Category: Blog

Leverage Student Ambassadors and UGC in Education Marketing
Reading Time: 11 minutes

Authenticity has become a cornerstone of successful education marketing campaigns. Nothing speaks louder to prospective students than real experiences shared by current students. That’s why we recommend the combined use of two powerful tools: student ambassador programs and user-generated content (UGC).

These strategies harness the voices of your students to create compelling, authentic narratives that resonate. In this blog, we’ll explore the enrollment-boosting potential of student ambassadors and UGC for education marketing, the benefits they offer, and actionable steps to integrate them into your strategy. Let’s get started!

Struggling with enrollment?

Our expert digital marketing services can help you attract and enroll more students!

Understanding the Role of a Student Ambassador

What is a student ambassador? A student ambassador is a current student who represents your institution in various capacities, from marketing and recruitment to campus events. These individuals are typically chosen for their enthusiasm, communication skills, and ability to connect with diverse audiences.

What do student ambassadors do? As the face of your school, student ambassadors embody its culture and values, offering prospective students and their families an authentic glimpse into campus life.

The roles of student ambassadors are varied. They may host campus tours, participate in Q&A sessions during open houses, or even create content for your social media platforms. By sharing their personal experiences, they help humanize your institution, breaking down barriers and building trust.

Source: University of Waterloo

Example: On its website, the University of Waterloo has a dedicated page for members of its community who are interested in its student ambassador program. This page details the role of a student ambassador, the requirements for candidates, their workload, and compensation. When you launch your student ambassador program, use site content to provide vital information to potential candidates and the students they’ll support in their roles. Use social media to keep your audience updated on the application process and involve student ambassadors in content creation to establish a relationship between them and the rest of your student body.

Reach out for help implementing effective enrollment-boosting digital marketing strategies!

What Is User-Generated Content (UGC)?

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any content created by your students, alumni, or even staff, rather than your marketing team. This can include photos, videos, testimonials, social media posts, or blogs that showcase their authentic experiences. Unlike polished advertising campaigns, UGC is often raw and unfiltered, making it highly relatable and trustworthy.

Now that audiences are bombarded with promotional material, UGC stands out. It delivers a level of authenticity that professionally crafted content simply cannot replicate. For prospective students, seeing someone “just like them” thriving at your institution can be the deciding factor in their enrollment journey.

Source: University of Oxford | TikTok

Example: Take a look at the comments on this TikTok video. The bottom one shows how many prospective students are turning to current students for advice and insights into their journey with your institution. This “day in the life” video from a University of Oxford student offers a glimpse into campus life from a personal perspective. Videos shared on a student’s personal page often feel more genuine since they don’t come across as promotional content.

That’s not to say your school shouldn’t engage with these posts! Use hashtags, like #universityofoxford, to find UGC created by your community and reshare it on your school’s profile. To encourage more of this content, promote specific hashtags and even run contests or challenges to inspire creativity and engagement.

The Benefits of Student Ambassadors and UGC

Though their methodology is different, both student ambassador programs and UGC help to tell your school’s unique story authentically.

These methods are particularly effective at humanizing your school’s brand. Discover some more of the unique benefits you can see when you combine these strategies correctly.
- Authenticity and Trust: Both student ambassadors and UGC provide unfiltered insights into your institution. Prospective students are more likely to trust the words of a peer than a marketing brochure. When real students share their stories, it creates a sense of transparency and trust.
- Increased Engagement: Content created by student ambassadors and peers often performs better on social media platforms. Audiences are more likely to engage with posts that feel genuine and relatable. This increased engagement can translate to higher visibility for your institution.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Leveraging the voices of your students can reduce the need for extensive advertising budgets. While there may be costs associated with training or compensating ambassadors, the return on investment through increased applications and enrollment often outweighs the initial expenditure.
- Community Building: By involving students in your marketing efforts, you foster a sense of pride and belonging. Ambassadors feel more connected to your institution, and their enthusiasm is infectious, positively influencing both their peers and prospective students.
How to Build a Successful Student Ambassador Program

Building a student ambassador program involves creating a structured initiative that aligns with your school’s marketing goals and fosters authentic engagement. A successful program requires careful planning, clear objectives, and ongoing support to empower ambassadors as true representatives of your institution. Here, we’ll walk you through the essential steps to design and implement a program that connects with prospective students and amplifies your school’s story.

Define Clear Objectives

Clear objectives are the cornerstone of a student ambassador program, aligning with your marketing goals and guiding ambassadors toward success. Start by clearly outlining the program’s purpose. For example, increasing applications, enhancing campus tour experiences, or boosting social media engagement.

This clarity of intent should be paired with measurable goals, to help ambassadors understand what success looks like. Measurable goals could be increasing tour attendance by 20% or generating a set number of social media posts each month

Tailor these objectives to match the unique strengths of each ambassador, assigning roles that play to their talents, such as public speaking for campus tours or storytelling for blog posts and videos. Providing a clear role description that details their responsibilities, tasks, and time commitments is equally critical to avoid confusion and set expectations.

To foster motivation, explain the “why” behind their tasks, helping them see how their efforts impact prospective students, build trust in the institution, and contribute to enrollment goals. Regular check-ins or feedback sessions can also ensure ambassadors stay on track, allowing for adjustments and maintaining engagement. With clearly defined objectives and the right support, ambassadors can confidently represent your institution and drive meaningful results.

Recruit the Right Ambassadors

Select ambassadors who reflect the diversity and values of your institution. Look for individuals who are enthusiastic, articulate, and comfortable sharing their experiences. Peer recommendations, faculty referrals, and application processes can help identify the best candidates.

Foster Collaboration

Facilitate collaboration between ambassadors and your marketing team. Regular meetings can help align their content with your broader campaigns while maintaining authenticity. Ambassadors should feel supported but not micromanaged.

Source: University of Windsor

Example: The University of Windsor demonstrates trust in its student ambassadors with a unique feature on its website. It allows current and prospective students to select an ambassador to chat with for answers to their school-related questions. To replicate this success, implement a comprehensive training program to ensure consistency and quality. Clear expectations enable your ambassadors to take on key responsibilities confidently, delivering a strong return on your investment.

Provide Comprehensive Training
- Familiarize Ambassadors with Your Institution’s Key Messaging and Values
  Begin by familiarizing ambassadors with your institution’s key messaging and values. This includes providing them with a clear understanding of your school’s mission, vision, and what sets it apart from competitors. Equip them with talking points about academics, extracurricular offerings, campus facilities, and student life, ensuring consistency in how they communicate your brand. Role-playing exercises can be particularly effective here, helping ambassadors practice delivering messages in a variety of scenarios, such as open houses, campus tours, or online Q&A sessions.
- Train Ambassadors on Social Media Best Practices
  Training should also include social media best practices, especially if ambassadors are creating content for your platforms. Teach them how to craft posts that are engaging and aligned with your school’s tone and style. Provide guidelines on appropriate language, photo and video quality, and compliance with privacy policies.
- Develop Public Speaking Skills
  Since many ambassadors will engage with prospective students and families in person, public speaking training is invaluable. Help them refine their communication skills with workshops that focus on clarity, confidence, and storytelling. Encourage them to share personal anecdotes about their experiences at your school, as these authentic stories are often the most memorable. Practice sessions with constructive feedback can significantly boost their comfort in delivering presentations or handling impromptu questions.
- Build Soft Skills for Diverse Audiences
  Effective training also involves building soft skills like empathy, adaptability, and cultural awareness, especially for ambassadors interacting with diverse audiences.
Include scenarios that challenge them to navigate different cultural perspectives or address sensitive questions tactfully. By fostering these skills, you ensure ambassadors can create welcoming and inclusive experiences for prospective students and their families.
- Incorporate Interactive Training Methods
  To make training engaging and practical, use a mix of interactive methods such as role-playing, group discussions, and hands-on activities. Incorporate real-world examples and success stories from past ambassadors to inspire new recruits and show them what’s possible. Providing a training manual or digital resource hub can also serve as a handy reference for ambassadors as they grow into their roles.
- Provide Ongoing Support and Refreshers
  Finally, ongoing support and refreshers are critical. Schedule periodic check-ins to provide additional guidance, address challenges, and celebrate successes. The more prepared they are, the more effectively they’ll represent your school.
Empower Ambassadors to Create

Empowering student ambassadors to create their own content is one of the most effective ways to showcase the authentic, lived experiences that resonate with prospective students. By trusting ambassadors with creative freedom, you enable them to craft content that feels genuine and relatable—qualities that polished marketing campaigns often struggle to replicate.

Start by encouraging ambassadors to focus on their personal experiences and unique perspectives. Heartfelt testimonials are another powerful form of content. Whether it’s a written story, a video, or a social media post, ambassadors sharing their personal journeys—why they chose your school, how it’s impacted their lives, and what they’ve learned—can create an emotional connection with viewers.

To provide inspiration and structure, consider giving student ambassadors a content calendar – a detailed content plan that outlines the where, what, and when of your posts. Highlighting diverse voices within your ambassador team ensures a broad range of experiences and perspectives are represented, appealing to a wider audience.

