University of Aberdeen success story

The challenge

Before Enroly, the University of Aberdeen struggled with outdated internal systems that offered limited visibility over where international students were on their journey. Manual processes made it difficult for the admissions team to identify CAS-ready students, while recruitment staff lacked timely data to support planning, forecasting, and conversion.

The solution

The University of Aberdeen, one of Scotland’s leading institutions, adopted Enroly CAS Shield to modernise and streamline its management of the final stages of the international student journey. The transformation has delivered substantial benefits in conversion, operational efficiency, and senior-level decision-making.

To modernise and streamline the post-offer process, Aberdeen implemented Enroly CAS Shield, delivering:

Real-time pipeline visibility: live dashboards showing exactly where each applicant is in the journey
Automated CAS readiness workflows: configurable processes that reduce manual checks and prioritise the right students
Integrated communications: branded, automated messages that keep students and agents engaged throughout
Data-led decision support: access to insights and sector benchmarks that inform recruitment strategy and reporting

Results

Visibility that drives strategic action

“This has really transformed our ability to manage the end-stage conversion work that we do, and manage expectations with senior management.”
– Megan McFarlane, Deputy Director of Global Engagement, Marketing & Recruitment

The University of Aberdeen now uses CAS Shield as a daily operational tool, logging in each morning to review real-time insights on students by stage: pre-deposit, post-deposit, CAS-ready, visa issued, and more.

“We never had this level of visibility before. Now it’s something we check daily.”

Insight-driven conversion

“Enroly was just transformative in helping project our income and also identifying any issues with individual students.”

Impact:

77% deposit-to-CAS conversion rate for January 2025, outperforming the 70% industry average
29.87% year-over-year increase in enrolments for January, reflecting improved conversion at scale

These insights feed directly into forecasting and have become a trusted resource for the University of Aberdeen’s senior leadership.

Operational efficiency for admissions

“It’s cutting down on a lot of manual effort to find the people that are ready for CAS.”

Impact:

CAS assessment time in September 2024 was 81% faster than the industry average

Admissions teams now move faster and with greater confidence, reducing bottlenecks during critical periods.

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A more diverse pipeline

Expanding Enroly to support undergraduate students has driven powerful results in international diversity:

113.33% increase in nationality diversity since introducing UG into CAS Shield

This has enhanced both the cultural richness of the University of Aberdeen’s student body and the university’s reach into new international markets.

The results

77%

deposit-to-CAS conversion rate, outperforming the 70% industry average

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+29.87%

increase in enrolment YoY

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113%

increase in nationality diversity since introducing UG into CAS Shield

‘This tool, it’s something that we can’t do without now, really. This is not something that we can leave out of our budget for future years. It is just something that we can’t function without now.'

Megan McFarlane, Deputy Director of Global Engagement, Marketing & Recruitment, the University of Aberdeen.

Our clients

One in three higher education institutions now onboard their international students with Enroly. That’s 8 million documents processed with smart automation and counting.