Universities are losing prospective international students before they even apply, with one in three students abandoning an application altogether due to communication issues, according to new research released by Sinorbis and Edified.
The findings form part of Omnichannel Engagement: A New Era of Student Recruitment, drawing on the Sinorbis International Student Survey (SISS) and Edified’s Enquiry Experience Tracker (EET). The message is clear: while institutions continue to invest heavily in marketing and outreach, engagement breakdowns at the enquiry stage are quietly undermining conversion.
Speed is now the baseline
The research highlights a widening “engagement gap” between student expectations and institutional performance.
- 70% of students expect a response within a couple of days
- 66% say response speed genuinely matters when choosing a university
- Yet only about one third report receiving a reply within that timeframe
- 59% disengaged from at least one university because communication felt slow or difficult
In an environment where 94% of students consider five universities or fewer, even minor friction can be decisive .
“Strong institutions are losing momentum simply because their experience is slower or more fragmented compared to the speed and service students are accustomed to in their daily lives,” said Nicolas Chu, CEO and Founder of Sinorbis.
The frustration factor
The breakdown is not only about speed. The research points to structural issues in how enquiries are handled.
According to findings from the SISS and EET:
- 69% of students reported moderate to extreme frustration with university communication
- 83% had to repeat the same information multiple times
- More than two in five received conflicting answers from different channels
- 47% spoke to someone unaware of previous conversations
These findings suggest that fragmentation across channels and systems is eroding trust at critical decision points.
Elissa Newall, Senior Partner at Edified, said the enquiry stage offers students “a glimpse of what it might feel like to be part of an institution’s community”. When that glimpse feels disjointed or transactional, confidence drops.
Messaging matters
Student preferences are also shifting away from traditional email-centric models.
The report finds that 55% of students would be more likely to choose a university if they could communicate via their preferred messaging app, such as WhatsApp or WeChat. Yet many institutions still rely primarily on email, where 66% of students reported frustration.
Edified’s Enquiry Experience Tracker shows that performance varies significantly by channel. In 2025, WhatsApp recorded 100% response coverage, with 78% answered within eight hours, outperforming other channels . However, adding channels without operational readiness has led to inconsistency, unclear ownership and poor follow-up.
Notably, two in five institutions now receive more than 25,000 international enquiries annually, yet only one in four has a dedicated team managing them . Follow-up remains the weakest performing area across channels.
From transactional to relational
The report argues that many universities still treat enquiries as information delivery exercises, rather than moments to build trust. Students, however, value clarity, continuity and proactive communication.
When asked what made communication stand out, students cited:
- Fast response times
- Not having to repeat information
- Consistent answers across channels
- Easy access to someone who could genuinely help
In a market where academic offerings often appear similar, the quality of engagement is becoming a competitive differentiator.
The omnichannel imperative
Sinorbis and Edified argue that incremental fixes are not enough. What is required is an integrated, omnichannel engagement strategy that connects messaging platforms, email, forms, CRM systems and workflows into a single, coherent experience.
Such an approach aims to deliver:
- A seamless student experience across preferred channels
- Greater operational efficiency and scalability for recruitment teams
- Improved visibility, attribution and decision-making through integrated systems
In short, the research reframes recruitment not as a marketing problem, but as an experience management challenge.
As competition intensifies globally and students narrow their shortlists, the margin for error continues to shrink. Universities that fail to close the gap between expectation and delivery risk losing students quietly and without explanation.
The findings serve as a stark reminder: in 2026, it is not only what institutions offer that determines success, but how they respond when a student first reaches out.
The guide can be seen here.
