What do education agents really think about the NZ experience

2017 StudyLink Connect agent survey results

With the New Zealand Government recently announcing ambitious plans to grow its international education revenue by 2025, StudyLink Connect wanted to find out whether its university application and admissions were ready to scale.

So we surveyed our network. 92 agents who service the New Zealand market responded – and here are the results.

Demand for NZ studies is on the rise

- 61% of agent respondents have seen a surge in enquiries into studying in New Zealand

- 78% anticipate the number of students applying to increase over the next two years.

The main attractions include:

- Safety - 72.8%

- Quality of education - 67.4%

- Value for money/cost of living - 56.5%

But application efficiency is an issue

Most student applications to New Zealand are still processed by email (75%), with 49% by the institutions application system and 34% by an online application system.

47% said the average turnaround time for applications was between 1 and more than 4 weeks.

Agents told us their biggest frustrations for NZ applications include:

- Application turnaround time - 42.4%

- Inability to check the status of applications - 27.2%

- Amount of data entry – 19.6%

- Poor communication - 16.3%

- Varying application forms – 12%

The solution is simple

These agents all use StudyLink Connect to submit applications to other institutions around the world – and more than two-thirds said it would improve turnaround time if used by NZ education providers.

Top three benefits of using StudyLink Connect

According to agents:

- Easier application submission – 73%

- All information in one place – 67%

- Can easily upload all student documents – 53%

“It’s easy to submit the application in one portal, rather than submitting it individually at different university websites.” Agent respondent

Agent profile

Agents are an important channel for international student applications around the world. On average, the agents who responded service over 50 institutions around the world – but an average of just 4 in New Zealand. The majority process less than 100 applications per year for NZ institutions – mostly for universities or polytechnics.