How Automation Can Improve University Admissions and Streamline The Process

Higher Education is an increasingly competitive market. Universities are not just competing with other universities, but also online learning platforms, bootcamps and certificate programmes, corporate training programmes, and apprenticeships.

This environment heightens the importance of efficient lead engagement for universities, as prospective students now weigh numerous alternatives based on value, flexibility, and immediate career impact. To stand out, universities need to communicate their unique offerings, streamline their outreach, and build relationships with potential students in ways that address their evolving needs and expectations.

Universities can leverage automation to enhance student engagement and cut through the noise of competing educational options by providing personalised, timely interactions at scale. These automation tools allow universities to send targeted, relevant content—like programme information, event invitations, application reminders, or financial aid options—based on each prospect’s preferences and stage in the decision process. Automation also enables universities to nurture leads by creating personalised communication flows, so students receive the right information at the right time, keeping them engaged without overwhelming admissions staff.

For those universities that never used this kind of automation before, it can seem quite daunting and overwhelming. Which is exactly why we’ve written this article — to make things clearer and less daunting.

By the end of this blog post, you’ll have a clear understanding of what automation is, how it works, and how it can be used to i create a seamless, engaging experience that helps them stand out in a crowded educational landscape while maintaining a personal touch that resonates with today’s tech-savvy students.

What is admissions automation?

In the simplest terms, admissions automation refers to the use of technology to streamline and enhance various stages of the university admissions process. This technology can handle repetitive tasks, manage communications, and personalise outreach to improve the experience for both prospective students and admissions staff

In marketing automation, this task (or ‘action’) will often be sending an email or message to an applicant or team member, or updating someone's status in the CRM. And the trigger can be anything from a form submission, last login date or event milestone in the admissions process. .

This means the university can create bespoke workflows to create a more responsive, personalised experience that keeps prospective students engaged and interested, ultimately increasing enrollment rates in a competitive market.

Benefits of using automation in the admission process

• Time savings: By automating key tasks, universities can save teams time they could spend doing more important tasks. This means they can focus more on strategic activities like developing new campaigns or improving the recruitment process.
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• Enhanced personalization: By using marketing automation, a university can deliver a personalised experience to prospective students. Not just because it makes it easy to collect and analyse data from different places, but also because the university isn’t not held back by manual processes.

• Streamlined communication: By automating repetitive communication tasks, it becomes much easier and faster to keep in touch with prospects and existing students. For example, a university can automate confirmation emails and reminders to be sent when someone registers for a campus tour or other event.

• Data accuracy and consistency: Because automated workflows don’t rely as heavily on manual tasks, the university prevents human error from affecting the data accuracy. The university can also include validation rules to make sure the data captured is in the right format.

• Improved engagement: Automation makes it possible to maintain consistent engagement from start to finish in the student lifecycle. This means the university can keep students involved and up-to-date, from prospective applicants through to alumni.

Types of admissions automation

When we talk about the different types of automation, the easiest way to look at it is through the lens of the marketing funnel. That way it’s clear exactly where it will fit within the current processes. 

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it should give you a clear idea of what can be achieved by adding some automation to an admissions process.

Top of the funnel

The top of the funnel is where a prospective student is aware of the university (maybe they downloaded a brochure or signed up to a newsletter), but that’s about it. So the primary goal is to climb to the top of their list of potential universities.

Instead of overwhelming them with loads of information all at once, though, the university can use automation to slowly drip-feed them over a long period. That way interest can steadily be built up over time, so they eventually pick the university (hopefully).

Here are some examples of automated emails a university can send prospects at the top of the funnel:

• Brochures or other marketing documents
• Invitation to join an information session
• Alumni testimonials
• Eligibility information
• Guidance on fees and financial aid

As well as sending emails to prospects, the university can also update their status depending on links they click on, invitations they accept, etc.

It’s also possible to have notifications be sent to team members at critical points in the process. For example, if it’s clear they’re still interested (opening emails, clicking links, etc), automation can trigger a notification to prompt a member of the team to give them a call.

These things in isolation might not do too much, but together they can move the prospect from just knowing about the university, to actually starting an application.

Related: 10 Email Marketing Best Practices for Higher Education

Middle of the funnel

The battle isn’t won just because someone starts applying to the university. There’s still a lot of work to do to get them over the finish line.

But that’s OK — automation can play a huge part in this part of the funnel, too.

The middle of the funnel is all about coaxing the applicant through the application process. Again, the key here is to not overwhelm the prospective student. They might have a few applications to complete, and bombarding them early on is a great way to push them towards other universities.

Here are some example of some automated emails that can send during the application process:

• Thank you email for starting application (with link to return to application)
• Application tips
• Invitation to join admissions Q&A
• Deadline reminders
• Guidance on fees and financial aid

Just like at the top of the funnel, their status can automatically change based on where they are in the process, and notify a team member to get in touch at any point during the process. For example, if the university wanted to chase up an application that was nearly completed, then they stopped.

Bottom of the funnel

The bottom of the funnel isn’t about getting people to apply, it’s about making sure as many admitted students make it through the door. The chances are they have a few offers from a few different institutions, so it’s important to do everything possible to make sure they choose the right university, and turn up on day one.

The focus here should be on keeping them engaged so the university is front of mind. Not by selling to them, but by steadily giving them all the information they need about the university.

Here are some examples of things that could be sent throughout this process:

• “You’ve been admitted” email with official offer letter
• A welcome message from a Director
• Information about applying for a VISA
• Life on campus videos and information
• Accommodation information
• Onboarding guide

Make sure to think about the order these emails are sent, and identify sticky areas where it might be beneficial for a member of the team to contact the student to offer assistance. Remember — it’s possible to automate reminders so the team doesn't have to monitor this manually.

Optimising the Admissions Process with Seamless Automation

Once these automations have been implemented throughout the marketing funnel, the university ends up with a much smoother experience both for the prospects and for the team.

The team will be notified when they need to intervene, and don’t need to be constantly keeping an eye on the applicants. But also the prospects themselves get the information they need, when they need it, to help them make this important decision.

Want to know more about admissions automation, and how you can implement it in your marketing funnel? Schedule a free demo to see how Full Fabric can help you.