INTERNATIONAL OFFICE
Maximising Affiliate Student Recruitment via the Study Abroad Guide
The purpose of the Study Abroad Guide
The Study Abroad Guide, in print and on-line ( is UCL’s principal marketing tool for helping departments to attract more and better affiliate students.
The International Office collaborates with Publications and Marketing Services to produce the Guide on an annual basis as a service to academic departments.
It was redesigned in 2008 to make it an even more effective recruitment tool and we believe it is the best publication of its type currently produced by any UK university. Affiliate recruitment to UCL increased in 2009. Anecdotal evidence from a variety of sources suggests that this growth has taken place against a background of declining affiliate recruitment by our competitors.
Design features and rationale
The Guide has various features that make it an effective recruitment tool:
•A redesigned ‘front end’ has been slimmed down. There is less - but more compelling - copy coupled with relevant images that support and enhance the messages in the text. This is particularly true in the first two sections ‘Welcome to UCL’ and ‘London Life’
•The unique selling proposition (USP) is based on three factors that, combined, differentiate UCL from competitors:
- Ranked in the top ten universities world-wide
- Multidisciplinary
- London location
•These messages are embedded throughout the front end copy and are combined with information about the international and cosmopolitan nature of UCL and London and highlighting the proximity of continental Europe. This is a conscious effort to attract US study abroad students who are under increasing pressure to undertake study abroad placements in non-traditional (i.e. non-Anglophile) countries.
•Departmental entries have been designed in a format that encourages ‘customer’ focused rather than ‘product’ focused copy. As well as providing factual information, the entries should convey the outcomes and benefits of studying a particular subject at UCL.
•The Guide uses print and electronic media to provide information about course options. A short entry for each course in the print version is supplemented by fuller course descriptions in the web version. No other universities list all course options in their print media equivalent publication. That we do is extremely popular with study abroad advisers at US institutions who work with - and have a significant influence on the choices of - our potential applicants. This makes the Guide a very valuable and user-friendly reference for the advisers.
•Indexing in the Guide (both in the main subject index and in cross-referencing of individual subject entries) has been designed to improve the visibility of some subjects and course unit options previously overlooked.
•Student profiles have been used to reinforce the USP and, by choosing students from a range of countries, this underlines the international experience at UCL.
Use and impact of the Guide
The guide is distributed in hard copy in a mailing to advisers in study abroad offices at all of the US institutions and other organisations we have agreements with. It is also mailed to a variety of Asian institutions in countries where we are developing the affiliate market. These mailings are tailored – for example in Hong Kong it is linked to information about HSBC scholarships that are available for students at Hong Kong universities to pursue affiliate study at selected UK universities including UCL.
The guide is distributed in hard copy to prospective affiliate students at a number of US study abroad fairs that UCL attends each autumn.
Feedback from prospective students and their advisers has been good and the online version of the Guide has attracts 1,500 – 2,000 hits per day at the peak of the annual affiliate recruitment cycle.
The International Office is constantly working to expand and diversify the agreements we have with US institutions and efforts to develop links in Asian markets are starting to bear fruit.
Advice on maximising affiliate recruitment via the Guide
The Guide is an effective and highly visible tool to assist departments in recruiting affiliate students. Given below are some suggestions on making it work to maximum effect for you.
1. Copy
If a student has located and is reading your departmental entry it is safe to assume that he or she is interested in both UCL and in your subject. Other than course descriptions (and the section on Teaching and Assessment), copy should be focused on providing compelling reasons why the student should study the subject at UCL rather than providing factual information about what they can study. Does the department have any particular distinctions; does it have a unique offering or approach to the subject; has it links in London to particular resources or professional bodies from which the students will benefit; has it done particularly well in external assessment or subject league tables? Below are good examples of ‘standfirst’ and ‘Why study X at UCL’ paragraphs:
Economics
UCL Economics achieved top ratings for internationally excellent research in the most recent UK government assessments and holds the maximum scores for quality of teaching. The department encourages students to engage in independent thought and analysis by providing teaching of excellent quality, informed by current research.
Why study Greek and Latin (Classics) at UCL?