Celebrate Their Contributions

Recognize and reward your ambassadors for their efforts. This can range from financial compensation to exclusive perks like access to networking events or career development opportunities. Publicly celebrating their work reinforces their value and motivates others to get involved.

Source: New York University

Example: Here, New York University’s School of Global Public Health welcomes a new student ambassador, celebrating her accomplishments in the field, describing her role in the NYU community, and directing the audience to her student blog post. In addition to monetary rewards, student ambassadors appreciate public acknowledgments of their contributions.

Measure Success

Track the impact of your ambassador program using metrics such as social media engagement, website traffic, and application rates. Use this data to refine your approach, ensuring continuous improvement.

Incorporating UGC into Your Marketing Strategy

A UGC marketing campaign can be a goldmine for schools looking to leverage their communities to tell their story. By encouraging students to share their experiences, you tap into a wealth of relatable and engaging material that resonates with prospective students. Let’s explore how to integrate UGC into your marketing strategy for maximum impact.

Create Opportunities for UGC

Encourage your students to share their experiences by hosting contests, themed hashtag campaigns, or student takeovers on social media. The more accessible you make the process, the more likely students are to participate.

Source: Caleontwins | TikTok

Example: Here, Humber College has paid well-known influencers to promote a contest called Humber Bring It. The aim was to showcase all the unique skills students brought to their community. In their video, the Caleon twins shared all the essential details of the contest such as the deadline, prizes for winners (a 5000 dollar tuition credit or a laptop), and the hashtag that each contestant should use. Contests like this are the perfect way to create a UGC buzz around your institution.

Showcase UGC Across Platforms

To maximize the impact of user-generated content (UGC), feature it prominently across your marketing platforms. Incorporate student stories, photos, and videos on your website’s homepage, within program pages, and in blog posts to provide a genuine glimpse into campus life. Social media channels are another natural home for UGC, where they can drive engagement and create relatable touchpoints with prospective students. Consider integrating this content into admissions brochures, emails, and campus tour presentations to ensure consistent messaging.

Before sharing any UGC, prioritize student consent. Always seek permission from contributors, clearly explaining where and how their content will be used. Providing written guidelines and gaining explicit agreement ensures transparency and builds trust. By celebrating your students’ experiences respectfully and prominently, you showcase your school’s vibrant community and also create a foundation of authenticity and ethical storytelling that resonates with your audience.

Maintain Quality Control

While UGC is inherently less polished, maintaining a level of quality ensures it aligns with your institution’s values and messaging. Begin by establishing clear guidelines for students contributing content.

These guidelines should outline your school’s tone, branding, and expectations for appropriateness, while still encouraging creativity and individuality. For example, provide tips on photography and video basics, such as lighting and framing, to enhance visual appeal without compromising authenticity.

Review content before publication to ensure it represents your school positively. This doesn’t mean heavily editing or sanitizing the material—rather, it’s about ensuring the content reflects your institution’s culture, is free of inappropriate language or imagery, and avoids unintentional misrepresentation.

Offering feedback to students can also be a valuable learning experience, helping them refine their work while staying true to their voice. By balancing authenticity with quality, you showcase the best of your community in a way that’s both relatable and professional.

Engage with UGC Creators

Show appreciation for students who contribute content by engaging with their posts, sharing their work, or even spotlighting them in dedicated campaigns. This not only boosts their morale but also encourages others to participate.

Use UGC to Tell Stories

Go beyond individual posts by weaving UGC into cohesive narratives. For example, compile videos and testimonials into a series showcasing different aspects of campus life. Storytelling adds depth and emotional resonance to your campaigns.

Bringing It All Together

Student ambassador programs and UGC are avenues for building authentic connections with your audience. By leveraging the voices of your students, you showcase your institution’s unique story in a way that resonates deeply with prospective students and their families.

At Higher Education Marketing, we specialize in helping schools like yours unlock the potential of these strategies and many others. Whether you’re just starting or looking to refine your approach, our expertise ensures your campaigns drive meaningful engagement and results.

Your students are your greatest storytellers. Let their voices elevate your brand and inspire the next generation to join your community.

Struggling with enrollment?

Our expert digital marketing services can help you attract and enroll more students!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a student ambassador?

A student ambassador is a current student who represents your institution in various capacities, from marketing and recruitment to campus events.

What do student ambassadors do?

As the face of your school, student ambassadors embody its culture and values, offering prospective students and their families an authentic glimpse into campus life.
Source link
January 22, 2025
Rethinking the value of internationalisation in higher education

Yesterday, we published a piece by SOAS Vice-Chancellor Adam Habib and Lord Dr. Michael Hastings, Chair of the SOAS Board of Trustees, on equitable transnational partnerships. In today’s piece, Dana Gamble, Policy Manager (Skills, Innovation and International) at GuildHE and Dr Esther Wilkinson, Director of Innovation and Learning at Royal Agricultural University and Chair of the GuildHE International Network, look again at international partnerships and how institutions can be proactive and productive on the international stage.

It is not news that the higher education sector’s relationship with international activity is strained, from recruiting students to delivering research and innovation partnerships with institutions overseas. While significant financial pressures have built up through institutional reliance on international student fees, this is far from the only headwind the sector currently faces on international delivery. Recent political motivations and wider geopolitical factors have contributed to policy churn on visa policies and delayed, or scrapped, funding arrangements such as Horizon Europe and the European Regional Development Fund. Ultimately, this landscape has led institutions to prioritise developing short-term partnerships to solve long-term problems. These forces combined are affecting the UK’s global reputation as a competitive destination for education and research.

Looking back to inform the future

It is important to reflect and scrutinise how we got here. In a context where the UK has the lowest levels of public spending on tertiary education in the OECD, the UK’s higher education institutions have strategically used international activity to fill financial shortfalls. Whether that might be international student fees to fill deficits in domestic teaching and research income or transnational delivery to increase income without the overheads, these interventions have typically been siloed ventures designed specifically to fill gaps.

With this approach running out of steam for many, institutions are turning the dial towards focusing on responsible, holistic and trusted partnerships with international institutions that contribute to multiple, mutual aims. This approach, in the long term, should stimulate a steadier international partnership environment that does not rely on quick-fix activity to shoulder the UK’s funding deficits. While many higher education institutions have embraced this type of internationalisation, specialist and vocational institutions often already excel in this area, particularly when creating strong, skills-based, and mutually beneficial partnerships due to their strong links with industry and communities.

Specialist and vocationally-focused institutions have international reach and relevance

These institutions often operate in sectors where local and global contexts are deeply intertwined. Whether addressing global environmental challenges, healthcare crises, or creative and technological innovation, a responsible international partnership should consider not only the exchange of knowledge but also the socio-economic and environmental implications of that exchange.

By focusing on real-world skills and sector-specific expertise, these institutions bring a practical dimension to international collaborations that go beyond traditional learning, innovation and research, offering valuable lessons on how to engage globally to tackle economic and social issues with purpose.

RAU shows how holistic international collaborations can deliver impact

The GuildHE member, the Royal Agricultural University (RAU), has a long history of establishing, nurturing and successfully developing long-term strategic partnerships. Agriculture, climate change and food security are global issues that require international collaboration to address critical challenges across rural development, land management and sustainable farming practices.

RAU has multiple partners including in China, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates (Sharjah) and Ukraine. It is one of the most trusted UK education providers in China and has been awarded the highest accolade by the Chinese Ministry of Education for its provision, the only specialist UK university to have this status in China. In Uzbekistan, RAU is a founding partner of the International Agricultural University, an institution jointly established with the Uzbek Government to ensure students have access to high-quality education to contribute to the economic, social, and cultural development of the country. RAU’s research, training, exchanges, and teaching partnerships with Sumy National Agrarian University in Ukraine have steadily built maturity. The partnership has led various international projects such as the evaluation of the damage to Ukrainian soil due to the current conflict, which has helped ensure the long-term viability of the agricultural economy in the country. RAU has worked to support Sharjah in establishing the University of Al Dhaid, enabling capacity building, development and delivery of education in sustainable agriculture, a feature of RAU’s ability to be flexible and agile due to its size.

RAU takes particular pride in the breadth and depth of its global relationships, with a synergistic and strategically aligned approach. Through such broad, multifaceted collaborations, RAU provides expertise and knowledge to help develop global agricultural sectors while enriching the educational experience of its students. As demonstrated in this example, vocational and specialist institutions are making particular efforts to establish, maintain and refresh international partnerships for longer-term benefits, focusing on multi-pronged international collaboration, enhancing cross-cultural understanding, and driving global innovation.

Expanding international partnerships takes work but can pay dividends

The internationalisation of higher education will always be shaped by global politics; education, work and skills policy; and the financial state of the sector. To reach stable waters through these domestic and global pressures, higher education institutions need to re-focus on their institutional strengths and start becoming proactive internationally. This can only be achieved, however, through supportive government policy that does not continue to discourage the sector from investing in sustainable, long-term and effective partnerships. This predominantly means establishing financial security for the full diversity of the sector to protect the foundation of specialist industries, and the future of the public sector and student choice – both domestically and internationally.

Additionally, reform is needed to the research and innovation system so it purposefully generates economic and social impact for all sectors, and on all scales. And finally, the development of properly-resourced, effective student and staff exchange programmes is needed to provide equality of opportunity for students at every institution, with intention.

