The school information package for enrolment partners is the set of documents a school gives to the party who advises applicants directly, so they can speak about the school accurately and completely. It is not a marketing package for applicants, but a working tool for consultants.
That difference determines the content: this package must be able to answer difficult questions, exceptions, and even things the school is unable to do.
Why not reuse the material for applicants
Many schools save effort by sending partners the exact brochure meant for applicants. This falls short in three ways.
Material for applicants is written to persuade, highlighting strengths and omitting complex detail. Consultants need exactly the detail that was omitted.
Material for applicants does not cover internal process: where an application goes, how long it takes to process, who to contact for unusual situations.
And material for applicants does not state boundaries. Consultants need to know clearly what they may and may not say, while applicants do not need this.
The eight parts of the package
Part one: introduction to the school. The version for consultants, focused on three genuine points of difference backed by evidence, rather than general praise.
Part two: details of each programme. Year-by-year curriculum content, assessment format, language of instruction at the programme level, internships, and learning outcomes.
Part three: full admission requirements. Includes prerequisite subjects, the language proficiency threshold, and most importantly, the exceptions section: what conditions may be considered, on what basis, and who decides.
Part four: full costs. Tuition with its unit basis, all mandatory fees, an estimate of living costs, and scholarship policy with the selection criteria.
Part five: application processing procedure. Which channel applications go through, who receives them, the committed response time, and the milestones in the process.
Part six: list of what must not be said. Commitments that exceed authority, figures that must not be guessed, and documents that must not be edited independently.
Part seven: a set of hard questions with sample answers. Built from questions consultants have actually been asked and found difficult to answer.
Part eight: points of contact. Who handles academic matters, who handles applications, who handles urgent situations, along with the expected response time.
The most important part is part six
Of the eight parts above, the “what must not be said” section creates the most value, even though it is the shortest and least invested in.
The reason is that the costliest type of error is not too little information, but too much commitment. A consultant who says too little will simply be asked follow-up questions. A consultant who promises something the school cannot decide creates consequences that surface months later and are very hard to undo.
This section should be written as a list of specific sentences, not abstract principles. Instead of writing “do not make commitments beyond your authority,” list out the exact sentences that must not be said.
This list should also be updated from real events: every time a complaint arises from incorrect information, the statement that caused the complaint is added to the list.
What the school information package for enrolment partners should not contain
Some content should not be included in the package sent out, even if a partner asks for it.
Personal data of current students. Even when used as a success story example, written consent is required and it should be anonymized.
Unapproved internal documents. Draft programmes, meeting minutes, unpublished figures. Once these leak out, they are very hard to retract.
Information about the compensation of other partners. This is commercial information, and leaking it damages relationships across the entire network.
Unverified figures. If it has not been cross-checked against a source, do not include it. It is better to leave a blank than to let a consultant use a figure with no basis.
Adjusting by type of partner
Not every partner needs to receive all eight parts at the same level of detail.
New partners, still on a trial basis. Should receive a condensed package: school introduction, one to two flagship programmes, admission requirements, costs, procedure, and the restrictions section. Sending the full programme catalogue from the start often backfires due to information overload.
Partners with a stable, established relationship. Receive all eight parts, plus access to the shared repository to look things up themselves when needed.
Partners specializing in one field. Receive the full package but focused on the relevant group of programmes, rather than spread across everything.
This categorization is not meant to withhold information. It is meant to ensure consultants actually read and grasp the part relevant to their daily work. A package that is too thick will go unread, and the school then loses the most important part along with it.
General principle: send less but ensure it is read, rather than sending everything and having it sit unread in an inbox.
Version control
This package changes more often than material for applicants, because it contains items that fluctuate a lot.
It should be kept in a shared access location rather than sent as an email attachment. A file sent by email will sit on the recipient’s machine and keep being used after it becomes outdated.
Each document records a version number and effective date in the footer. In case of a dispute, this is the basis for determining which version a consultant used.
Every time it is updated, include a summary line of what changed. Without this line, most recipients will not open the new version.
Old versions move into archive rather than being deleted.
Tied to training and monitoring
The package alone does not guarantee that a consultant speaks accurately. It needs to be paired with two things.
The first is training. Sending a document without explaining it means the recipient will skim it and remember only the easiest part to remember, usually the strengths.
The second is periodic review. At least once a year, the school asks partners to resend the documents they are actually using to advise applicants. The gap between the version in use and the standard version is the most important information the school gains.
For content on degree recognition, it is best to link directly to the framework of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) so consultants have an official source.
When cost or outcome figures need to be placed in a regional context, the report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an appropriate reference source.
Summary
The school information package for enrolment partners is a working tool, not marketing material. It must include the difficult parts, the exceptions, and the limitations.
Of the eight parts, the “what must not be said” section prevents the costliest type of risk, and it should be written in specific sentences rather than general principles.
Next Steps
Draft part six first, even before the other seven parts are finished: ten sentences that consultants must not say when introducing your school.
Send that page separately to all existing partners. It is the cheapest part of the whole package to produce and has the fastest effect.
The fastest way to draft it is to sit down with the admissions staff and ask one question: over the past two years, which misunderstandings by applicants have made our department explain things over and over the most. Each such misunderstanding corresponds to a sentence a consultant should not say, or a point the current materials do not state clearly enough.
A list drawn from reality this way is always closer to the mark than one thought up in a meeting room, and it is also more persuasive when presented to partners, since each line is tied to something that actually happened.
