August 16, 2022

Stakeholders Predict Future of Student Recruitment Businesses

E Education industry stakeholders claim that the post-Covid, tech-driven operating environment has led to more comprehensive services and real global reach. However, opinions on the potential "over-reliance" on agency models and accepted commission rates vary.

A current set of statistics that the media was able to obtain supports the stakeholder's claims. The data indicate that UK universities are becoming more dependent on foreign education brokers, and stakeholders have responded with varying views on the potential effects this may be having.

…there is an increase of universities effectively outsourcing their recruitment activity, either through the use of in-country representatives, or just outsourcing the whole function…

According to a source from a UK university, the global market is starting to separate into "distinct groups for recruitment," with one expanding group of modern recruiting universities heavily dependent on tuition revenue, which has led to a greatly increased reliance on agents. The source emphasised that because budgets are tight and institutions must cut costs post-pandemic, including the cost of staff, the only way for some to "deliver growth" is to "increase reliance on agents on the ground, and as a result, pay higher commission rates."

The source continued, "Universities are increasingly effectively outsourcing their recruitment efforts, either by using local representatives or by outsourcing the entire function. Since there is less upfront investment but more performance-related compensation in the form of commission, this is frequently more cost-effective.

While agreeing that universities are more dependent on agents, Saurabh Suri, managing director of Hallbridge Education Group and a professional with extensive experience in student recruitment for UK institutions, noted that the change from students applying directly to institutions before to using agents now is not as straightforward.

Does the average commission rate increase? Some believe this to be the case, and one anonymous commenter at a UK university stated that regulation may be required if commission is skewing the agents' advice to students.

According to Ross Shaw at Oxford International Education Group, commission will continue to be a significant negotiating chip for HE institutions when dealing with outside organisations.

Posted in News and tagged News, Student Recruitment, Education Industry Stakeholders, UK Universities, Hallbridge Education Group, UK Institutions, Oxford International Education Group
Bookmark the Permalink