With this government’s plans to link immigration policy more closely to skills policy and labour market pressures through Skills England, as well as the ambitions of the industrial strategy, higher education needs to be acknowledged as the future of economic growth through its role in the development of the workforce, diffusion of applied research and as leaders of global innovation. With this critical role, a holistic approach to partnerships will be vital to the effective implementation of these new strategies, and in helping to maintain the UK’s reputation as a global leader in learning, innovation and research.

Source link

January 22, 2025
Rethinking the Financial Challenge of English Universities

By Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor at SOAS University of London, and Lord Dr. Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, Chair of the Board of Trustees at SOAS.

The business model of English higher education is broken. We are not sure that this simple fact is sufficiently understood by all stakeholders in higher education. Do not mistake us: we all recognise the serious financial crises that most English universities are confronting. But this is not the same as understanding its causal features and what to do about it. The latest financial report from the Office for Students (OfS), released in mid-November, suggests 72% of English universities will be in deficit by the end of the academic year if they continue as is. It does not suggest much about how to address it. In fact, it does not even ask why the other 28% of universities are not in deficit. Is this because of their historical endowments or their specific student profile, or are they doing something the others are not?

But the OfS is not the only stakeholder reluctant to ask the hard questions: how we got here and what to do about it. This malady afflicts almost all other stakeholders. Let’s begin with the basics. Almost three decades ago, the British government committed to massifying education and ensuring that at least 50% of their school-leaving population had the privilege of going to university. The challenge was how to pay for it. They introduced fees, first as a small proportion of the actual cost in 2006, and then to cover the entire cost in 2012 (at least for Business degrees, Humanities and the Social Sciences). The popular backlash this generated, especially since almost all universities rushed to implement the maximum permitted fee, led the politicians to subsequently avoid increasing fees in line with inflation. The net effect was that within a few years, the actual cost of university education outstripped the fees.

The solution followed by most universities was to increase international fees and their intakes of foreign students. To attract more of these students, universities borrowed heavily, built shiny new facilities, expanded their pastoral services and grew their student numbers. This was assisted in part by the removal of student number caps on home students. Costs increased, and to cover these, more income was required, which led to even higher international fees and more foreign students.

All higher education stakeholders were complicit in this. The Government initially supported this solution because it obviated the need for more government subsidies and enabled foreign currency earnings. Vice-chancellors and higher education executives deluded themselves in thinking that the international postgraduate masters students came to the UK universities because of their institutions’ research reputations, even though survey after survey demonstrated that these students were increasingly attracted by the prospect of employment prospects and the post-study visa. Unions, both academic and professional service ones, acquiesced given that these international fees enabled higher salaries and subsidised greater research time for academics. There was even broader public support as it contained the fees for domestic students.

Until of course, a new breed of ethnically oriented right-wing politicians mobilised on the chauvinistic instinct of there being too many foreigners in Britain. This first manifested in Brexit, then China and subsequently all foreigner-bashing, and finally visa restrictions on dependents. The net effect was a dramatic fall in applications and enrolment of international students, with the ensuing financial crisis of universities in the UK. A positive spin-off of this state of affairs is that almost all stakeholders now recognise the flimsy fiscal foundation of universities. The negative feature is that it still has not generated an honest reflection and behaviour on the part of all stakeholders or a sufficiently deep deliberation on the business model of higher education in the UK and what to do about it.

Take, for instance, the stance of government. The Secretary of State for Education announced in the House of Commons on 4 November 2024 the first university fee increase for undergraduate students in eight years. Yet the Chancellor had increased the Employer National insurance a few days before from 13.8 to 15 percent. The net effect is a further loss of £59 million for universities in the UK from the 2025/26 academic year.

Neither is the debate in universities more imaginative on what to do about the financial crisis and the business model of higher education. University vice-chancellors and Universities UK have recognised the need to revert to greater public funding for higher education, although there is a broad recognition that this is an unlikely solution in the near future given the fiscal crisis of the state. They have suggested through individual vice-chancellor advocacies that universities would require the financial equivalence of £12,000 fees, but again, almost all recognise the political challenge of achieving this during a cost-of-living crisis. The reluctant fallback back? A retreat to international student fees by retracting or reforming the visa restrictions, thereby allowing for further increases in income from foreign students.

But this is just not a feasible solution for the long term. Higher education in the UK has priced itself out for ordinary international students looking solely for a higher education qualification. The only rationales for postgraduate master’s students accessing UK universities, given their high-cost structure, are either post-study employment or the learning of a specific qualification not available in alternative higher education settings. The former is increasingly becoming politically unfeasible, and the latter is not a sufficiently large market to financially sustain British universities.

This is in addition to the moral and commercial challenges of this business model. As we have suggested elsewhere, there should be serious objections to this model, which is effectively directed towards sucking out resources from countries far more impoverished than the UK, to essentially cross-subsidise domestic citizens. Moreover, it accelerates the brain drain, weakening institutional capacities and human capabilities in the majoritarian world at precisely the moment when such societies require an enhancement of capabilities to address the local manifestations of transnational challenges like climate change, pandemics, food insecurity and war.

Where to go from here, then? First, there is an urgent need for an honest conversation led by government without any smoke and mirrors on the fiscal latitude available to it and the consequences thereof for the financing of higher education. Second, there is a need for a thorough reflection on what has fiscally worked, and what has not in the recent past on the management and executive stewardship of universities in the UK. Third, there is a need for an honest discussion in universities on the fiscal viability of excessively small classes and unduly low staff-student ratios, 40% research time for all teaching and research contracts, and the importance of institutional differentiation in mandates and how these should speak to the former two elements. Finally, we need to think through the limits of cross-subsidising from international student fees and what new opportunities are opening up globally for fulfilling our institutional mandates.

One opportunity, that has not been sufficiently explored by British universities, is how to assist in the education and training of hundreds of millions of young people in the majoritarian world. This is an urgent necessity not only for the economic development of these societies but also for enabling societies across the world to manage the transnational challenges of our time, without which we may not survive as a human species. Obviously, this will not be possible on the existing cost structures or business models of higher education. But partnering with universities in the Global South, involving the joint development of curricula, co-teaching and co-assessment, could bring down cost structures of higher education. This could then feed into more reasonable fees being charged, thereby opening up new higher education markets for British universities. Cost structures could also be reconsidered in relation to scale. The more students there are within a program, limited to pedagogical requirements, the more cost per student is reduced, and the more competitive fees can become. New technologies involving online teaching and global classrooms, many of which were pioneered for our own students during the Covid-19 Pandemic, can make this equitable transnational teaching even more feasible.

Some forms of transnational teaching are already underway in UK universities. But these often take the form of online learning, overseas campuses and franchise models of higher education, all of which are only directed at obviating the financial challenges of British universities. While we would be reluctant to take rigid positions against these models – they may indeed be relevant in certain contextual circumstances – we do hold that the equitable partnership model identified above holds the pedagogical benefit of enabling learning that is both globally grounded and locally relevant. It also does not pit the financial security of British universities against that of universities of the majoritarian world. Essentially, these equitable teaching partnerships can pioneer one element of a new business model that enhances collaboration and mutual benefit for universities in the UK and the majoritarian world.

Such a model of higher education could also become part of the soft power arsenal of the UK. Increasingly, government has broached the idea of a global Britain. This would be a Britain recognised as a collaborative partner of other nations, enabling them to achieve their national objectives, while enabling itself to be economically competitive and socially responsive to both its own citizens and its international obligations. An equitable orientation to its higher education system would assist this strategic national agenda.

We are by no means suggesting that equitable transnational learning should replace all other forms of teaching in UK higher education. This would be unrealistic and, frankly, would violate the responsibility of British universities to be nationally responsive. Instead, we recommend that in the pursuit of a financially sustainable higher education system, a diverse set of income strategies – subsidy, domestic fees, international fees, ODL, executive education and equitable transnational educational partnerships – is required. This final strategy not only opens up a new higher education student market at a different price point but also enables us to square our imperative to be financially sustainable with our commitment to be socially and globally responsive.

The strategic challenge of managing higher education institutions in the contemporary era is the management of tensions between competing imperatives. It also requires thinking outside the box, innovating and finding new markets, and servicing these at new price points, while continuing to meet the social obligations implicit in the mandate of universities. This is what we believe is sometimes missing from the deliberations on making British universities financially sustainable. The debate can only be enriched and the recommendations made more robust if we are prepared to think beyond what we are comfortable with.

Source link

January 21, 2025
Make Universities Great Again – HEPI

***Join HEPI and Jisc at 2pm next Monday, 27 January for a webinar on ‘Competition or collaboration’ in the higher education sector: you can register here.***

On the day that Donald Trump is inaugurated as US President for the second time, with JD Vance as his Vice-President, HEPI Director of Partnerships Lucy Haire reviews Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy – and asks what it can teach us about his attitudes to universities.

It is not a new publication, but it has taken on new significance. JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis was published in 2016, well before anyone had an inkling that the author would be the US Vice-President nine years later. I read this autobiography of Vance’s youth to try to better understand one of the most powerful men in the world.

