Testimonials
i-graduate has received much positive feedback throughout the education sector. We don't believe in selective recommendations - we're happy for you to check with any of the universities or colleges we work with.
“We have been searching for a way to ensure an effective dialogue and to reduce survey fatigue and i-graduate was the obvious choice. The integrated approach we have developed together with i-graduate means we will be able to create an even better student experience for all of our students.”
- Keith Zimmerman
Director of Student Administration and Services, University of Oxford
"The ISB allows for two-way communication: By asking our international students to be frank and tell us what they expect from their German host university we can take appropriate action and thus engage the students in the ongoing process of improving the institution. We know that it is essential to listen to students in order to establish a fruitful relationship with them. The ISB has enabled us to listen closely.".
- Dr. Irene Jansen, Director, GATE-Germany
"With the International Student Barometer we got an excellent and easy-to-handle evaluation tool for our international student services. We will build this tool into our overall quality management system. Particularly useful is the fact that the ISB allows us to benchmark our own services against those of other German and international universities."
- Dr. Herbert Grieshop, Geschäftsführer, Managing Director,
Center for International Cooperation, Freie Universität Berlin
"We've worked now for several years with i-graduate, and have been impressed by their professionalism and attention to detail. It's been a very positive experience for us, and we have found the i-graduate team to be unfailingly supportive and helpful".
- Dr John Withrington, Dean of International Development, University of Exeter
"The HE sector has badly needed an organisation like i-graduate for a long time and its studies over the past two years have provided a huge number of strategically valuable insights."
- Professor Colin Gilligan, Emeritus Professor, Sheffield Hallam University
and Visiting Professor of Marketing, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University
"The process was quick and clean with no paperwork or heavy human resource needs.
- The data was extremely well presented illustrating various data presentation methods
- All faculties received feedback on how well they are doing but also where they can improve
- The service providers realised that they are as integral a part of the life of the student as the academic departments
- Positive reinforcement occurred for staff when they heard they were doing well.
- Staff realised that they had major gaps in their understanding of internationalisation - towards the international students as well as the local students
- Staff only now realise that the curriculum should be internationally comparable in terms of quality and content
- Such a survey gives staff a barometer of how they should plan their curricula to suit a global perspective"
- Merle Hodges, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
"An excellent idea. Institutions need a mechanism which allows them to identify key factors that are critically important to international students - and to act on them"
- Dominic Scott, Chief Executive, UKCISA
"I thought it was well worth the investment. The survey was focused, professionally managed and the feedback was well presented and extremely valuable for planning, quality assurance and marketing purposes".
- Sandy Stevenson, Rhodes University
"Institutions looking to enhance international student recruitment initiatives, increase admission yields, and improve retention will find iGraduate’s International Student Barometer (ISB) to be an invaluable resource. The content of the survey covers the breadth of the international student experience, providing candid feedback about what matters most to students in terms of their overall satisfaction. Equipped with the data and cutting-edge analytical tools required for careful in-depth analysis, the iGraduate provides key decision makers with everything necessary to make important strategic decisions concerning the allocation of resources necessary for driving positive change."
- Dr. Christopher J. Viers, Associate Vice President for International Services, Indiana University
and President and Chair of the Board of NAFSA: Association of International Educators
“The International Student Barometer is an indispensible tool in higher education marketing. ISB gave us insights into areas that needed improvement. We could take direct and targeted action and, as a result, are now getting better customer satisfaction scores.”
- Jeroen Jonkman, Marketing Adviser, Erasmus University Rotterdam
"It was a positive joy working with i-graduate on various aspects of the administration and execution of the (Higher Education Careers Barometer) survey and I am deeply impressed by the humane and sensitive handling of all our enquiries. Top job."
- Chris Connelley, Head, Staff Development Unit, The London School of Economics and Political Science
"The best report- back presentation of its kind"
- Academic Registrar, London School of Economics
"Very high-quality insights we can act upon"
- Pro Vice Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University
"A great service"
- Academic Registrar, University of Oxford
"We've found the Alumni Barometer invaluable - and very useful for driving other projects forward due to the feedback."
