Known, Not Processed: What Global Data Tells Us About Modern Student Engagement, Segments and the Consumer Expectations Reshaping Higher Education

Thursday, October 22, 2026 2:20 PM to 2:50 PM · 30 min. (Europe/London)
Moore Room
Breakout
Digital, Data and SystemsAcademic Strategy, Positioning and Growth

Information

Students today begin researching institutions months, and often years, before they apply. They move across devices, channels, and decision-makers, yet many universities still struggle to connect those interactions into a meaningful relationship. Drawing on global research and higher education case studies, this session explores what we know about modern student engagement, how key student segments behave differently, and why expectations for personalised experiences are increasingly shaped by consumer brands rather than educational institutions.

The session will examine changing patterns in student discovery, application and retention, including the challenges of enrolment melt, the growing influence of families in decision-making, and the rise of consumer-grade expectations for relevance and service. Through practical examples and sector evidence, attendees will consider how institutions can move beyond transactional communications to create connected, trusted, lifelong relationships with students and alumni.

Key Takeaways

  • Global trends shaping prospective student engagement and retention.
  • Differences in behaviour across domestic, international, postgraduate and alumni audiences.
  • How consumer expectations are redefining the higher education experience.
  • What it means for students to feel "known, not processed" in an increasingly digital environment.

LoupeEd – By FuseIT35FuseIT is a New Zealand-founded software company built on a simple idea: empowering connections, between the systems organisations already run, and between those organisations and the people they serve. One of the ways we do this is by helping organisations turn their CRM from a system of record into a system of intelligence, one where every interaction is informed by what a person has actually done, not a guess at what they might want. That work is delivered through Loupe, our CRM-native customer intelligence platform. Loupe aggregates the scattered signals an organisation collects, website visits, form fills, content engagement, into a single, real-time actionable insights inside the CRM, so teams can see and act on what matters the moment it happens. LoupeED is Loupe built specifically for higher education. It follows the full student journey: from a prospective student's first quiet visit to a scholarships page, through offer and enrolment, into the well-being and progression signals that flag who's at risk of leaving, and on into an alumni relationship that too often falls apart the moment graduation ends. Institutions using LoupeED activate the CRM and website they already run, no new login for staff, no parallel system, and give every student, and the family or advisor alongside them, the sense of being known rather than processed. We're proud to sponsor HE Transformation, and to spend the day talking with the people working hardest on exactly this problem.

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