Five things that saved JD Vance

The basic story of the first thirty or so years of Vance’s life reflects a challenging upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, a community in economic decline. Born to a mother struggling with addiction, Vance grew up amid instability, surrounded by school dropouts, joblessness and crime.

Vance attributes his escape from a stricken trajectory to five main themes.

First, his steadfast grandparents, especially ‘Mamaw’ who eventually raised him.

Second, the US Marines, which instilled discipline.

Third, his girlfriend and future wife, Usha, who refined his social skills.

Fourth, his own grit and drive.

Fifth, universities, of which JD Vance attended two.

He says of Ohio State University:

Ohio State’s main campus in Columbus is about a hundred miles from Middletown… Columbus felt like an urban paradise. It was (and remains) one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, powered in large part by the bustling university that was now my home. OSU grads were starting businesses, historic buildings were being converted into new restaurants and bars, and even the worst neighbourhoods seemed to be undergoing revitalization.

This passage could be taken straight from the pages of a US equivalent of UPP Foundation’s excellent Kerslake Collection on the economic and social benefits that universities have on their local communities. It chimes entirely with the sentiment in the UK’s Secretary of State for Education, Bridgit Phillipson’s recent letter to UK universities.

Vance explains how the majority of his education was paid for by the G.I. Bill, a US law that provides a range of benefits for veterans. Yet he still had to take on three jobs to pay for his living costs, a scenario which we know has become increasingly common in the UK. HEPI’s seminal report, the Student Minimum Income Standard, produced with the support of Technology1 in spring 2024, showed that student maintenance loans now fall well below what students actually need to live on. Students therefore have to look elsewhere for support. HEPI and AdvanceHE’s long-running annual Student Academic Experience Survey showed that for the first time in 2024, the majority of students in the UK now take on paid work to make ends meet.

Vance and his grandmother’s navigation of the financial aid forms highlighted their unfamiliarity with university bureaucratic processes, a case-study in inclusive admissions.

I had puzzled through those financial aid forms with Mamaw … arguing about whether to list her as Mom or as my ‘parent/guardian’. We had worried that unless I somehow obtained and submitted the financial information of Bob Hamel (my legal father), I’d be guilty of fraud. The whole experience had made both of us painfully aware of how unfamiliar we were with the outside world.

Furthermore, Vance discusses that, as a US Marine veteran, he was a mature student at Ohio State, so a few years older than most classmates. Some irritated him with their lack of real-world experience; one disparaged soldiers deployed to Iraq, where Vance had served. Vance decided that he wanted to accelerate his studies and arranged to fast-track his course so that he could graduate in just under two years.

This serves as a reminder about the challenges of ensuring that university classes are inclusive and accommodate diverse students. It also touches on the concept of fast-track degrees which remain quite rare in the UK.

Vance’s declared thinking about which law school to choose after Ohio provides still more food for thought for widening participation professionals. He didn’t consider Yale, Stanford or Harvard at first, the ‘mythical top three’, assuming he didn’t stand a chance of acceptance. But he changed his mind when he heard about a new law graduate hailing not from the ‘top three’ forced to wait tables for lack of other opportunities.

Vance still would not try for Stanford as it required him to obtain a personal sign-off from the Dean at Ohio State which he dared not request. He got into Yale where he clearly acquired imposter syndrome and conflicting identities: was he an Ivy League student or Hillbilly kid? He was unnerved by the sense of entitlement among his mainly upper-middle-class peers, by some snobbery among the academics and by the extensive networks his fellow students could tap into when it mattered.

He is nevertheless very appreciative of the whole experience, revelling in the stellar roster of famous visiting speakers, imposing architecture and the chance to edit the Yale Law Journal. He held his own academically, was taken under the wing of Professor Amy Chua and fell in love with one upper-middle-class student, Usha, his future wife. There are pages of his Yalie reflections on educational, economic and cultural upward mobility which foretell his move into politics.

I did not expect to find so many insights into the structure, funding and culture of the higher education system in this book. Some reviewers of Hillbilly Elegy say that it is not a completely true nor fair account of JD Vance’s experiences, that it over-emphasises the role of personal grit and determination in facilitating upward mobility, and that much of it is at odds with sentiments that Vance has expressed more recently. Nevertheless, if Vance is encouraging us to value higher education, recognize its crucial role for individuals and communities and to strive to get its systems and culture right for those with challenging backgrounds, then that is all to the good. Deep down, Vance knows that universities will help to Make America Great Again.

For more information about the US university system, take a look at this recent HEPI report supported by the Richmond American University London.

Source link

January 20, 2025
WEEKEND READING: Why Scotland’s student funding system is “unfair, unsustainable, unaffordable” and needs to be replaced with a graduate contribution model
- These are the remarks by Alison Payne, Research Director at Reform Scotland, at the HEPI / CDBU event on funding higher education, held at Birkbeck, University of London, on Thursday of this week.
- We are also making available Johnny Rich’s slides on ‘Making graduate employer contributions work’ from the same event, which are available to download here.
Thanks to the CDBU and to HEPI for the invitation to attend and take part in today’s discussion.

My speech today has been titled ‘A graduate contribution model’. Of course, for UK graduates not from Scotland, I’m sure they would make the point that they very much do contribute through their fees, but the situation is very different in Scotland and I’m really grateful that I have the opportunity to feed the Scottish situation into today’s discussion.

I thought it may be helpful if I gave a quick overview of the Scottish situation, as it differs somewhat to the overview Nick gave this morning covering the rest of the UK.

Although tuition fees were introduced throughout the UK in 1998, the advent of devolution in 1999 and the passing of responsibility for higher education to Holyrood began the period of diverging funding policies.

The then Labour / Lib Dem Scottish Executive, as it was then known, scrapped tuition fees and replaced them with a graduate endowment from 2001-02, with the first students becoming liable to pay the fee from April 2005. The scheme called for students to pay back £2,000 once they started earning over £10,000.

The graduate endowment was then scrapped by the SNP in February 2008. A quirk of EU law meant that students from EU countries could not be charged tuition fees if Scottish students were not paying them but students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland could be charged. This meant that from 2008 to 2021/22 EU students did not need to pay fees to attend Scottish universities, though students from the rest of the UK did.

We’re used to politics in Scotland being highly polarised and often toxic with few areas of commonality, but for the most part the policy of ‘free’ higher education has been supported by all of the political parties. Indeed at the last Scottish election in 2021 all parties committed to maintaining the policy in their manifestos. It is only recently that the Scottish Tories have suggested a move away from this following the election of their new leader, Russell Finlay.

But behind this unusual political consensus, the ‘free’ policy is becoming increasingly unsustainable and unaffordable. Politicians will privately admit this, but politics, and a rock with an ill-advised slogan, have made it harder to have the much needed debate.

The Cap

While we don’t have tuition fees, we do have a cap on student numbers. And while more Scots are going to university, places are unable to keep up with demand. Since 2006 there has been a 56% increase in applicants, but an 84% increase in the number refused entry.

It is increasingly the case that students from the rest of the UK or overseas are accepted on to courses in Scotland while their Scottish counterparts are denied. For example, when clearing options are posted, often those places at Scotland’s top universities are only available to students from the rest of the UK and not to Scottish students, even if the latter have better grades. As a result, Scots can feel that they are denied access to education on their doorstep that those from elsewhere can obtain. Indeed, there are growing anecdotes about those who can afford it buying or renting property elsewhere in the UK so that they can attend a Scottish university, pay the higher fee and get around the cap.

Basically, more people want to go to university, but the fiscal arrangements are holding ambition them back. This problem was highlighted by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee’s report on Universities from 2021.

Some commentators in Scotland have blamed the lack of places on widening access programmes, but I would challenge this. It is undoubtedly a good thing that more people from non-traditional backgrounds are getting into university, it is the cap that is limiting Scottish places, not access programmes. This is a point that has been backed by individuals such as the Principal of St Andrews, Professor Dame Sally Mapstone [who also serves as HEPI’s Chair].

Financial Woes

The higher education sector in Scotland, as with elsewhere in the UK, is not in great financial health. Audit Scotland warned back in 2019 that half of our institutions were facing growing deficits. Pressures including pensions contributions, Brexit and estate maintenance have all played a role and in the face of this decline, but nothing has changed and we’re now seeing crisis like those at Dundee emerge. Against this backdrop, income from those students who pay higher fees is an important revenue stream.

There is obviously a huge variation in what the fees are to attend a Scottish university, considerably more so than in the rest of the UK.

For example, to study Accounting and Business as an undergraduate at Edinburgh University, the cost for a full-time new student for 2024/25 is £1,820 per year for a Scottish-domiciled student (met by the Scottish Government), £9,250 per year for someone from the rest of the UK and £26,500 for an international student.

It is clear why international students and UK students from outside Scotland are therefore so much more attractive than Scottish students.

However, there is by no means an equal distribution of higher fee paying students among our institutions.

For example, at St Andrews about one-third of undergraduate full-time students were Scots, with one-third from the rest of the UK and one-third international. The numbers for Edinburgh are similar.

At the other end of the scale, at the University of the Highlands and Islands and Glasgow Caledonian, around 90% of students are Scottish, with only around only 1% being international.

