UK universities are invited to join the British Council USA’s ‘Guiding students through UK undergraduate admissions’ webinar series. A series of four webinars, produced in collaboration with UCAS and the US Department of Education, will provide US college counselors with essential information on guiding their students in applying to an undergraduate course in the UK. 

Participating universities will select which webinar they would like to co-present and will have 10 minutes at the end of the webinar to comment on the webinar topics from their institution’s perspective and highlight their university’s undergraduate courses and resources for counselors and international students. 

Each participating university will also have one bespoke e-flyer exclusively featuring the university which can be used to highlight the university's undergraduate courses, resources for counselors and upcoming US visits that will be distributed to the British Council USA counselor database of 4,255 independent and school counselors.

Please note: a maximum of two universities may participate in each webinar.

Background

Although the UK is experiencing its’ highest volume of undergraduate applications from the US for the 2017-18 application cycle, the US continues to be one of the countries with the lowest conversion rates from applicants to enrolments in UCAS (March Deadline Analysis: deadline Friday 24 March 2017. UCAS Analysis and Research, published on Thursday 6 April 2017 at www.ucas.com). 

By building an increased familiarity with and knowledge of the undergraduate application process among US college counselors and prospective students, the British Council aims to have a positive impact on the application-to-enrolment conversion rate and grow the number of applications to the UK. 

Since US students rank counselor and teacher recommendations among the top factors in their university decision, this webinar series will target US college counselors and independent education consultants (The State of College Admission Report, 2015, https://www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/publications/state-of-college-admission/). The digital format will also allow for a broad geographical reach in a highly dispersed market.

About the webinars 

The British Council USA will produce four webinars between September 2017 and March 2018. The webinars will be produced in collaboration with UCAS and the US Department of Education on the following topics:

  • Wednesday, 20 September- Introduction to applying for an undergraduate course in the UK: UCAS Course Search, UCAS application basics, the 15 October deadline and the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)
  • Wednesday, 18 October- Financing studies abroad: Federal financial aid abroad, scholarships and more [Institutions participating in the ‘Financing studies abroad’ webinar must be eligible to receive US federal financial aid] 
  • Wednesday, 15 November - Unpacking the undergraduate application: personal statement, references, supplemental questions and predicted grades - PLACE AVAILABLE
  • Wednesday, 21 February- Conditional and unconditional offers- what does this mean for your student?

The webinars will target US college counselors and independent education consultants. Webinar dates are tentative and subject to change.

Participation fee

The British Council will charge a £1,200* participation fee per institution for participation in one webinar and one bespoke e-newsletter to the USA counselor database. The fee will cover overall media management and editing, distribution and promotion and a report at the end of the webinar and campaign including the leads from the webinar.

Please note: a maximum of two universities may participate in each webinar.

*Not including VAT

Promotion

The webinar series will be promoted via the British Council USA counselor database, British Council USA website and social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and through professional organisations such as the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

Benefits to UK institutions

  • Participation in a British Council USA webinar with 10 minutes at the end of the webinar to comment on the webinar topics from their institution’s perspective and highlight their institution’s undergraduate courses and resources for counselors and international students
  • University logo placement on webinar slides and British Council USA event page
  • Bespoke university content featured in (1) e-newsletter to USA counselor database of 4,255 independent and school counselors
  • Increased online brand visibility among US college counseling sector
  • Build relationships with college counselors across the US. Participating institutions will receive the leads from the webinar 

Responsibilities of participating universities

Participating UK universities are encouraged to provide the below:

  • Presenter for webinar (speaking  roles will be divided between UCAS or US Department of Education representative, British Council USA and the participating universities)
  • Content for e-newsletter with a focus on university resources for counselors and international students during the application process (e.g. counselor or student listservs, Facebook groups, university-specific information sessions or webinars, upcoming US visits, scholarships for US students, etc.) 

Timeline
Deadline for applications: Ongoing

Cancellation policy:

Cancellation fees will be charged for withdrawal from this event if a quotation document has been signed and submitted.

Registration
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RQXJT52

Registration: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RQXJT52

Please e-mail Jenna Hartsell at Jenna.Hartsell@britishcouncil.org with any questions.