Coventry University signs up with Service Centre

16.03.07

Coventry University signs up with Service Centre

Coventry University is the latest institution to outsource the management of its international student enquiries

Andy Nicol, Director of the International Office at Coventry University, comments:

‘Coventry University currently has over 1,500 international students from over 100 different countries. Previously, we handled enquiries in a very enthusiastic way, but unfortunately our approach was not underpinned by sound marketing techniques.

'Firstly, enquiries were answered, but they were not systematically stored for ongoing follow up; and secondly, there was no formal procedure for undertaking systematic campaigns with enquiry groups. Thirdly, and of particular concern, we were undertaking no analysis of our enquiry base so our market planning was not informed by the trends and patterns of this key customer segment.’

Adding value
‘I was keen to work with Hobsons on the Service Centre for a number of reasons,’ continues Andy. ‘The first was to effectively take pressure off my admissions team, who – in addition to answering enquiries – also make offers and decisions on our applications from international and EU students. By freeing them up from the challenge of enquiry volume, I was able to focus the team on delivering sector-leading application response – we make decisions on applications within 3-5 days now.

'The second was to (again) free up more time for “value added” interactions with our customers – we now do more relationship marketing – e-zines, phone calls, and hard copy engagements with students. We are expecting an increase in our conversion rate as a consequence.’

Core competencies
‘Coventry University is delighted to be working in partnership with Hobsons,’ he adds. ‘The Service Centre is helping us deliver a far better service to our students and, by effectively outsourcing enquiry handling, we can focus far more effectively on our core competencies – making offers to qualified candidates and building relationships with them.’

About the Service Centre
The UK Service Centre is modelled on Hobsons' extremely successful Australian equivalent, which was launched in 1999 and now serves 14 of the country’s 37 public universities, with several on a waiting list to join the capped service.

The UK Service Centre went live in October 2006. All enquiries from international students to universities signed up the Service Centre are handled by the Service Centre team. To the enquirers, it appears that they are dealing directly with their chosen university, but all calls and e-mails are re-routed to staff at Hobsons’ London headquarters.

Find out more about the Service Centre.

Further information
To find out more about how the Service Centre can help your institution manage its international enquiries, contact Leyla Gilbey on 020 7958 5030 or Thomas Mason on 020 7958 5093

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