The department is located close to some of the finest resources for the study of the classical world in Britain: not only does UCL have an excellent classics library, but the British Museum, the British Library and the Institute of Classical Studies are all only a few minutes’ walk away.
Similarly, in the section on ‘What you will gain from study at UCL’ this should focus on outcomes and benefits to the student. The following is a good example:
European Cultural Studies courses help you strengthen your skills of analysis and critical interpretation, honing your ability to present convincing and well-structured arguments in writing and through oral presentations. Combining comparative and contextual perspectives from a range of national cultures, you will gain an enriched view of Europe’s complex cultural life.
2. Indexing
Consider how your entry is indexed. For example, UCL does not offer business studies but business in the index points to Management Science and Innovation, where business related courses can be taken. Consider if there are terms that you would like your departmental entry to be indexed under.
Remember, because of the structure of their degrees, US students are used to a greater freedom in respect of course and subject choice than their UK counterparts. To accommodate this affiliate students at UCL are only required to take a minimum of 50% of their courses in the admitting department. Cross-referencing to (and from) other related subject areas will not detract from your department. On the contrary, the availability of this choice will make your department more attractive and might persuade a student to study with you rather than in a department at a rival university.
3. Key words
The use of key words improves visibility in internet searches and this is important in driving students to your Study Abroad Guide entry. However, it is also relevant to the search function within the on-line version of the Study Abroad Guide:
This will pick up words used in your course descriptions and other copy. For example, UCL does not offer film studies as an admitting area but a search using this term reveals courses in many departments including Anthropology, SSEES, German, Italian and History.
Consider very carefully the words used in all copy, course titles and course descriptions.
4. Student profiles
Encourage your current students to submit profiles for inclusion in the Study Abroad Guide. A compelling student profile on a subject page can be a powerful aide to recruitment. The following is a good example:
Amanda Hill
Smith College,
USA
“I chose to study at UCL mainly because of the reputation of the Slade School. I also talked with alumni of the programme, who reassured me of its status. My family also played a large part in this decision. My father was from the UK, so I decided to study in the UK to reconnect with that part of my heritage.
I enjoy the independent nature of the programme of study. This programme is unlike any programme I could have enrolled in the states, thus it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would undoubtedly recommend UCL to other students. I would definitely consider coming back to London for graduate study.”
5. Semesterising and assessment
There is a continuing trend in the behaviour of US study abroad students away from year long to semester or termly placements. Offering courses that are available for students who will only be at UCL for the Autumn Term or the Spring/Summer Terms gives your department access to a much wider pool of potential applicants.
In offering this it is important that December leavers are given alternative assessment to replace the exam they would otherwise have sat the following spring. Departments have different approaches to this. Some assess students on coursework or essays; others provide alternative examinations that are taken in the department. There is a great deal of flexibility and departments can employ whatever system works best for them. However, it is important that the assessment method is well advertised to the students and that the assessment takes place before they leave.
6. Departmental websites
Do not waste time and effort repeating information on your own website that is given in the Study Abroad Guide. Instead provide links from your own pages to the on-line Study Abroad Guide. This is kept up to date and has links to the relevant application forms and advice etc. By doing so this reduces the time spent on maintaining your own website.
The departmental pages should be used for content that enhances information in the Study Abroad Guide. For example a more extensive range of affiliate student profiles.
7. Analysis of on-line Study Abroad Guide usage
The International Office can undertake for departments analysis of and provide data on usage of their on-line entry. This can provide valuable data about the relative popularity of courses. This type of information can be used to identify patterns and trends and can be useful, for example, in influencing how courses are titled in subsequent years to improve their attractiveness. This information can also be used to inform the content of the departmental copy by using terms that are popular in course titles to improve the impact and search engine visibility.
8. Affiliate recruitment as a source of future graduate students.
Affiliate students can - and do - return to undertake graduate study at UCL. The International Office mails to all former affiliate students a copy of the UCL Graduate Prospectus. Departments can encourage students, whilst they are here as affiliates, to consider UCL for subsequent graduate study.
Having a graduate event to which affiliates are invited can be effective, especially if current graduate students are involved in promoting the programmes.
David Stevens
UCL International Office
November 2009
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