Universities halve negative student enquiry experiences in four years

Results from our annual mystery shopping study – The Enquiry Experience Tracker (EET) –  shows prospective international students are now getting dramatically better service, with negative encounters falling from 33% to just 18% since 2022.

The 2025 research, that included 103 universities and colleges from around the world, shows the share of institutions delivering excellent responses to international student enquiries has risen from one-third to 58%, reflecting how intense global competition is driving universities to sharpen their interactions with prospects.

The annual study, developed in partnership with UniQuest, sees real student mystery shoppers enquiring to and assessing institutions worldwide on criteria like responsiveness, relevance, and personalisation.

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Key findings

This year, the global average score across all institutions was 61 out of 100, reflecting a 10% improvement on 2024 results and a four-year high. Australian and New Zealand institutions averaged the best enquiry experience ratings, with 86% now above the global average. Within North America and the UK, Alberta and Wales emerged as the highest performing regions.

Australian providers stood out as the most proactive globally. Four in 5 Australian institutions included bonus information in enquiry responses and 90% guided students to a clear next step.

James Cook University (JCU) from Australia is this year’s top performer and is recognised as the 2025 global student favourite. Over the past three years, JCU has systematically used insights from EET to build a high-performing team and deliver high levels of student satisfaction – a significant competitive advantage for a smaller, regional university.

For the first time in 2025, the study evaluated WhatsApp as an enquiry channel along with channels assessed in previous years – email, enquiry form, phone, live chat and peer-to-peer tools. Around a third of institutions in the global sample utilise WhatsApp for student enquiries, with adoption highest in the UK where half made use of the mobile messaging platform.

Mystery shoppers rated WhatsApp as the most reliable and satisfying channel, with 80% of enquiries answered within two hours. Two in 3 students said they’d be very likely to continue engaging with the institution after their experience on WhatsApp – almost double the rate of those who enquired by email.

Overall response rates and speed increased this year. 86% of mystery shoppers received answers to their enquiries this year compared with only 79% in 2022. While important, responsiveness isn't the driver of satisfaction. Warm and tailored responses were the most effective, with students rating their likelihood to continue engaging 7X higher than those who received quick, impersonal responses.
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Elissa Newall, Senior Partner at Edified and EET Project Director, said:

Jennifer Parsons, Chief Market and Partnerships Officer at UniQuest, said:

Sharni Cantatore, Team Leader, International Enquiries & Conversions at James Cook University, said:

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Get a copy of the 2025 global report

Download the report, using the form below, to see the full results along with global and regional benchmarks. The report includes analysis of responsiveness, enquiry channels, communication quality, follow-up practices and impact.

While the 2025 study focused on international students, next year’s research will shift to domestic students – helping institutions understand how well they respond to enquiries from domestic prospects and how that compares to service levels for international students.

Registrations for the 2026 Enquiry Experience Tracker will open in 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.

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