So it is clear that institutions’ ability to raise money from fee-paying students varies very dramatically, increasing the financial pressures on those with low fee income.

However, when looking at the issue, it is important to recognise that it is not just our universities who are struggling, Scotland’s colleges are facing huge financial pressures as well.

The current proposed Scottish budget would leave colleges struggling with a persistent, real-terms funding cut of 17 per cent since 2021/22. Our college sector is hugely important in terms of the delivery of skills, working with local economies and as a route to university for so many, but for too long colleges have been treated like the Cinderella service in Scotland. The prioritising of ‘free’ university tuition over the college sector is adding to this problem.

Regardless of who wins the Holyrood election next year, money is, and will remain, tight for some time. It would be lovely to be able to have lots of taxpayer funded ‘free’ services, but that is simply unsustainable and difficult choices need to be made.

This is why we believe that the current situation is unfair, unsustainable, unaffordable and needs to change.

Reform Scotland would offer another alternative solution. We believe that there needs to be a better balance between the individual graduate and Scottish taxpayers in the contribution towards higher education.

One way this could be achieved is through a fee after graduation, to be repaid once they earn more than the Scottish average salary. This would not be a fee incurred on starting university and deferred until after graduation, rather the fee would be incurred on graduation.

In terms of what that fee could be, the Cubie report over 25 years ago suggested a graduate fee of £3,000, which would be about £5,500 today.  This could perhaps be the starting point for consideration.

Any figure should take account of different variations in terms of the true cost of the course and potential skill shortages.

However, introducing a graduate fee would not necessarily mean an end to ‘free’ tuition.

Rather it provides an opportunity to look at the skills gaps that exist in Scotland and the possibility of developing schemes which cut off or scrap repayments for graduates who work in specific geographic areas or sectors of Scotland for set periods of time.

Such schemes could also look to incorporate students from elsewhere for Scotland is facing a demographic crisis. Our population is set to become older and smaller, and we are the only part of the UK projected to have a smaller population by 2045.

We desperately need to retain and attract more working-age people. Perhaps such graduate repayment waiver schemes could also be offered to students from the rest of the UK who choose to study in Scotland – stay here and work after graduation and we will pay a proportion of your fee. A wide range of different schemes could be considered and linked into the wider policy issues facing Scotland.

According to the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) there were 3,370 graduates from the rest of the UK who attended a Scottish institution in 2020/21. Of those, only 990 chose to remain in Scotland for work after graduation. Could we encourage more people to stay after studying?

Conclusion

A graduate fee is only one possible solution, but I would argue that it is also one with a short shelf life. As graduates would not incur the fee until they graduated, there would be a four-year delay between the change in policy and revenue beginning to be received. Our institutions are facing very real fiscal problems and there is a danger of a university going to the wall.

If we get to the 2026 election and political parties refuse to shift the dial and at least recognise that the current system is unsustainable, then there is a danger that nothing will change for another Parliamentary term. I don’t think we can afford to wait until 2031.

There is another interesting dynamic now as well. Labour in Scotland currently, publicly at least, oppose tuition fees. However, there are now 37 Scottish Labour MPs at Westminster who are backing the increase of fees on students from outside Scotland, or Scottish students studying down south. Given the unpopularity of the Labour government as well as the tight contest between the SNP and Labour for Holyrood, it seems unlikely that position can be maintained.

All across the UK there are increasing signs of the stark financial situation we are facing. Against that backdrop, along with the restrictions placed on the number being able to attend, free university tuition is unsustainable and unaffordable. People outside Scottish politics seem to be able to see this reality, privately so do many of our politicians. We need to shift this debate in to the public domain in Scotland and develop a workable solution.
Source link
January 18, 2025
Despite being global leader, UK cannot afford to rest on its laurels in digital, AI and green skills

By Matteo Quacquarelli, Vice President of Strategy and Analytics at QS Quacquarelli Symonds.

Across the globe, economies are grappling with skills and talent challenges. From talent saturation to workforce reskilling, each country is facing its own unique issues as it prepares for the evolution of the digital age.

The QS World Future Skills Index, just launched, offers a detailed breakdown of the globe’s higher education systems, their links with industries and how countries are preparing for the next industrial evolution. Using exclusive QS data, it identifies where economies and countries need to align their higher education outcomes with the needs of industry in three key areas – green, AI and digital.

The analysis delves into 81 economies and finds that UK higher education is currently one of the world’s best for cultivating students with the future skills business and industry are calling out for.

It measures four indicators linked to skills like AI proficiency, digital literacy and environmental sustainability that will form the bedrock of the industries of tomorrow.

Skills Fit measures how well countries are equipping graduates with the skills employers desire. In this, no country is currently better than the UK. Using data from both our own largest-of-its-kind QS Global Employer Survey and the World Bank Group, we identified that UK employers have the highest satisfaction rates with the skills graduates bring with them, anywhere in the world – but perhaps only for the time being.

Additionally, the UK received top marks in the Academic Readiness dimension, measuring the preparedness of a country in regard to the future of work. The UK’s success in the QS World University Rankings by Subject allowed it to flourish here.

However, the UK must not rest on its laurels. Higher education in other markets globally is innovating at a far more rapid rate than in the UK. The reputational strength of the UK – built on its history and tradition of delivering excellent teaching and learning – is unlikely to be the key driver of satisfaction going forward.

The UK was slightly less successful than its closest rivals in the areas of Future of Work and Economic Transformation.

Future of Work measures how well the job market is prepared to meet the growing demand for digital, AI and green skills, using 1Mentor data of over 280m job postings worldwide.

Economic Transformation analyzes whether a country has the infrastructure, investment power, and talent available to transition to industries driven by AI, digital transformation, green technologies and high-skilled work. This indicator used data from the World Bank Group, UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the Education Policy Institute.

This lower score is reflective of the slow-to-no economic growth seen in the UK over the past decade and the tightening of the public purse strings strangling investment in R&D and new business innovation (evidenced by decline not only in public but also private sector funding in the UK).

The latest economic forecasts signal a further period of stagnation for the UK economy might be on the horizon.

Just as the importance of investment in future skills cannot be understated, nor can the importance of higher education in AI breakthroughs and innovation.

Funnelling research innovation down the value chain into industry has been the bedrock of economic innovation worldwide. Without Stanford University, there would be no Silicon Valley. In Germany, the universities of Stuttgart and Tübingen are key in the country’s Cyber Valley initiative. If Melbourne didn’t have its outstanding higher education institutions, the city would not hold the crown of tech capital of Australia.

The QS Future World Skills Index highlights the example of South Korea, where there is a correlation between increasing numbers of young adults attaining tertiary education and GDP growth.

The UK government’s new AI Opportunities Action Plan, announced earlier this week sets out a clear ambition strategy to maintain Britain’s position as one of the world’s AI superpowers and has been widely welcomed by industry.

The prime minister says his government will make it easier for experts to come to the UK via its talent visas and for future leaders to learn here. Tens of thousands of additional AI professionals will be needed by 2030, he has said.

The Government also wants to ‘increase its share of the world’s top 1,000 AI researchers’ and will launch an AI scholarship scheme to support 100 students to study in the UK.

While the UK was also top in Europe for talent creation, with 46,000 students graduating from an AI-relevant higher education program ahead of Germany in terms of absolute numbers with 32,000, the UK is still behind Finland on a per capita basis. Without specific policy and commitment, the UK risks losing its leading position.

The UK is missing ‘frontier conceptual, cutting-edge companies‘. DeepMind, the AI research laboratory, was one such company that was founded in the UK before being acquired by Google in 2014. But where was it established? The three co-founders meet while studying at University College London.

The new AI Growth Zones the government has announced, with the first starting in Culham, will need to engage universities up and down the country. Higher education must also be closely involved in the Digital and Technology Sector Plan, which is set to be published in the coming months.

The government has also previously pledged to become a green energy superpower. The QS Future World Skills Index suggests that both the UK’s job market and its higher education system is well set up to capitalise on that opportunity.

To succeed, government policy, the needs of industry and higher education curricula must all align to create an environment where the country can succeed and be future-ready.

Economies and higher education systems that invest in high-quality academic programmes in AI, digital and sustainability are setting themselves up for long-term success.

For the full QS World Future Skills Index: https://www.qs.com/reports-whitepapers/world-future-skills-index

The UK Spotlight is available here: https://www.qs.com/reports-whitepapers/uk-spotlight-qs-world-future-skills-index

Source link

January 17, 2025
Making Higher Education More Affordable: The Role of Financial Aid Strategies
Key Takeaways:
- Financial aid optimization transforms financial resource allocation into a strategic enrollment tool, aligning affordability for students with institutional goals.
- By leveraging real-time data and tools like Liaison Othot, institutions can craft tailored financial aid strategies that address individual student needs and enrollment strategies.
- Optimization enables proactive adjustments to financial aid strategies, ensuring accessibility while supporting student retention and institutional sustainability.
- Strategic financial aid leveraging balances affordability for students with long-term enrollment and revenue objectives.
The rising costs of higher education and fear of long-term debt have left many prospective students and their families questioning whether they can afford to pursue their academic dreams. For institutions, this presents a dual challenge: attracting diverse students and ensuring enrollment goals align with their mission. An effective and aligned financial aid optimization strategy offers a powerful tool to meet a campus’s enrollment goals. By combining institutional funds with federal and state resources effectively, colleges and universities can increase access and affordability in higher education while achieving broader enrollment objectives.

