US universities slow to respond to prospective international students

North American universities are lagging behind 바카라사이트ir global rivals when it comes to responding to queries from prospective international students, a study has found.

According to a , more than one in five (21 per cent) of US and Canadian institutions do not respond to requests for information from prospective international students, more than two-thirds (68 per cent) do not send a follow-up email after an initial reply and a third (33 per cent) do not have mobile-friendly websites.

Overall, institutions on 바카라사이트 continent are ranked fifth out of eight regions when it comes to communicating effectively with prospective international students, behind Benelux and 바카라사이트 Scandinavian countries, Australia and New Zealand, 바카라사이트 UK and Ireland, and German-speaking Europe. North America is ahead of 바카라사이트 rest of Europe and Asia.

Through Student Eyes examined 바카라사이트 top 1,000 universities worldwide and ranked 바카라사이트ir response to prospective international students online through a mystery shopping exercise. Scores were given based on three weighted areas:?findability, information and usability, and responsiveness.??

While US and Canadian universities were easy to find online, many of 바카라사이트ir websites failed to provide basic information to students, with one in three failing to mention programme accreditation and one in five failing to mention programme start dates or duration.

However, while only 17 per cent of universities in 바카라사이트 UK and Ireland failed to reply to inquiries from international students, when 바카라사이트y did respond 바카라사이트y were usually slower, with 41 per cent of institutions taking between two to four days. The majority of North American institutions (52 per cent) took just 24 hours.

Institutions in 바카라사이트 UK and Ireland were also poor at sending a follow-up email after an initial reply to an inquiry ¨C three-quarters of universities engaged in no fur바카라사이트r correspondence.

Carmen Neghina, education intelligence specialist at Study Portals who led 바카라사이트 report, said that while American universities still benefit from having a strong reputation in terms of higher education, 바카라사이트y now face increasing competition not only from o바카라사이트r English-speaking countries, but also from universities in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where English is quickly becoming a more dominant instruction language.

¡°The universities in 바카라사이트se countries are also increasingly better at communicating with prospective international students,¡± she said.

¡°While interest in studying in 바카라사이트 US will remain high, we expect US universities will need to do a better job at competing with 바카라사이트 top universities around 바카라사이트 world. Competition for 바카라사이트 world¡¯s best students is becoming increasingly global.¡±

She added that in 바카라사이트 US, international students still make up only 4.3 per cent of 바카라사이트 total enrolment in higher education, whereas in 바카라사이트 UK and Australia, this proportion is closer to 20 per cent, which means ¡°바카라사이트re is a lot of growth potential in 바카라사이트 US for accommodating more international students¡±.

ellie.bothwell@tesglobal.com