transportation, length of course, graduate outcomes, rankings, and scholarships.
Example of possible tradeoff choices for prospective students. Price elasticity is often much greater than we might imagine – it may be that a substantial portion of students will pay more for certain features of a programme. Source: Edified
The Edified team works with institutions to determine their top goals (usually regarding revenue, demand, yield, or all three) and then designs a project accordingly. A partner company secures a custom survey sample of ideal students/parents in key markets (at least 1,000 per market, often more). A choice modelling framework determines how students would respond to different scenarios (e.g., this tuition fee with this course length, this tuition fee with this course length plus a scholarship, this tuition fee/course length/scholarship plus on-campus housing).
Among other results, the model can show the exact points at which demand begins to increase or decrease depending on the scenario. The following slide shows that demand for arts programmes is the most sensitive to a tuition fee increase or decrease of all the programmes in this illustrative choice set.
Example of demand functions for undergraduate programmes. It is extremely helpful to know how demand is affected due to exact pricing increases/decreases. Source: Edified
Institutions can also discover how willing students would be to pay for different features. For example, in the slide below, you can see that a 12-week internship is the most valuable of the possible durations, and that Southeast Asian postgraduate students would be willing to pay significantly more if they were able to study in Melbourne.
Examples of willingness to pay estimates. Student decision-making is much more complex than we might imagine. Source: Edified
This kind of research is not inexpensive, but it adds much greater certainty to recruitment decisions, eliminating the likelihood of costly mistakes such as offering:
A large scholarship where a smaller, more targeted one would have been just as effective;
A campaign aimed at a city where there is no intrinsic demand;
A programme priced so high that it is impossible to sell;
Additional campus services or a facility expansion that students don’t care about.
Mark Pettitt, founder and CEO of Edified, observes that a more challenging recruiting context can also be viewed as an opportunity:
“I’ve been in this industry for a long time, and the policy environment we are seeing now in some destinations is just another example of a crisis–recovery pattern that has played out for years and that will continue to play out. There will always be changes in government policies, global viruses, geo-political tensions, currencies bottoming out, etc. – followed by a new normal once the crisis has passed. A devotion to students’ well-being and career outcomes; personalised, timely communications with prospective students; strong leadership with a long-term perspective; and an investment in data-informed decision-making will allow some institutions to survive – and even thrive – where others cannot.”
Mr Pettitt adds that data can help to maintain a diversification effort even when visa refusal rates are going up:
“An example of short-term thinking is, ‘I need to cut back in the risky markets because there’s less chance of students being approved … and everyone else is doing that as well.’ What a shame if you have been developing those markets for years – and what a shame for the bright students in those countries who would be perfect for your institution.
What you could do instead is use targeted scholarships to top students from highly reputable schools in the markets everyone else seems to be leaving. Over time, your mix of students can shift dramatically — to high-quality, low-risk students from a range of target countries. Well-considered scholarship programmes can align with diversity goals and boost your competitive position in some of the most promising markets for years to come. Especially during periods when competitors are dropping out of these markets.”
TREND #2
PERSONALISING COMMUNICATIONS
As with understanding demand, precision is key when it comes to communicating with prospective international students. Generic emails are just not going to cut it anymore – students are used to personalisation in their shopping, and they expect it from the schools and universities they are checking out.
A well-configured customer relationship management system (CRM) offers a foundation for the ability to personalise. On the CRM, you can enter information on leads, segment them, and track every contact and result. The information in your CRM enables the creation of custom emails based on individual students’ programme preferences and that skip past general content.
An example of a basic segmentation on Hubspot. Source: HEM
Website data analytics allow you to personalise further. As per HEM:
“Create landing pages tailored to different segments of your audience. These pages should highlight the most relevant information to the visitor, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion. For instance, a landing page for international students could feature visa information, housing options, and success stories from other international students.
Implement dynamic content on your website that changes based on the visitor’s profile. A prospective student from a particular region might see testimonials from alumni in their area, while another visitor might see information on scholarships they’re eligible for.”
The Amazon.com main storefront offers a masterclass in personalising content. For example, data-informed recommendations such as “Based on your browsing history,” “Other items you might like,” “Inspired by your shopping trends …”. Amazon is explicit in personalising content – but effective personalisation can simply consist of creating and sending custom content to each of your leads
Amazon’s data is so powerful that much of the homepage content that users see is personalised to their browsing and buying history. Source: Amazon
TREND #3
ON-THE-GROUND REPRESENTATION
Data can show you that in a certain week (or even day), students in target markets:
Lost interest in one destination and began to consider another;
Warmed up to a programme they hadn’t considered before;
Finally accepted an offer of admission because a scholarship was offered;
Spent a great deal of time on the accommodation section of your website;
And all sort of other essential insights.
However, data insights do not replace human insights. A student’s ultimate decision about where to study may be decided by such things as:
An agent who sits down face-to-face with parents and dispels the myth that no one is being approved for visas;
A returning student who sets up a successful start-up company, signalling to the local market that their study at a particular institution paid off;
An alumnus who speaks with local school leaders about pathway programme options that will guarantee admission to an institution with high admission standards;
An in-country representative who sets up a fancy event with great food and successful alumni speakers, and shares video testimonials of happy current students.
Partnering with trusted agents and in-country reps is even more essential when travel budgets are tight and when an institution is trying to keep diversifying despite cost-cutting measures.
