Marketing RFP Issued By University of Rhode Island
The URI Board of Trustees/University of Rhode Island is soliciting proposals for an international student marketing/matching platform from qualified OFFERORS.
Background:
The University of Rhode Island’s Office of Admission (international division) is accepting proposals from international student marketing platform to assist us with our digital recruitment efforts. The benefits of working with such a service are many. Virtual recruitment reduces the need for travel, reduces marketing costs, reduces one’s carbon footprint and reduces the need to spend time handling engagement with students who are not truly interested in attending the university. The ideal platform will place the student at the center of the college-choice journey and will engage students from around the world. URI is keen for its partner to demonstrate that their service is equipped with functionality that will allow the University to contact and communicate directly with only those students that fit the university’s profile, meet admission and funding requirements, and who are interested in URI’s undergraduate/graduate programs. Since, our office houses two-full time staff members with many existing responsibilities, the ideal platform will take the lead on writing/producing the marking and communication content that will be uploaded to the platform.
Scope of Work:
The University of Rhode Island seeks to partner with an online marketing company that will assist
with international student recruitment by expanding URI’s brand abroad. The potential partner should
create and manage a profile page with graphics and other embedded features that appeal to the most
current generation of students while providing them with pertinent information about URI’s location,
faculty, programs, etc. The platform should be easy for students and URI staff to use and include
functionality that allows students to directly engage with URI’s international admission staff.
The level of engagement should be robust. To this end, URI does not wish to partner with a company
that only provides a spreadsheet/list of students who have clicked on URI’s profile.The proposed
partner must take an active role in the creation and management of URI’s platform profile thereby
allowing the international admission staff to concentrate on establishing meaningful connections with
prospective students. The ideal platform will target students from around the world who wish to study
in the US, are interested in a major offered at URI, who meet URI’s admission requirements and who
possess the funds necessary to pursue education abroad without merit/need based funding. Finally,
the sign-up costs assessed to the student for use of the platform should be competitively low.
Specific Activities / Tasks
1. The prospective vendor must have a wide international reach and demonstrated industry
knowledge and experience. Please provide a summary of your history and experience
including successful partnerships with similar institutions of higher education in the US.
2. Prospective vendor must possess demonstrated knowledge of US and international education
systems including transferability of credit, GPA concordance, education ladders, and
graduation requirements
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Rev: 8/9/17
3. The proposal should fully describe the functionality of this online platform. Details
concerning the look and feel of the platform, access to the platform (from both the student and
staff log in) and ease of use should be thoroughly addressed. A demonstration may be
requested.
4. The prospective vendor must provide detailed metrics on the type of student who currently
uses the platform. This should include (but is not limited to) the following:
a. Student countries of origin/citizenship
b. Academic profiles
c. Program(s) of interest
d. Country/state of interest
e. Average GPA (if applicable), average language test scores, destination/programs
f. Average expected family contribution (EFC)
5. Prospective vendors should describe the level of personalized engagement experienced by
students as registered users.
6. The proposal should provide a timeline for implementation and detail the scope of work the
proposed partner expects of the international admission team.
7. The proposal should clearly articulate URI’s strengths and weaknesses and address how the
platform will help URI to strengthen its position in the higher education marketplace.
8. The proposed vendor should provide REALISTIC projections regarding inquiry, application
volume, and lead conversion rates.
9. The proposed vendor must confirm compliance with all regulations and laws relating to
educational privacy laws (e.g., GDPR).
10. The proposed vendor must outline how frequently a designated platform representative will
communicate with URI staff about the platform’s performance and overall reach.
11. The proposal should acknowledge the current challenges of international student recruitment
and provide specific strategies regarding how the platform will resolve/address these
challenges
Due Date: 9/23/2021 @ 1:00 PM (Eastern Time)
Address:
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND PO BOX 1773 PURCHASING DEPARTMENT PURCHASING DEPARTMENT 10 TOOTELL RD. KINGSTON, RI 02881
Agencies to consider for this assignment include Ketchum PR and Clarity pr.