From offering enough aid to make tuition manageable to continuously refining financial aid strategies based on real-time information, optimizing plays a pivotal role in strategic enrollment management (SEM). It transforms financial aid awarding from a static process into a dynamic tool that not only attracts and enrolls students but also supports their retention by effectively meeting their financial needs.

What Is Financial Aid Optimization?

Financial aid optimization transforms the allocation of financial resources into a critical enrollment tool. By aligning the overall enrollment leveraging strategy—regularly and in real-time at the individual level—optimization allows campuses to address student affordability needs in a unique and tailored way.

At its core, optimization is a dynamic, data-informed process. Institutions develop annual plans for allocating financial aid (leveraging), basing decisions on previous cycles’ successes and challenges. Unlike traditional static leveraging models, modern optimization approaches incorporate continuous adjustments informed by real-time data. This lets colleges and universities respond proactively to shifting enrollment trends and keeps their financial aid strategies effective throughout the year.

How to Make Higher Education More Affordable and Accessible

More accessible higher education starts with understanding the financial challenges students face. For many undergraduates, the cost of tuition, housing, books, and other expenses can make college seem out of reach, even with federal and state aid. For example, a student from a low-income household may find that even the maximum Pell Grant award leaves a significant financial gap. Similarly, a middle-income family might struggle to cover tuition despite not qualifying for significant need-based aid.

Financial aid leveraging allows institutions to tackle these challenges head-on by creating tailored aid packages that remove financial barriers for students. This approach relies on a mix of need-based and merit-based strategies, often informed by tools like FAFSA data and predictive analytics.

One of the key advantages of financial aid optimization is its flexibility. Institutions can use data to fine-tune aid offerings based on unique student needs and behaviors. For instance, Liaison’s Othot platform, a cloud-based predictive and prescriptive analytics tool designed specifically for higher ed, can analyze factors such as a student’s location, academic profile, and campus engagement to build aid packages thatneeds. This granularity ensures that the financial aid awarding strategy not only meets the affordability threshold for students also aligns with the overall enrollment strategy being employed on the campus. An aligned optimization approach ensures that the affordability component is integrated into the strategy for specifically targeted cohorts or students, maximizing the likelihood of their enrollment.

Optimization also lets institutions adapt aid policies for entire cohorts or demographic groups. For example, schools can address rising inflation in high school GPAs by recalibrating merit-based awards to prioritize equity and maintain fairness in their financial aid distribution. This adaptability keeps aid plans relevant as the dynamics of higher education continue to shift. By relying on data and continuously streamlining their financial aid models, institutions can make higher education more attainable for all students while maximizing their impact.

The Strategic Impact of Financial Aid Optimization

Financial aid optimization goes beyond simply helping students cover tuition—it’s about achieving a delicate balance between affordability for students and sustainability for institutions. By carefully crafting aid packages that meet the financial needs of students without overextending institutional resources, colleges and universities can enhance their enrollment efforts while maintaining financial health.

For example, reallocating funds for strategic distribution among students could result in higher net tuition revenue (NTR) without sacrificing enrollment numbers. This demonstrates how strategic adjustments can yield significant results when financial aid decisions are guided by data, tailored to meet institutional priorities, and aligned to overall enrollment strategies.

Retention and persistence are critical factors to consider when determining how to optimize financial aid. An effective leveraging model doesn’t stop at enrollment and the conclusion of a successful first year—it considers the long-term success of students. By analyzing which cohorts are more likely to persist and graduate, institutions can refine their aid offerings to improve outcomes for all students. This approach ensures that financial aid strategies not only attract students but also support their success throughout their academic journey.

Aligning Financial Aid With Student Success and Institutional Goals

Financial aid optimization is a powerful way to make higher education more accessible while helping institutions achieve their objectives. By combining institutional, federal, and state resources with data-driven optimization tools, colleges and universities can craft aid strategies that address affordability, bolster student retention, and maximize their impact.

Institutions looking to enhance their financial aid and enrollment can benefit from Liaison’s suite of solutions, including Othot. Whether your team is just beginning to explore financial aid leveraging or has years of experience, Liaison’s tools provide the flexibility and insights needed to meet your unique goals. From devising an initial plan to optimizing existing processes, our solutions are designed to assist schools at every stage of their journey. Contact us today to learn more.
Source link
January 16, 2025
Leveraging European Partnerships in Medical Education
By Ivan Dimitrov, Digital Marketing Expert at Medlink Students.

The United Kingdom faces a critical shortage of medical professionals, a problem exacerbated by the limited availability of medical school places.

Each year, thousands of aspiring doctors compete for a finite number of spots, leaving many qualified candidates unable to pursue their dreams of contributing to the healthcare system. This bottleneck not only cuts down individual potential but also intensifies the workforce gap in the UK National Health Service (NHS).

However, there is hope, as innovative solutions are already being tried out. Additionally, new ideas, like partnerships with reputable European universities, present a unique opportunity to address these challenges while opening new pathways for aspiring medical students.

The Problem: Limited Medical Education Opportunities in the UK

UK medical schools are oversubscribed, with only a fraction of applicants securing a place each year. For instance, in 2023, only around 7,000 places were available for about 27,000 applicants, leaving thousands of capable students unable to pursue medical education domestically. Those potential students can afford medical school, but there are no seats available for them in the UK.

This situation places immense pressure on the healthcare system, which is already grappling with severe understaffing and increased demand. Published data suggests there were 125,572 vacancies (9%) in the NHS between March and June 2023. The broader economy also suffers, as estimates suggest poor health outcomes cost the UK between £30.7 billion to £138 billion annually, depending on the research cited.

Meanwhile, the demand for medical education continues to rise, with applications increasing by nearly 30% over the last decade. However, this increase remains insufficient to meet demand, even though the workforce has grown by 18% between 2018 and 2022, largely driven by international medical graduates (IMGs)

Even with the planned expansion of UK medical school places, which is already underway, the demand for healthcare professionals is projected to far surpass supply in the foreseeable future.

The Obvious Long-Term Solution: Expanding UK Medical Schools

The most logical long-term solution is to expand the UK’s medical school capacity. This initiative is already underway in various forms, including the addition of new medical school seats and pilot programmes like doctor-degree apprenticeships. However, scaling up these efforts requires significant time, planning, and financial investment, which comes with uncertainty.

In the meantime, the NHS faces mounting pressures. Currently, over 25,000 doctors registered with the GMC are aged 60 or older and nearing retirement. Without urgent action to fill this gap, the healthcare system will continue to struggle to meet demand.

While long-term plans are vital, they cannot meet the immediate need for doctors. This is where short-term solutions, such as leveraging partnerships with European universities, can play a critical role.

A Policy Proposal: Partnering with European Universities as a Short-Term Solution

To address the urgent need for more doctors, the UK government can explore strategic partnerships with European medical schools. Such partnerships could alleviate the strain on the domestic system while ensuring students receive high-quality, GMC-approved training abroad.

Key components of the proposal:

1. Hand-picked, Accredited Medical Schools
Source link
January 16, 2025
How to Recruit Students Online: 10 Effective Strategies

Reading Time: 13 minutes

Now more than ever, knowing how to recruit students online is essential for success. In 2025, brochures and campus visits alone are no longer enough. A successful student recruitment plan requires a blend of innovative digital tools, personalized engagement, and a deep understanding of student behavior.

At Higher Education Marketing, we’ve spent years refining our approach to online student recruitment, and we’re excited to share ten proven strategies that can take your recruitment efforts from awareness to enrollment this year. Keep reading for a deeper understanding of the enrollment process, actionable tips on recruiting students online, and access to our student recruitment resources.

Struggling with enrollment?

Our expert digital marketing services can help you attract and enroll more students!

Understanding the Enrollment and Decision-Making Process

The journey from awareness to enrollment as illustrated by the enrollment funnel is complex, often involving multiple stages of research, evaluation, and emotional investment. For prospective students and their families, choosing a school is a decision that balances academic aspirations, career goals, financial considerations, and personal preferences.

Understanding this process is essential for creating a recruitment strategy that aligns with their needs and motivations.

Stage 1: Awareness

At the beginning of the journey, students and their families are typically exploring broad options. They may be influenced by online advertisements, social media content, or recommendations. During this phase, your goal as a school is to make a positive first impression and provide easily accessible, engaging content. Students are looking for reasons to consider your institution, such as program variety, campus culture, or career outcomes. For families, financial feasibility and safety often rank high as priorities.

A strong online presence is crucial here, including a well-optimized website with clear messaging, visually appealing social media accounts, and engaging videos that spark curiosity. For instance, showcasing testimonials from students with similar backgrounds or aspirations can help prospective students visualize themselves as part of your community.

Stage 2: Consideration

Once students identify potential schools, they begin in-depth research. At this stage, they often turn to your website, virtual campus tours, and program details, comparing your institution to others. Families may analyze cost, scholarship opportunities, and academic flexibility, while students might focus on extracurricular activities, study-abroad opportunities, and campus life.

