The results of our 2025 Enquiry Experience Tracker are out, and we’re delighted to announce this year’s award winners!

Developed in partnership with UniQuest, the Enquiry Experience Tracker (EET) is a global mystery shopping study that provides an objective assessment of enquiry management at higher education institutions around the world. This year’s research covered 103 institutions across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada and the US.

The EET awards celebrate global good practice and recognise the universities and colleges delivering exceptional enquiry experiences to prospective international students.

This year we presented 7 awards across three categories:

• Best in region recognises institutions with the highest overall scores in each region of the world.
• Best channel experience recognises institutions delivering the best service through key channels and recording the top score among the global sample for the particular channel.
• Student favourite is awarded to the institution with the highest impact score globally. The score is based on mystery shopper feedback regarding overall satisfaction and likelihood to continue engaging with an institution.

Here are this year's winners – those setting the benchmark for what good looks like at the critical first point of contact.

‘Best in ANZ’ and ‘Student Favourite’ – James Cook University, Australia‍

James Cook University (JCU) delivered the strongest experience overall out of the 29 Australian and New Zealand institutions in the 2025 research.

JCU was also the global student favourite. Mystery shoppers reported feeling the most positive after their interactions with JCU, and said they were more likely to continue engaging with the university than with any other institution assessed in 2025.
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Sharni Cantatore, Team Leader, International Enquiries & Conversions at James Cook University, said:

“James Cook University is proud to have been recognised as the ‘Best in ANZ’ and the global ‘Student Favourite’ in this year’s Enquiry Experience Tracker. Over the past three years, our International team has leveraged insights from the Enquiry Tracker (alongside participation in Edified’s Sales Training) to refine our processes in the future student space. We remain committed to delivering an exceptional level of service for prospective international students.”

‘Best in the UK’ and ‘Best WhatsApp Experience’ – University of South Wales, UK

University of South Wales (USW) achieved the highest overall enquiry experience score among the 40 UK institutions included in the 2025 sample.

USW also had the highest score recorded for a WhatsApp enquiry, delivering excellent service to prospects across all aspects of the enquiry experience including responsiveness, communication quality, follow-up and impact.
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Donal O’Connor, Director of Future Students at University of South Wales, said:

“International students are a valued and integral part of our university community and delivering a high quality enquiry service is vital to ensuring a smooth transition to campus life. By participating in the Enquiry Experience Tracker, we are able to see how we compare to other institutions globally. We are delighted that the University of South Wales is named as ‘Best in the UK’ and that it has been recognised for ‘Best WhatsApp Experience’. It’s testament to the hard work of our recruitment, enquiries and admissions and conversion teams over the past year. We are also particularly grateful to colleagues at UniQuest. They are very much an extension to our team and have contributed significantly to this fantastic achievement.”

‘Best in North America’ – Justice Institute of British Columbia, Canada

 
Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) had the highest overall score out of the 34 Canadian and US institutions in the research, emerging as the best in North America.

Rodolfo Torrezan, Manager, International Recruitment and Partnerships at the Justice Institute of British Columbia, said:

“Justice Institute of British Columbia is proud to be recognized as the top institution in North America in the 2025 Enquiry Experience Tracker by Edified. This award reflects our unwavering commitment to delivering an exceptional experience to every prospective student, across every interaction. It is a testament to the dedication of our staff and the values that guide our work—responsiveness, empathy, and excellence in communication. We are honoured to be acknowledged among a diverse group of universities and colleges, and we remain focused on continuously enhancing the journey for all who seek to learn and grow with JIBC.”

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‘Best Live chat Experience’ and ‘Best Phone Experience’ – UTS College, Australia

UTS College won two channel awards for delivering the best experience to mystery shoppers via live chat and phone. This means that UTS College recorded the highest enquiry experience score recorded for both channels globally.
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Choosing where to study is a big decision. When a student contacts a university or college, it’s a key moment to build trust and help move a student closer to their decision. Strong service can be the difference between winning or losing a student.

Congratulations to all our winners for their exceptional performance in the respective categories and their commitment to delivering excellent service to prospective students!

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Get your copy of the 2025 Global Report

The 2025 Enquiry Experience Tracker Global Report offers institutions practical recommendations about steps to take to improve enquiry management and drive conversion at their institution. It also highlights some good practice examples of responses to prospective students from around the world.

Get a copy of the report to see the full results along with global and regional benchmarks.

The 2025 study focused on international students and next year’s research will look at the experiences of domestic students.

Registrations for the 2026 research will open in late October, for higher education providers globally. An earlybird discount is available until 31 December 2025.

Learn more and join the research: edified.com.au/eet

To learn more or get help with optimising the prospective student experience at your institution, reach out at eet@edified.com.au