Higher education consulting in practice: How QS partners with universities worldwide

Turning market intelligence into growth strategies

QS Consulting can help institutions understand where student demand exists, how accessible those markets are, and which audiences are most likely to respond to their offer. For one North American business school, this meant identifying priority recruitment markets, estimating the size of the opportunity, and assessing how well its portfolio matched student demand. Our expert consultants combined Global Student Flows data with economic, education and demographic indicators, then tested affordability through household income distributions and CPI-adjusted affordability modelling. Competitive benchmarking against rival institutions exposed where the school had a credible advantage and where its proposition needed strengthening.

In a separate project, QS profiled 35 geographic markets using desk research, QS International Student Survey data and Global Student Flows forecasts. Markets were segmented by study interests, motivations, location preferences and decision drivers, giving the university a clearer view of where demand was strongest and how it varied by student audience.

QS translated this evidence into practical outputs, including a phased market entry playbook, country-level positioning strategies, localised messaging for marketing teams, and 35 infographic-style market factsheets.

Connecting institutional strengths with student demand

Market opportunity only matters if an institution can credibly meet it. QS therefore connected demand analysis with subject-level performance, using QS World University by Subject Rankings data to identify where institutional strengths aligned with student interest and where messaging needed to become sharper.

This approach helped a Japanese university move beyond broad recruitment ambitions towards more precise propositions, identifying the specific disciplines to emphasise, which student motivations to address, and how to frame academic strengths for different international markets.

The work produced positioning and messaging recommendations across five market segments. The engagement also marked QS Consulting’s first project with a Japan-based university since 2017 and supported Japan’s national strategy to grow international student recruitment. The client described the work as “outstanding”.

Building reputation, rankings capability and internal alignment

Reputation and rankings performance are shaped by more than external communications. They depend on evidence, differentiation, internal understanding and sustained action. QS engagements in this area combined reputation analysis, rankings diagnostics, peer benchmarking, training and advisory support.

For one university, QS ran a four-month reputation analysis across institutional and subject-level performance, identifying points of differentiation and advising on communication strategies to strengthen its research profile. For another, QS delivered a three-year partnership with a newer business school competing against more established brands.

The longer-term partnership included training on QS rankings frameworks and indicators, performance diagnostics across reputation, research and international activity, benchmarking against 10 peer business schools, and cross-functional workshops that brought academic and professional teams around shared priorities.

These projects gave institutions a clearer view of their standing, stronger evidence for strategic decisions, and better internal alignment. One university was recognised as the fastest-growing institution in its region for overall institutional performance and went on to commission a further 12-week project. Another client credited QS with “sharpening our strategic focus and aligning our priorities with international benchmarks”.

Generating sector-wide insight for policy and student experience

QS Consulting also works beyond individual institutions, delivering research that supports government, sector bodies and national education strategies. One long-running engagement with a government began in 2022 with the design and delivery of an International Student Sentiment Survey, now in its fourth year of renewal.

The annual survey tracks overall sentiment, use of support services, financial stress and mental health, with benchmarked indicators showing change year on year. More than 10,000 current international students have been surveyed across the life of the project, with outputs including a national report and bespoke benchmark reports for participating state and territory members.

The insights now guide marketing, communications and service delivery across the partnership, including refinement of support services identified as needing improvement. QS has co-presented results at sector conferences, delivered annual webinars, and strengthened its position as a strategic partner across branding, digital and events.

Connected support for complex institutional challenges

Across these engagements, the value of QS Consulting lies in the connection between evidence and action. Market intelligence informs recruitment strategy. Rankings and reputation analysis clarify institutional positioning. Student insight strengthens policy, services and communications. Together, these capabilities help universities and sector partners make better decisions in increasingly competitive and complex higher education markets.