The power of student recruitment and admissions systems working together
When it comes to student recruitment, communication is key – and not just between humans.
StudyLink Connect Recruitment Partner APIs allow agents to connect their own CRM systems to the StudyLink Connect partner portal, enabling them to share information with institution admissions management systems. With this automation comes increased efficiency that can lead to more complete applications, fewer errors, quicker turnaround times and better outcomes for students.
In October 2021 StudyLink Connect commissioned Edified to investigate the impact StudyLink Connect Recruitment Partner APIs can make on student recruitment.
Breaking down the bottlenecks
The application submission lifecycle can be broken down into five stages:
- Researching and counselling
- Submitting an application
- Managing an application
- Managing a decision
- Managing enrolment
Surveyed recruitment agency representatives said they see the most inefficiency in steps 2-4 of the process. During these stages, agents reported inefficiencies around repeated communication with education providers, manual re-keying of information and logging into and working in multiple systems.
That’s where the automation and centralisation of StudyLink Connect Recruitment Partner APIs comes in.
“Our goal when developing our APIs was to make the whole process as frictionless as possible,” says StudyLink Connect Founder and CEO, Jason Howard. “This report shows just how much more efficient the whole process can be – for agents, education providers and students."
Where StudyLink Connect APIs make a difference
Research shows that implementing StudyLink Connect Recruitment Partner APIs can have a huge impact on how quickly agents can lodge applications. With the APIs, the time taken to process an application drops from an average of 7.22 hours down to 4.34 hours – saving nearly three hours. For full-time agents, that can equate to nearly 170 more application submissions a year.
According to Edified’s findings, StudyLink Connect Recruitment Partner APIs cut the amount of time spent on stages 2-4 of the application process by more than 60%.
They eliminate 15 manual tasks from the application process – dropping the number from 40 to 25. Of those 15, 13 come from the Submit Application, Manage Application and Manage Decision stages of the process. These include no more, or greatly reduced, time spent:
- Tracking down application forms
- Switching and logging in and out of different systems
- Manually monitoring application status
- Updating CRM at various stages
- Responding to education providers and supplying information and documents in different channels and systems
- Sending, receiving and managing payment documentation
APIs create a two-way flow of information between education provider admissions systems and agent CRMs. That means agents only have to enter information into their CRM because it will automatically be shared with the relevant admissions systems through the Studylink Connect Recruitment Partner API. This saves time, reduces errors and results in more complete applications.
Big time savings, big-time benefits
The best thing about StudyLink Connect Recruitment Partner APIs is that they provide benefits for everybody in the application lifecycle – from students to agents and education providers.
With StudyLink Connect Recruitment Partner APIs, students can benefit from improved response times and transparency, which improves their chance of admission to their preferred institution – also lifting conversion rates.
Agents can have more time to spend on marketing to new areas and growing business. The study shows more efficient application submission can also impact the bottom line, with 60% more enrolments post API integration and higher satisfaction from prospective students.
And with a freer flow of information to and from agents, education providers can find the right fit for their programs more easily and quickly through suitable applicants and more complete applications and empower their recruitment partners to work more effectively for them.
“For more than 30 years we’ve worked to connect students, agents and education providers,” Jason Howard says. “These APIs are just the next step in our mission to make it as easy as possible for students to find the right educational opportunities – no matter where they are in the world.”
Ready to see how StudyLink Connect can help you work better with your agent network and streamline your application management? Submit an enquiry for a demo or to learn more about the platform.