To meet these needs, your content should highlight differentiators, such as unique programs, industry partnerships, or alumni success stories. Transparent communication is key—clearly outlining tuition fees, application requirements, and scholarship opportunities builds trust. Including testimonials from alumni and current students in similar fields can help students and families see the real-world value of your programs.

Stage 3: Decision

When students are ready to make their final decision, the process becomes personal. Students and families are likely reaching out for additional information, attending virtual or in-person events, and engaging with admissions counselors. They want answers to specific questions, such as “What internships are available in this program?” or “What percentage of graduates find jobs in their field within six months?”

Personalized follow-ups play a crucial role in this stage. Schools that demonstrate a genuine interest in the student’s goals and address family concerns are more likely to earn their trust. Hosting webinars with faculty and student panels can also provide authentic insights that make prospective students feel more connected to your institution.

Stage 4: Enrollment

After narrowing down their options, students proceed with the application process. For many, this stage can feel overwhelming, particularly if they’re applying to multiple schools or navigating complicated requirements. Families, on the other hand, may focus on evaluating financial aid packages and understanding the return on investment.

Streamlining the application process is critical here. Ensure that your application portal is user-friendly, deadlines are clearly communicated, and the required documents are easy to upload. Offering guidance through a dedicated admissions counselor or chatbot can alleviate stress and improve the overall experience. Schools that simplify this process often see higher application completion rates.

After submitting applications, the waiting period begins. At this stage, communication should remain active. Personalized acceptance letters, invitations to exclusive admitted-student events, or detailed guides on the next steps can keep students and their families engaged while reinforcing their decision to enroll.

Source: HEM

Need support in your school’s online student recruitment efforts? Reach out to learn more about our services!

How to Recruit Students Online

Want to explore how to recruit students online in more detail? The answer lies in combining data-driven insights, engaging content, and personalized communication to guide students through their enrollment journey as discussed above. From leveraging SEO and social media ads to creating interactive virtual tours and using chatbots for instant support, online student recruitment requires a multi-faceted approach that captures attention, builds trust, and inspires action. In the sections that follow, we’ll discuss ten proven strategies that can help you move prospective students seamlessly from awareness to enrollment. Let’s get started!

1. Start With Data-Driven Audience Insights

The foundation of any successful recruitment strategy is understanding your target audience. Relying on broad demographics is no longer enough. Why is that? Today’s students expect hyper-personalized messaging at each level of the enrollment funnel.

Tools like Google Analytics, CRM systems, and social media insights provide invaluable data on prospective students’ preferences, online behavior, and decision-making patterns. The information you glean from your detailed demographic research will help you make informed campaign decisions.

Behavioral information such as the length of each session, the devices used, bounce rates, and session attribution provides insight into how people are engaging with your site, when and why they may lose interest, and whether your site is optimized for desired actions such as filling out contact forms or subscribing to newsletters. If you’re looking to revamp your school’s online recruitment efforts, the use of data analytics tools is an excellent way to start planning.

2. Invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Visibility is key in the awareness phase, and SEO ensures your school appears where prospective students are searching. Optimizing your website and blog content for high-ranking keywords can drive organic traffic from search engines. Long-tail keywords tend to be the most effective.

Long-tail keywords are highly specific search terms that prospective students use when looking for educational opportunities. These phrases, such as “best online MBA programs for working professionals” or “affordable graphic design diploma in Vancouver,” often reflect a searcher’s intent more clearly than generic keywords.

For schools, targeting long-tail keywords can drive qualified traffic to your website by connecting with students who are already in the decision-making phase. Unlike broader keywords, long-tail terms face less competition, making ranking higher in search engine results easier.

To effectively use long-tail keywords, start with thorough keyword research. Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or AnswerThePublic can uncover phrases students frequently search for. Analyze internal data, such as search terms used on your site, or interview current students to understand how they found your programs.

Pay close attention to questions students ask during open houses or information sessions—these often provide insight into potential long-tail keywords. Incorporating these terms naturally into blog posts, program pages, and FAQs can help your school align with the needs of prospective students, driving meaningful engagement and boosting enrollment. Additionally, focusing on local SEO—like “business schools in New York”—can capture the attention of students looking for programs within a specific region.

Source: Google | Matthew’s Hall

Example: If you want to maximize the effects of local SEO, you need a Google My Business account like the one pictured above. Prospects looking for schools in a particular geographic location are more likely to come across your school’s profile which reveals all the information they need to get in contact with you and even visit you in person. A Google My Business account also provides an official first impression of your school

3. Leverage Social Media Ads with Predictive Targeting

How does predictive targeting work on social media? By leveraging advanced algorithms, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok analyze user behavior and identify prospective students who are most likely to engage with your content or apply to your programs.

This approach not only increases the precision of your campaigns but also optimizes your marketing budget by focusing on high-intent audiences. Schools can use predictive targeting to showcase program-specific ads to users who have expressed interest in similar fields, ensuring a personalized and relevant experience.

For instance, promoting STEM programs to students who frequently engage with tech or science content creates a stronger connection and improves conversion rates. Predictive targeting helps schools reach the right students at the right time, making it a highly effective strategy for boosting enrollment outcomes.

4. Develop Interactive Virtual Campus Tours

While in-person visits are valuable, virtual campus tours have become indispensable for reaching international and out-of-state students. These tours should be interactive, incorporating 360-degree views of classrooms, dorms, and recreational facilities.

You can go a step further by integrating live Q&A sessions with student ambassadors or faculty during the tours. This provides a personalized touch and provides the opportunity to share valuable information and address concerns or barriers to enrollment.

Source: University of Toronto | Virtual Campus Tours

Example: The University of Toronto provides detailed, user-friendly virtual tours complete with a menu, high-quality 360-degree imagery, clear audio guidance, and valuable information about student life and available on-campus learning resources.

5. Create Engaging Video Content Across Platforms

Video content continues to dominate online engagement. For this reason, schools that prioritize video marketing see higher application rates, as videos create emotional connections with prospective students. From testimonials and alumni success stories to faculty introductions and campus events, video content humanizes your institution.

Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn offer dynamic opportunities for schools to showcase their programs, campus life, and success stories in ways that resonate deeply with their audience. Videos can humanize your institution, create a sense of community, and provide visual storytelling that goes beyond text and images.

To start, consider the wide variety of video formats available and how each can serve a specific purpose. Short, attention-grabbing reels or TikTok videos are perfect for introducing prospective students to your campus culture or highlighting unique aspects of a program. For example, a day-in-the-life video of a current student studying abroad, participating in research, or preparing for a career in their field can inspire viewers to imagine themselves in similar roles.

Longer-form content, such as YouTube campus tours, faculty interviews, or alumni success stories, allows you to dive deeper into the value of your school and its offerings. Interactive live video events are a powerful tool for real-time engagement. Hosting live Q&A sessions with admissions counselors, students, or alumni provides an authentic look at your institution and builds trust with prospective students.

Leverage platform-specific trends like TikTok’s creative, relatable content to showcase your programs and connect with current student interests. Participating in viral challenges or trending audio can make your school approachable and relevant.

Optimize video formats for each platform—vertical for Instagram Reels and TikTok, horizontal for YouTube and Facebook—and include captions for accessibility. Focus on storytelling by highlighting the journeys of students, faculty expertise, and alumni success to create compelling, relatable content.

Source: TikTok | University of Manchester

Example: Here, the University of Manchester shares authentic, student-generated content that viewers will be able to relate to. This tends to be the most effective video format for fostering community among your student body and deepening your relationships with new leads.

6. Use Chatbots for Instant Engagement

Students today expect instant answers, and chatbots provide a seamless way to meet that demand. AI-powered chatbots can handle common inquiries about admissions deadlines, program details, and financial aid, freeing up your staff for more personalized interactions.

Source: Excel Career College

Example: Here, Excel Career College provides an instant chatbot option for site visitors. The tool asks questions to categorize each interaction, determining what information and resources to share with the user. Chatbots help streamline the enrollment process, particularly at the awareness stage, by providing a convenient way for important questions to be answered.

7. Build a Strong Presence on Review Platforms

Prospective students and their families often rely on online reviews to make decisions. Platforms like Google Reviews and specialized education sites are vital in this regard. Proactively managing your online reputation by encouraging current students and alumni to leave positive reviews can enhance trust and credibility. How can you build a strong public reputation?

To start, addressing negative reviews or complaints with empathy and transparency can significantly improve public perception. Schools should respond promptly to concerns, offering solutions where possible and demonstrating a genuine commitment to student and family satisfaction. A well-handled negative review can turn into an opportunity to show your institution’s dedication to improvement and care.

In addition, fostering community connections can garner a positive reputation and good reviews across various platforms. Parents and local communities play a crucial role in shaping your reputation. Hosting events such as open houses, community service projects, or alumni panels fosters goodwill and positions your school as an integral part of the community. Engaging with parents through newsletters, personalized communication, and parent-specific resources further strengthens relationships and encourages positive word-of-mouth.

