The international admissions season is not a short period of the year but a twelve-month cycle in which each quarter has a different focus and type of work.
A common mistake is pouring all effort into the application-receiving phase and leaving the other three quarters empty. The result is an overloaded team in one phase, while the work that determines the next season’s results goes undone.
This guide divides the cycle into four phases, sets out the main work of each, and shows how to allocate resources so the team does not swing between overload and idleness.
General principles before the calendar
The three principles below apply across the whole cycle.
Count backward from the enrolment date. Every deadline should be set by counting backward from the date the learner must be present, not counting forward from today.
Each market may be out of phase. If the school works with multiple markets on different academic calendars, several cycles will overlap. A shared table is needed to see the overlapping points.
This quarter’s work determines the next quarter’s results. This is why no quarter should be left empty, even quarters with no applications to process.
In addition, it must be clear who is responsible for each phase. Many organisations have enough people, yet work still gets missed because responsibility is not assigned by phase.
Phase one: preparation and outreach
This is the phase furthest from the enrolment date, and also the phase that generates most of the results.
Update all information for the new year. Tuition fees, entry requirements, the programme list, the deadlines. This must be done before outreach begins, because wrong information at the start will follow through the whole season.
Update the partner document set and hold a briefing session on what has changed.
Review the content on public channels, removing anything outdated.
Hold introductory activities in the target market, or take part in joint events.
Reach back out to families who showed interest in the previous season but did not decide. This group has a much higher conversion rate than people making first contact.
This last item is usually skipped entirely. The list of people who inquired but held off is an asset most schools have but do not use.
Phase two: advising and receiving applications
This is the busiest phase and also the one most prone to errors due to time pressure.
Ensure response times. This is the factor with the greatest impact on a family’s decision at this stage. A standard must be set and actual performance tracked.
Screen early. Spotting an ineligible application at the first advising session saves a great deal of effort for both sides.
Record every exchange, especially the figures that were quoted.
Track the status of each application, so that none gets forgotten along the way.
Process applications in batches when several share the same source, since this is faster than handling them one by one.
On resourcing, this is the phase that needs more people, and staffing should be prepared in the previous phase rather than rushed once the peak has already hit.
Phase three: assessment and confirmation
This phase has a lower workload but a greater impact on each individual learner.
Return results by the announced deadline. A delay at this stage has a knock-on effect on every subsequent step for the learner.
State clearly the reason for applications that are not accepted, and note the alternative option if one exists.
Support the conditionally-admitted group to complete the remaining conditions. This is the group most likely to be lost if not followed up closely.
Track the enrolment confirmation rate. If the rate is unusually low, the cause should be investigated during the season itself rather than left for the year-end review.
Prepare materials for the confirmed group, covering procedures, accommodation, and what needs to be done before departure.
The conditionally-admitted group deserves the most attention. They have passed the assessment stage but are not yet certain, and the level of support at this stage largely determines whether they actually enrol.
Phase four: welcoming and review
The final phase serves the current season while also preparing for the next.
Support the early period after enrolment. The first few weeks largely determine how well the learner is able to adapt.
Survey the new learners. Ask where they got their information, which information was accurate, and which differed from reality. This is the highest-quality data source on the quality of advising.
Compile the season’s overall figures by market, by channel, by partner.
Record the issues that arose and their causes, to adjust for the next season.
Share the results with the partner, including the parts that did not go well.
The review should be completed before phase one of the next season begins, because otherwise the necessary adjustments will not be ready in time.
The international admissions season and how to allocate resources
Staffing needs are uneven across phases, and allocation should reflect that.
Phase one needs experienced people, since the work is mainly reviewing information and liaising with partners.
Phase two needs the most people, and most of the work is answering questions and processing applications. This is the phase suited to adding seasonal staff, provided they have been trained beforehand.
Phase three needs people who know the process thoroughly, since errors here are hard to fix.
Phase four needs people capable of analysis, and not many of them.
For schools working with multiple out-of-phase markets, a combined table is needed to see the overlapping points and plan staffing ahead of time.
Note that seasonal staff are only effective if trained during phase one. Rushing to hire once the peak has already arrived almost always leads to information errors.
Things that are easily overlooked
The four items below do not belong clearly to any one phase, so they usually go undone.
Recheck the information of partner institutions, at least once a year.
Review the content partners are publishing about the school.
Update the frequently asked questions based on what families actually asked during the season.
Handle the data of those who did not enrol, in line with the retention period committed to.
These four items should be assigned to a specific phase in the calendar rather than left on a general to-do list. Otherwise they will keep getting pushed back indefinitely.
When comparing admissions calendars and academic-year structures across systems, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides a general picture for building a comparison table.
Regarding principles for the information provided to learners during the admissions process, the framework from The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a reference worth using.
Summary
The international admissions cycle runs twelve months with four phases of different focus, and pouring all effort into the application-receiving phase leaves the work that determines the next season’s results undone.
The preparation and outreach phase generates most of the results, and reaching back out to families who showed interest but did not decide in the previous season has the highest conversion rate.
The conditionally-admitted group is the most likely to be lost and needs the closest follow-up, since they have passed the assessment stage but are not yet certain.
Next Steps
Build a four-phase table for each market your school works with, marking the points where timing overlaps.
This table usually reveals at once one or two points in the year when the team will be overloaded, which is the basis for staffing ahead of time instead of reacting after the fact.