Prediction: More sophisticated recruitment strategies in 2025
In times like these, institutions will either lean into or back away from investments in international student recruiting. If the former, the obvious approach is to become more surgical in recruiting, in order to zone in on ideal students who have a good chance of being approved for a visa. Enrolling best-fit students begins a chain reaction of greater student satisfaction, better graduate outcomes, and positive word-of-mouth about your institution.
Australia’s next federal election is expected to be held on or before 17 May 2025. It seems clear that all political parties are prepared to make immigration a key issue, which is to say that the election will be fought in part over more restrictive immigration settings, including those affecting international students.
There is no better explanation than simple political expediency for the current government’s proposed legislation, the ESOS amendment bill. That controversial legislation includes a number of measures – the headline item being a cap on international enrolments – and was itself hotly debated in the Australian Senate before the Senate recommended the passage of the legislation in a report tabled on 9 October 2024.
The bill progressed to debate this past week. It was expected to move to a Senate vote that would have led to its passage and to the implementation of enrolment caps beginning January 2025. In a surprising last-minute twist, however, the opposition parties signalled on 18 November that they would not support the ESOS bill, which means that it cannot be passed into law in the current parliamentary sitting after all. The bill has since disappeared from government order papers. While it is possible that it may yet resurface, for the moment it seems that the bill has been effectively withdrawn from debate for the remaining parliamentary sessions in this calendar year.
“The Coalition will oppose the Albanese Labor Government’s chaotic and confused education bill which will fail to fix the migration and housing crisis of the Government’s own making,”” said a joint statement of opposition shadow cabinet members. “Since the Albanese Government was elected, the number of international students studying in Australia has almost doubled, from 474,493 international students in May of 2022 to more than 800,000 today.”
“According to the latest [data], net overseas migration is on track to have exceeded 1 million in just Labor’s first two years – a record level, and over 70 per cent more than in any other two year period…Labor’s piecemeal approach does nothing to address the structural issues it has created. The proposed cap in the Education Bill before Parliament will not even touch the sides of this problem.”
Other measures
As that rhetoric suggests, the political temperature around immigration to Australia remains very turned up. There is every indication that the current government will continue to work to restrict international student numbers, even if not by legislated enrolment caps.
For one, education minister Jason Clare has clearly signalled that should the ESOS bill fail to pass into law, the government will continue to rely on the equally controversial Ministerial Directive 107 (MD107). First introduced in December 2023, MD107 is an immigration framework that classifies Australian institutions into different risk levels and offers preferential treatment to “low-risk” institutions. The directive triggered a significant spike in visa rejection rates for students from some countries.
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Immediately after the opposition’s move to block the ESOS bill this week, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs announced that was reopening evidence level updates under MD107. Those updates effectively set the risk level of each provider and bear directly on their visa approval rates.
“On 3 October the Department of Home Affairs published a notice advising the pause of the September 2024 Evidence Level update,” says a statement from the department.
“Further to this notice, government has authorised the Department to proceed with an Evidence Level update, which will be implemented on the morning of Wednesday 20 November 2024.
The update is based on the immigration outcomes from the period 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024. The Evidence Level update will reward those providers that have shown improved performance, while making minor adjustments to support genuine providers to adapt their processes and recruit for semester 1, 2025.”
In other words, based on data for that period over 2023 and 2024, providers may move up or down risk ratings in this latest update. Importantly, the department adds that, “An exception is being made for those providers in the higher education, schools, and public vocational education and training sectors. These providers will remain paused at their current Evidence Level.”
Commenting on that exception on LinkedIn, Lexis English’s managing director, Ian Pratt, said that, “The Labor government has launched an extraordinary attack on the private international education sector by unfreezing Assessment Levels while exempting universities and TAFEs from the changes…It’s impossible to surmise that this is anything but a blatant attempt to hammer yet another nail into the coffin of the private sector.”
What does this all mean?
In the end, Australia’s international education sector has been buffeted by rapidly changing and more restrictive immigration settings this year. Whatever its motivation, the government’s approach to immigration policy, and the way it has engaged with the sector, has undeniably created a great deal of confusion, hardship, and uncertainty for providers, agents, stakeholders, and students.
Tracy Harris, an industry consultant and frequent contributor to The Koala News, said this week, “Is anyone else feeling like this year has just been a colossal waste? Waste of time, energy, resources, worry, emotions, etc. If the Government had properly engaged with the sector from the start and held genuine consultations, instead of treating us like adversaries, I’m certain we could have come up with a sustainable alternative.”
And now going forward, there is every indication that the government will rely on MD107 as a means to further manage inbound student numbers, even to the point of targeting specific education segments as this week’s announcement would suggest.
An 18 November statement from Universities Australia puts it plainly: “Confirmation today that MD107, described by Minister Clare as a ‘de facto cap’, will remain in place means universities and the economy will continue to experience serious financial harm at a time Australia can’t afford such a measure.”
Universities Australia chief executive officer Luke Sheehy added, “Australia’s universities are again being used as a political football in the migration debate. It beggars belief that one of our country’s biggest export industries is being treated this badly.”
“MD107 has already stripped an estimated AUD$4 billion from the economy and our universities and is putting thousands of jobs at risk right across the economy…This appears to be lost on both sides of politics as they continue to treat international students as cannon fodder in the political battle over migration and housing.”
Commenting on the lack of policy clarity to ABC Radio this week, International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood said, “We’re only a couple of months out from the start of the academic year, and this sends all of the wrong messages overseas.”
