From Backlog to Breakthrough: How Acumen Helped One UK University Achieve International Recruitment Growth

Acumen, a leading provider of education support services, recently partnered with a London-based University to help them manage a surge in international student applications. The University was facing challenges in meeting UKVI compliance obligations as well as their own strict internal standards.

The scope of the partnership included application assessment, document chase, offer issuance, and credibility interviews. All part of Acumen’s PACE Enrolment Services model. The Acumen team assessed 4,500 applications, issued 3,200 offers, and conducted 1,500 credibility interviews, significantly reducing offer turnaround time for over 85% of applications. This led to significant student recruitment growth for the University by providing an improved service to both agents and prospective students.

Furthermore, 93% of all applications were assessed within 48 hours, with the remaining 7% being incomplete or non-standard cases that took a little longer to assess. Acumen helped the University release the Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) to 70% of applicants who were required to undertake credibility interviews, a significant uplift from previous metrics.

The partnership addressed the University’s significant processing backlog within one week, with a further backlog of 2,000 applications addressed in 2 weeks. All pre-partnership compliance concerns were also addressed, and compliance obligations and metrics were met with ease.

Acumen conducted all video interviews in line with required service level agreement and quality/compliance guidelines, adhering to the University’s strict compliance protocols and obligations. The University was able to demonstrate that the credibility interviews were used to filter out non-legitimate and suspicious applicants, ensuring that UKVI guidelines were not compromised.

Acumen achieved 100% accuracy in the decisions recommended for CAS, ensuring compliance with UKVI guidelines. The in-house quality framework helped maintain the overall project quality at over 98%.

The partnership between Acumen and the University helped their institution overcome challenges and improve its student experience, resulting in increased student recruitment and a positive impact on the University’s reputation.