Through extensive research on the challenges faced by universities, it quickly became apparent that to give students the best experience possible we needed to overcome the complexities of the student journey and admission process.

The only way to do this, at scale, was to leverage automation throughout the entire process.

That’s why I used my 20 years of experience in the fintech industry, together with a sizeable personal investment, to build a solution that can help universities and students.

At Studee, the online education agency, we’ve created a service that leverages advanced personalised automation combined with human support to provide a thorough, personalised journey for students that works seamlessly with university admission teams existing systems.

Here’s how our new service is going to help universities and students.

Automated student journey

We recognised that in order to provide the best service, we needed to be able to support students through every step of the admissions and decision process. Not only would this maximise students’ chances of getting admitted, but it helps us provide our partners with admission-ready applications. 

To support tens of thousands of students from over 200 countries with their applications to universities in over 28 countries, we need to be able to guide them through every step of the admissions and decision process.

At the same time, we also need to ensure that we only send our partners admission-ready applications.

To do this we thoroughly mapped all of the possibilities of a student’s journey, which enabled us to break it down into 120 steps. This level of detail (many universities only focus on 6 to 20 steps) means we can fully understand exactly where the student is and who needs to take action. 

Off the back of this, we created more than 100 automated and fully personalised emails, that display specific information for each user – one of which can display information in more than 1 million ways.

Students will receive these emails at key stages of their journey, providing them with updates, reminders, and deadlines so they don’t miss a thing.

“Our student journey adapts to meet the process”

Our student journey adapts to meet the process of any of the universities we work with, so the support the student gets is tailored to the university they’re applying to.

All this is 100% automated, but human support is available at any stage whenever the student needs it, in whatever way they want to communicate with us (WhatsApp, online chat, email, or phone). 

Advanced matching technology

We are continuing to develop our online advisor that will carefully match the student with the right university and program.

It will take into consideration a student’s study aspirations, financial status, academic qualifications, English test score, English test provider, and nationality –  all factors that impact the enrolment of a student at a university.

By understanding key information about the student’s educational aspirations, we can help them find programs that match their needs and aspirations. To do this, we ask them a range of questions about their study aspirations and educational needs.

From there, we can filter from 10,000s programs to find the ones that are perfect for them and direct them to further relevant information, with the option to complete a comprehensive application form.

Admission-ready applications 

We have developed a cutting-edge, tech-assisted assessment process that’s managed by our qualified advisors to ensure accuracy. The process empowers them to conduct a comprehensive 85-point assessment of each student application. 

“Despite being an online education agent, we provide the same level of support as a traditional one”

Our system also allows for verification and stamping of supporting documents, as well as addressing any issues with the student before submitting the application to the university.

This gives students the confidence that they are submitting a complete application that meets the university’s requirements.

What’s more, our application forms reflect the questions and options asked by our university partners. We can therefore collect all the information they need in one hit and submit the application through their system without any integration needed.

Combining tech and human support

All this means that any student with internet access can comfortably manage the entire application process online, including research, submission, and all the way through to enrolment, with Studee. 

Despite being an online education agent, we provide the same level of support as a traditional education agent. Each student is assigned a dedicated advisor who supports them at every stage of the process, based on their individual needs.

We recognise that there will be times when a student wants to speak to a human expert. This is where our advisors come in, many of whom were themselves international students, as well as experts on the admissions process.

Our goal is to strike the right balance between automation and human support. We firmly believe that automation, when done right, actually enhances personalisation, rather than diminishes it.

About the author: This is a sponsored post by Chris Morling. Chris is one of the UK’s leading digital entrepreneurs and has won numerous awards, including an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. He is the Founder and CEO of Studee, the online education agency – helping students maximise their chances of getting admitted to their chosen universities abroad.

Chris previously founded Money.co.uk, which was acquired for £140 million in 2017. Chris has been a director for several innovative digital start-ups and has been dubbed in the global media as “Britain’s Best Boss” for his generosity and philanthropy.