- Sarah Price, Deputy Director of Development & Head of Alumni Relations, Cardiff University
"Results from i-graduate are an order of magnitude more sophisticated than anything we could have gained from in-house"
"While the depth of the student questionnaire and the ability to interrogate the results by such a wide range of variables (country of origin, type of study, etc) is in itself an extremely useful tool for gauging student perceptions of the University, what makes i-graduate so special is being able to benchmark those perceptions against data from comparable universities in NZ and across the world. We have identified a number of key areas of weakness where we need to do better to meet student expectations, and been reassured that we are doing well in others. Particularly interesting are the different perceptions and expectations of students from different market countries: these have both marketing and student support implications. We have regularly organised surveys and focus groups and so on before, but the results from i-graduate are an order of magnitude more sophisticated than anything we could have gained from anything in-house"
- Les Brighton, International Director, University of Canterbury Christchurch
"The data and analysis from the International Student Barometer has been invaluable in the development of our international student strategy"
- Professor Bernard Weiss, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Surrey
"What i-graduate and the International Student Barometer have helped us to understand in greater detail is where we are meeting and failing the expectations of particular student groups on specific matters. The University is now better placed to improve service levels because of the data received. i-graduate is an extremely professional and supportive organisation and I would recommend their services to any institution that genuinely wants to understand the needs and demands of their customers"
- James Richardson, Director of International Office, University of Hull
"Practical research that can be used to take real action"
- Steve Berridge, Director, Victoria University International
"Both the International Student Barometer and the UK Student Barometer have played an important role in our process of continuous improvement of the student experience at Warwick. Warwick has taken part in the ISB since 2006 and, more recently, the UKSB. The results have helped us to understand the needs of our students better, tailor what we deliver to meet those needs and evaluate any changes we've made to check if we've got it right. The level of service we receive from i-graduate to support the delivery and analysis of the surveys has been outstanding. Thanks to this, the Student Barometer is now one of the key benchmarking tools we use at the University and is firmly established as one of only a small number of University-endorsed surveys that we carry out each year."
- Stephen Williams, Assistant Director, International Office, University of Warwick
“I so often ask you for things last minute and you are always so quick, helpful and efficient, I really appreciate your help and support in delivering these questionnaires and in gathering this data, many thanks again.”
- Jennifer Martin, International Officer, Hult International Business School, London
"We feel that participating in the ISB has certainly added value for gaining insights in the experience of our international students. ISB is a large project that is managed well by i-Graduate and it results in enormous amount of interesting data."
- Chantal Samson, Strategic Marketing Manager, Universiteit van Amsterdam
"The International Student Barometer was an excellent tool for our university to see how satisfied our international students are, not only about the learning environment but also on our living environment and student support. It gave us insights on what the difference were between our home students and our international students and what we could do to improve. Some things were easy to change, such as all communication to be in English, make our international office more visible by just changing their name into international office. More difficult was the career possibilities and career training. Our strategy department decided to make this one of the focus attention points and clearly stated to improve that within 6 months. The items that students were most satisfied with are being used in our marketing strategy and quoted in communication tools."
- Delia de Vreeze, International Marketing Manager, Wageningen University
"It has been a pleasure working with you as we all strive to learn more about our organizations and how we can better serve students."
- Janice Ellerby, Vice President, Stayner Collegiate Institute, USA
"I was very impressed by how the content of the survey addressed very actionable areas of interest across the realm of the international student experience. I was equally impressed with how the data are made usable through a range of tools including a detailed spreadsheet report with comparisons to the benchmarks from other institutions; a pivot table that allows you to cross-tabulate and drill down for more refined analysis of the data, and a BI tool that allows you to drill into the benchmarks within your region (i.e., the U.S.) to see how the responses of your students, from various countries and regions, compare to other students from those countries attending other U.S. institutions."
- Victor Borden, Associate Vice-President, Indiana University
You and i-graduate?
We are always keen to hear from individuals or organisations who share our interest in understanding and improving the international education experience, worldwide. Please do not hesitate to contact info@i-graduate.org with any comments.