Positive reviews can also be amplified by showcasing testimonials and case studies from current students and alumni. Create detailed profiles of students who have achieved their goals through your programs and share their stories on your website, social media, and promotional materials.

8. Offer Personalized Email Campaigns

Email remains one of the most effective tools for nurturing leads and guiding them through the enrollment funnel. Unlike many other channels, email provides a direct line of communication that allows your school to build meaningful connections with your audience over time.

By crafting personalized email campaigns tailored to the unique needs and interests of prospective students, schools can significantly enhance engagement and conversion rates. For instance, including program-specific content that highlights key features, career outcomes, and testimonials from current students or alumni can help prospects visualize themselves succeeding in that program.

Additionally, timely reminders about critical application deadlines, scholarship opportunities, or upcoming events like open houses or webinars create a sense of urgency and keep prospective students actively engaged with the admissions process. When done effectively, personalized email campaigns foster trust and rapport while providing valuable, actionable information that empowers prospective students to make informed decisions about their educational journey.

9. Host Webinars on Trending Topics

Webinars are a fantastic way to showcase your expertise and connect directly with prospective students. Hosting sessions on trending topics like “Careers in Artificial Intelligence” or “How to Finance Your College Education” can position your school as a thought leader in the field. During these sessions, including live interactions with faculty, alumni, or current students makes the experience even more compelling.

Source: The Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences

Example: The Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences puts itself at the forefront of pharmaceutical education on a variety of topics that appeal to career-seekers in the field by hosting several educational events each month. Their upcoming workshops and webinars are easy to find on their website. Users can also access recorded webinars.

10. Emphasize Alumni and Career Outcomes

Finally, showcasing the success of your alumni is one of the most compelling ways to attract prospective students. Highlighting career outcomes, such as high employment rates or notable employers, demonstrates the tangible value of your programs.

Showcasing alumni success is one of the most impactful ways to attract prospective students and their families. When students see tangible evidence of career achievements—whether it’s high-profile employers, entrepreneurial ventures, or significant industry contributions—they are more likely to perceive your programs as a pathway to their own aspirations.

Alumni stories provide real-world validation of your school’s value and help prospective students envision their future success. Leverage alumni by creating a dynamic “Alumni Success Wall” on your website or use social media campaigns that highlight diverse career paths. Include those in traditional corporate roles as well as entrepreneurs, creatives, and community leaders to represent a broad spectrum of success. Video testimonials can be particularly powerful, capturing the emotions, challenges, and triumphs of alumni journeys.

Schools can also build relationships between alumni and prospective students through mentorship programs, webinars, or networking events. For instance, hosting a virtual panel featuring alumni working in fields related to your school’s programs provides insights and inspiration for prospective students.

Source: John Cabot University

Example: John Cabot University has an Alumni Ambassadors Program designed to provide mentorship to current students and provide alumni with an interconnected network of fellow graduates and faculty members. Prospects like to know that access to your school’s support and resources doesn’t end at graduation. Like JCU, consider hosting regular events, encourage alumni to share their positive experiences with your institution, and foster mentorship within your culture.

Final Thoughts: Aligning Strategy With Student Expectations

In summary, let’s explore how to write a college recruitment plan that works. Online student recruitment is about building meaningful connections with prospective students. By integrating data-driven insights, focussing on connection and personalization, providing value, and streaming the enrollment process, you can create a cohesive, impactful approach that resonates with students at every stage of their journey, from initial awareness to final enrollment.

At Higher Education Marketing, we specialize in helping schools like yours navigate the complexities of digital recruitment. Let’s work together to create campaigns that inspire, engage, and deliver results!

Struggling with enrollment?

Our expert digital marketing services can help you attract and enroll more students!

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How to recruit students online in more detail?

Answer: The answer lies in combining data-driven insights, engaging content, and personalized communication to guide students through their enrollment journey.

Question: How to write a college recruitment plan that works?

Answer: Online student recruitment is about building meaningful connections with prospective students. By integrating data-driven insights, focussing on connection and personalization, providing value, and streaming the enrollment process, you can create a cohesive, impactful approach that resonates with students at every stage of their journey, from initial awareness to final enrollment.

Source link

January 15, 2025
A matter of time: why our universities can’t crack the part-time postgrad code
A preliminary analysis of UK university websites finds gaps in the practical information on how postgraduate part-time study actually works, combined with inconsistent acknowledgement of the challenges faced by these learners. Ewan Fairweather, Postgraduate Student Recruitment Manager at The University of Edinburgh asks: ‘Should we really be surprised that many universities find it challenging to recruit part-time postgraduate students?’

‘New Year, New You’. It’s January, the month when ambitions and aspirations take shape. Right now, those of us working in university marketing and recruitment are capitalising on this self-improvement trend, targeting potential postgraduate learners and helping them navigate the labyrinth of course choice, affordability and time commitments.

With more than 13,000 part-time Master’s options listed on Findamasters.com, learners are spoiled for choice; there’s a strong chance they’ll find something relevant out there. But can they afford postgraduate study? And crucially, can they find the time to do it?

Busy lives

For those fortunate enough to be able to fund a part-time Master’s, it will require the considerable investment of another increasingly scarce commodity: time. And this is particularly the case among the largest segment of potential domestic postgraduate students, those aged 30+. This mature audience of prospective learners inevitably carries more personal and professional baggage – careers, relationships, families, caring responsibilities, community and volunteering roles, mortgages and loans.

That is why they are more likely to be considering part-time postgraduate study and so need to work out in very practical terms how to balance learning and living; to picture precisely what it will actually mean.

Drilling down into the detail

I know that universities do so much behind the scenes to address the needs of all types of learners, but sadly this does not come across in the following statements, the likes of which I frequently encountered when searching for part-time postgraduate course details online:
- As the School timetable changes from year to year and is not finalised until August, we are unable to confirm this information in advance.
- Part-time students are strongly advised to wait until the timetable is available before finalising their other commitments.
- Classes can be timetabled Monday-Friday between 9am-6pm. We cannot give timetables in advance of enrolment unfortunately.
With such logistical and chronological vagueness, is it realistic to expect busy people to make life-changing decisions? Certainly timetabling is complicated but we need a clearer answer to the question, ‘So I can plan my life, can you give me an idea of what my timetable will look like?’

Postgraduate part-time learning may not generate the short-term financial boost that the sector needs right now, but we have to plan for today and tomorrow, especially if there is, ‘a need for more people with postgraduate skills in the workforce’. And if the largest segment of domestic students is older, we can assume that many will be looking at part-time in all its glorious forms (online, blended, block, burst, evenings, distance) as their preferred study mode. We have to up our game; timetabling challenges may pose us major headaches, but for prospective students, they are less relevant.

What I did

With a view to improving the information and guidance online for prospective part-time postgraduate students considering the University of Edinburgh, I carried out some exploratory analysis. I sought to understand how UK universities articulated the benefits and practicalities of part-time postgraduate study during the traditional core search period of early January. Typing ‘part time masters’ followed by the institution name into Google, I clicked on the most appropriate results, then evaluated these pages according to two categories:
1. Coverage: Whether part-time study was included, or contextualised, on the page and the extent to which this was done with empathy and understanding.
2. Specifics: The level of deeper detail provided (the ‘how, where, who and when’ of part-time delivery).
Pockets of best practice

I gathered the information to improve the content on my own institution’s website with a focus on these busy learners who are looking to successfully juggle high-level study with busy lives. It’s clear that collectively we must do better to address their requirements but there are nonetheless pockets of best practice I believe we can learn from:
- Leeds: offers a blueprint for the provision of specific timetable information for each part-time course. It may not look beautiful but when you eventually get there, you find the details you need, combined with a helpful disclaimer
- Bedfordshire: From a dedicated part-time page, you navigate to a list of what’s available part-time. From here, you find a course schedule and timetable of exactly when and where the units take place presented in a user-friendly format.
- Birkbeck, RVC and Brighton provide extensive details of when and where teaching takes place so you can better manage your time.
- Birmingham City University, scores strong on empathy, thinking deeply about the profile and specific needs of their prospective part-time learners
- The Open University lives and breathes part-time. The ‘how’ section is fabulous, but I was expecting more on the ‘when and how do I study/attend classes?’
- Some institutions promise innovative delivery models designed to support part-time learners’ needs, including De Montfort (‘Block Teaching’) and the RCA (‘Burst Mode’)
- Kent is launching a new curriculum and a progressive approach to timetabling this year, designed to help busy people manage their lives better.
Universities with high or medium part-time learning coverage and/or specifics on their website

My recommendations

In concluding, here are some (relatively) easy-to-implement recommendations that will give postgraduate part-time students a clearer idea of the time they need to commit to their studies:
1. Publish sample timetables: definitive times and locations may not be possible, but is there a way of providing a sample timetable or sharing last year’s timetables?
2. Consolidate information on part-time study: consider bringing together all information on part-time learning into an easily findable resource or section
3. Provide bespoke part-time course structure details: interrogate the curriculum from a part-time learner’s perspective, then re-write and update
4. Show that we care: acknowledge that part-time learners have specific needs. Ideally, do this in a warm and welcoming tone.
It is complicated, but let’s aim to do part-time better – we owe it to our learners!
Source link
January 15, 2025