Most students who contact a university or college have a decent experience. Many have a very good one.
But not everyone does.
As part of Edified’s 2026 Enquiry Experience Tracker, mystery shoppers made more than 700 enquiries to 63 universities across Australia and the UK. The exercise represented six different types of domestic students, including high school students, parents, mature age students and career changers.
Among those 700 conversations were a small number of genuinely poor experiences.
They were not common. In fact, most of the behaviours identified below appeared in only a handful of enquiries. But when they did happen, they mattered. Students described feeling frustrated, ignored and disappointed, with some saying the experience alone would make them less likely to apply.
That makes these behaviours worth paying attention to.
Here are six things institutions should be looking to stamp out.
- Talking in code
Jargon and unexplained acronyms appeared in 32 of the 700 responses.
It might sound like a small thing, but language that makes sense inside an institution can quickly become a barrier for someone encountering it for the first time.
“The response provided a list of what to do next but it had multiple acronyms, so it was difficult to keep up.” – High school student, UK
“At times it felt patronising to be asked ‘are you still confused?’ while she took me through the maths of the course fees, even though she was describing it in a confusing manner.” – Career changer, Australia
“They used the acronym ‘AHPRA’ when stating the requirements. The term was undefined and doesn’t explain anything that was obvious to me.” – University student, Australia
These are not difficult problems to solve. They simply require staff to explain things from the student’s perspective, rather than assuming a level of knowledge that may not exist.
An enquiry is an opportunity to build confidence. It should not leave a prospective student wondering whether they are already expected to understand the institution’s language before they have even applied.
- Answering without actually answering
Sometimes students ask a question and get sent back to the website instead.
That may seem efficient from the institution’s perspective, but it can be frustrating for the person asking the question. After all, they have contacted the institution because they need help.
“I personally dislike when I’m invited to find the answer myself on a website. I would prefer if the person answered as many questions as possible in the first instance.” – Mature age student, Australia
“The response mostly just redirected me to their website. I would not be very likely to reach out to this institution again. I have a very neutral, forgettable impression of this institution.” – High school student, UK
“She merely provided the minimal information to answer the question, and did not offer any information not already found on their website.” – Parent, Australia
“All my questions were vaguely addressed, however I was redirected to the website for most of the response, and not given the actual answers I was seeking.” – High school student, UK
Websites are essential, but they should support a conversation rather than replace one.
Students may already have searched the website and failed to find what they needed. Or they may have found the information but want someone to explain how it applies to their particular circumstances.
Answer the question first. Then use the website to provide more detail.
- Passing the buck
Being redirected is one problem. Being bounced between multiple people or departments is another.
Students do not think in organisational charts. They simply expect the institution to help them find the answer.
“I was left wondering, why have an enquiries team if all they do is signpost enquiries to other parts of the university?” – Parent, UK
“Whatever I ask, they generally direct me to the website or provide separate email addresses for accommodation, career opportunities and other services. They expect me to contact each department separately.” – Parent, UK
“My accomodation question was not answered and I was asked to get in touch with another team.” – High school student, Australia
“The call handler was polite but every question I asked I was referred to another department.” – Parent, UK
Every transfer creates another point at which a prospective student can disengage.
The institution may see a neatly organised referral process. The student experiences being passed around.
Those are two very different things.
- Keeping them hanging
Long hold times are frustrating. Long hold times accompanied by repeated promises that you are ‘next in the queue’ can be worse.
In the research, nine phone calls rang out completely even though callers had repeatedly been told they were next.
“I was ‘first in line’ for most of the call. After just under six minutes, a recorded voice thanked me for waiting and said ‘all our consultants are busy but we will get back to you ASAP’. It then beeped for me to leave my details and just cut off.” – Career changer, UK
“Each time, a pre-recorded voice told me I was next in the queue, but no one picked up.” – Parent, Australia
“Having to wait longer than 15 minutes as third in line perhaps indicates a lack of staff, which in turn indicates a university cutting back on important resources.” – Parent, Australia
“The line rings for up to a minute, then there’s an auto message saying they can’t take my call, with no context given, and then it ends. They lost a prospect.” – Career changer, UK
Students will generally tolerate a wait if they know what to expect.
What causes frustration is the gap between the promise and the experience.
Telling someone they are next in line creates an expectation. If that expectation is repeatedly broken, the problem becomes bigger than the wait itself.
- Going through the motions
Sometimes the problem is not what is said, but how it is said.
Almost 20 responses described interactions that felt rude, dismissive or condescending.
“I heard the staff sigh when we were about to finish the call, which makes me feel she is not very passionate about her job.” – Career changer, Australia
“She sounded impatient and like she was on autopilot. Her tone made me feel like I wanted to hang up.” – Career changer, UK
“It felt as though the university was not interested in appealing to students, and instead was doing the bare minimum in order to get by.” – High school student, Australia
“Didn’t use my name and didn’t feel like I was talking to an actual human. Really lazy and uninformative.” – High school student, UK
Importantly, these students were not necessarily given incorrect information.
The problem was the feeling they were left with.
Instead of feeling like a prospective student whose interest was valued, they felt like an interruption or an inconvenience.
That is harder to fix with another script or process. It comes down to the people representing an institution and whether they have the time, support and motivation to make those interactions count.
- Giving them the silent treatment
The most damaging behaviour on this list is also one of the simplest.
Not responding.
A significant 65 of the 700 enquiries received no response at all.
“After the course adviser missed our first appointment, they emailed to apologise and said an event had run longer than expected. We made another time, but they didn’t call for this appointment either.” – Career changer, Australia
“I don’t feel satisfied at all because my enquiry was never responded to. It feels like they don’t care.” – High school student, UK
“I sent a detailed email with genuine questions about course flexibility, workload, career outcomes and whether the program would realistically fit around parenting responsibilities as a mature age student, but I received no response at all.” – Mature age student, Australia
If a student never hears back, everything else becomes irrelevant.
There is no tone to critique, no jargon to untangle and no website referral to complain about.
There is simply silence.
And in that silence, the student can easily move on to an institution that does respond.
The problem with averages
These moments are the exception, not the rule.
Most of the 700 enquiries in this year’s Enquiry Experience Tracker were handled well, and many were handled exceptionally well.
But mystery shopping exists to uncover the exceptions because students do not experience averages. They experience one interaction, one conversation and one first impression.
Institutions rarely hear about the bad ones.
Most students do not make a complaint. They do not necessarily complete a survey. They simply move on.
That is what makes mystery shopping valuable. It exposes the experiences institutions often never see, showing what actually happens when a prospective student reaches out.
It may not represent the experience an institution intended to deliver.
But it represents an experience a real prospective student had.
The question, then, is not whether these things ever happen.
It is whether the institution knows when they do.
The full picture lands on 1 October
These six behaviours are just one part of this year’s findings.
The 2026 Enquiry Experience Tracker looks across a range of enquiry channels, examines which universities are leading the way in Australia and the UK, compares AI-generated responses with human ones, and identifies the patterns that make students more likely to keep engaging rather than quietly disappear.
You can sign up to have the report delivered to you when it’s out here.
Elissa Newall is a Senior Partner at Edified – consultants dedicated exclusively to the business of education. Elissa can be contacted via email.
