IDP Education has announced that the firm is entering the British higher education market, looking to place international students into British universities from the 2011 academic year.  Now in its 41st year, IDP has placed over 300,000 students into education institutions in Australia and recently began placing students into US universities.

IDP’s Country Manager, UK, Arlene Griffiths said: “One of IDP’s driving values is providing professional counselling to students and their parents to ensure that students attend the best institution for them and, importantly, to ensure students are well-matched to receiving universities.

“Our international network spans 25 countries and our commitment to having a physical presence in the UK enables IDP to offer professional support to local universities. This should provide an interesting proposition for universities during a challenging period, as well as potentially position universities to access new target audiences of students,” she said.

IDP Chief Executive Anthony Pollock said: “There is huge international demand from students for higher education in Britain and IDP is well-positioned to use its experience and expertise to help students find the most appropriate course for them. Our focus is on getting the best outcome for students.”

IDP was a pioneer in the placement of international students, and has been a standard setter in this field over several decades. IDP places emphasis on getting the right students for universities, making it more likely that they meet entry requirements and stay the duration of the course.  As a consequence, recruiting and supporting these students is less resource intensive for institutions.  IDP achieves this by focusing on finding the best fit for students using an in-depth counselling process.

IDP has built a trusted reputation with families in many nations including India, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan and the Middle East.  IDP’s well-trained and professional counsellors, working from 70 offices in 25 countries, help students and their families navigate the entire process of enrolment.  In exchange, universities pay IDP a placement fee.

“For over forty years, our overseas network has demonstrated that IDP’s integrity and professionalism is unparalleled,” Ms Griffiths said.

ABOUT IDP EDUCATION

IDP Education, the world’s largest international student placement service, was established in 1969. It is jointly-owned by 38 Australian universities and SEEK Limited, Australia’s leading online employment and training company.  In addition to the student placement division, IDP is a major sponsor of research into international education and pioneered forecasting of international student trends and growth.

IDP also is part-owner of IELTS – the world’s leading English language proficiency test – with the British Council and University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. More than 1.4 million people take the IELTS test each year. The IELTS test is recognized by more than 6,000 institutions around the world. IDP conducts IELTS tests at 100 test centres in 35 countries.

For more information, please contact:

Tim Dodd, +61 407 440160, tim.dodd@idp.com