The old admissions process is breaking!

4 strategic shifts universities can no longer ignore..

International admissions teams are being asked to do the impossible.

Move faster. Reduce risk. Improve conversion. Deliver better student experiences. Strengthen compliance. And somehow manage it all through increasingly stretched teams and fragmented workflows.

At EnrolyCon, Rebecca Lever, Chief Marketing, Communications and Student Recruitment Officer at Cardiff Metropolitan University alongside Ruth Guthoff-Recknagel, Product Director at Enroly, Paul Pearce, Deputy Product Director at Enroly, explored how international admissions has fundamentally changed, and why many traditional workflows are struggling to keep up.

Across the session, four major shifts emerged.

1. Incomplete applications are becoming a major operational drain

One of the biggest challenges discussed was the growing volume of incomplete applications and the manual workload this creates for admissions teams.

As Rebecca explained:

“We are finding lots of applications coming in with incomplete information… when you don't have robust systems, managing that to and fro of requesting and giving information is very, very time consuming.”

The issue is not just frustration. It directly impacts speed, workload and conversion.

“When you've got incomplete applications and systems that aren't great in managing that, it's a very manual process… and it slows things down, and we lose acceptances.”

The panel discussed the growing need for earlier automation, structured application intake and systems that can reduce unnecessary back-and-forth before applications even reach assessors.

What needs to change

Earlier validation, clearer application requirements and more structured workflows that reduce unnecessary chasing before applications reach admissions teams.

2. Admissions speed is now a recruitment strategy

The session repeatedly returned to one clear theme:

Speed matters more than ever.

Students increasingly expect fast, digital-first experiences and universities are now operating in an environment where delays can directly affect applicant confidence and decision-making.

Rebecca highlighted the importance of reducing administrative friction earlier in the process:

“Automatic checks of documents, making sure that things are complete before they go on to the assessor…”

The conversation focused heavily on freeing admissions teams from repetitive manual tasks so they can focus on decision-making, applicant engagement and compliance activity that genuinely requires human judgement.

The shift institutions are making

Reducing manual administration and disconnected communication so admissions teams can move faster and focus time where it has the greatest impact.

3. The “one system fixes everything” approach no longer works

The panel also challenged the idea that a single platform can solve every institutional challenge.

Reflecting on Cardiff Met’s own transformation journey, Rebecca said:

“I don't think you can purchase one product that's going to deliver something that timetabling needs, something that your registry needs, something that admissions need, something that your alumni need.”

Instead, the discussion focused on connected workflows, operational visibility and systems designed around how teams actually work across recruitment, admissions and compliance.

Importantly, the session reinforced that transformation is not only about technology. It is also about people, institutional knowledge and collaboration across teams.

What the future looks like

Connected systems and specialist workflows that work together, rather than trying to force every process into a single platform.

4. AI should remove admin, not remove humans

The conversation then turned to AI and automation.

While the panel agreed AI will increasingly support areas such as document assessment, application triage and earlier risk identification, Rebecca was clear that institutions still need human engagement at the centre of the student experience.

“We want to be using AI to look at those applications… But what I don't think we want to do is have an AI application talking into an AI assessment with no human involvement whatsoever.”

Instead, the role of automation should be reducing administrative burden so teams can spend more time on meaningful conversations and student support.

“We need AI to free up some of that time so we can have those meaningful conversations.”

Where workflows are heading

Using AI to support earlier risk identification and automation, while keeping human conversations and decision-making at the centre of the admissions experience.

The future of admissions is already here

The session reinforced just how significantly international admissions has evolved in recent years.

Institutions are no longer simply processing applications. They are balancing recruitment performance, compliance, conversion, operational risk and student experience simultaneously.

And increasingly, the universities adapting fastest may be the ones redesigning their workflows for that reality first.

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