What our brand refresh is really all about
Our brand refresh is more than an evolution of our name, more than a refreshed website, and more than a revised visual identity.
NCUK University Pathways reflects the centrality of pathways in today’s global international student recruitment sector, and it recognises the fundamental role of our partnerships with universities worldwide – a network of 60 top ranked institutions, including nine universities in the QS World Top 100 and 19 in the QS World Top 200, across multiple study destinations.
As we work towards our ambition to grow our presence from having partners deliver our programmes in 40 sources countries to 50 in the next five years – increasing the options that we offer to NCUK students – our brand refresh also includes the launch of new services for our university partners, so we can succeed together amidst the changing global higher education landscape.
Meeting our students and universities’ evolving needs and expectations
Unlike other pathway organisations, NCUK was originally formed by a group of UK universities to enable access for international students to a university education. This shapes everything we do, always ensuring that we provide plenty of flexible options to our students and that we respond to their evolving motivations and expectations, as well as the needs of our partner universities. Throughout our history, we have remained loyal to our mission by helping over 50,000 students progress to our partner universities.
As universities across the world focus on their diversification strategies, partnering with pathway providers allows them to reach students in multiple regions whilst limiting the risk of operating in a new market, benefiting from the pathway provider’s in-country knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, this also opens up opportunities for universities to deliver innovative transnational education (TNE) initiatives by partnering with in-country pathway programmes in all their variants.
I reflected on this earlier this year when we published our The Power and Impact of Pathways report, co-authored with Nous Group and in partnership with The IC Global. The report shows the critical role that pathway programmes play by providing choice and opportunity to international students, supporting diversification, cultural enhancement and driving economic growth.
NCUK new services: NCUK+ and University Global Staffing Solutions
At NCUK, we are keen to help universities in their diversification, international student recruitment and TNE strategies, whilst we continue to diversify and innovate within our offer. This is why, as part of our brand refresh, we are also announcing two new services – NCUK+ and University Global Staffing Solutions – designed to provide strategic marketing reach and dedicated in-country staffing solutions so our partners can build stronger international connections and enhance their student recruitment strategies.
NCUK+ is a strategic, multi-channel marketing service to connect universities with a targeted pool of pre-qualified international students and influential counsellors. We will only be offering this service to 10 universities for this cycle, with the intention of rolling it out to the wider NCUK network in the following years.
Our new University Global Staffing Solutions service is designed to support universities (NCUK partners and any other) to establish in-country staff within key strategic markets, providing locally based teams to support recruitment, admissions, conversion, enrolment, and even teaching. At NCUK, we offer a tailored approach to recruit international students, academic faculty and more, based on the needs of each institution.
Transforming student futures, together
We are committed to improving our understanding of international students’ needs and expectations, and that is why we have just shared with the sector our Transforming Student Futures report, supported by IDP Education. The findings of the report show how the majority of international students chose a pathway route to access high-ranked universities and improve their career prospects. Pathway programmes prepare international students to excel and thrive in whatever university they choose, providing them with the relevant academic, language and cultural skills.
At NCUK, we put students at the heart of what we do, and we are proud to say that 89% of NCUK students go on to achieve a 2:1 or higher at university and that 80% are in graduate employment within six months of graduating. This message around quality and outcomes is backed up in our insights report, where 89% of NCUK students expressed confidence in the NCUK pathway and its ability to enhance their career prospects.
I am proud of everyone across the NCUK global network; more than 110 Study Centres – international schools, colleges and universities that teach our programmes across the world – and our 60+ partner universities that continue to make possible the dreams and expectations of thousands of international students every year.
These are students who decide to study an NCUK pathway programme and who go on to succeed in their higher education journey and beyond. As a leading global pathway provider, NCUK transforms student futures, and our brand refresh reflects that.
About the author: Stuart Smith, BA Hons, MA joined NCUK in 2021 as chief executive, and leads the company during a time of evolution and change within the higher education sector. Prior to joining NCUK, Stuart held roles such as director of international, head of international and head of student recruitment at UK universities and for private education providers, bringing a wealth of commercial and international experience from within the higher education sector. Stuart and the teams he has managed have been nominated for multiple awards, including the Times Higher Education awards and winning a PIEoneer Award.
