Saint Martin's Success Story: Partnering with UniQuest

When St. Martin's University partnered with UniQuest to build its international enrollment operation from scratch, the results weren't marginal, they were transformational. Roger Douglas, Director of International Admissions at St. Martin's (a small Catholic Benedictine university in Lacey, WA with around 1,350 students), joins host Scott Miller to tell the story honestly: no pipeline, staff turnover, and zero global brand recognition before the partnership began. This episode is a candid walkthrough of how a resource-constrained institution built a real student enrollment marketing operation and what other small universities can learn from it.

The conversation goes deep on the operational reality of international recruitment at a smaller school. St. Martin's didn't have the staff to run 24/7 outreach across multiple time zones, respond fast to applicants, or manage the volume that serious international enrollment requires. UniQuest stepped in not to replace the team, but to extend it. "UniQuest is not going to come in and take over," Roger explains. "You are driving the boat, basically. And so it's under the university's guidance that UniQuest is there to help any way that they possibly can." That reframe of outsourcing as a capacity extension rather than a loss of control is central to how St. Martin's approached the partnership, and central to why it worked.

The numbers Roger shares are specific. UniQuest handled 2,300 phone calls and over 200,000 lines of communication with prospective students, across a 23-touch-point communication funnel designed to move applicants from inquiry to enrollment. Students from Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Sweden, Canada, and India have enrolled, countries that didn't represent a pipeline at all before the partnership. And in one unexpected development, St. Martin's became the first institution in the United States to use UniQuest's transcript evaluation service. "By the time I wake up the next morning, I have the results," Roger says. That overnight London-based turnaround removed a genuine operational bottleneck, and the fraud detection benefit that came with it wasn't something St. Martin's anticipated.

Underlying Roger's student recruitment strategy is a deliberate philosophy about diversification. Six source countries isn't a random outcome, it's a hedge. Concentrating enrollment in a single feeder country creates exposure to geopolitical shifts, visa policy changes, and economic instability. Roger's 20 years in higher ed, including eight years teaching in Kuwait, shaped how he thinks about these risks. The goal of reaching 150 international students (up from around 100) isn't just a number. It's a map of sustainable, distributed growth.

Enrollment managers and international recruitment directors at small-to-mid-size institutions will find this episode grounded in the kind of specific, real-world detail that broader strategy discussions rarely provide.

Who’s in the episode?

Roger Douglas is the Dean of the Office of International Programs & Development at Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Washington. During the last 20 years, Roger has worked in the international education field in North America, leading successful student recruitment initiatives. He's been able to increase international enrolments year-on-year, thanks to Saint Martin's partnership with UniQuest, world-leading engagement, admissions and conversion experts.

Scott Miller is the host of Keystone Higher Ed Chats and the Executive Director of Keystone's international division, bringing over 11 years of EdTech experience to conversations about global education.

After graduating from DePauw University, living and working in different cultures showed him that stepping outside your comfort zone doesn't just broaden your horizons; it reshapes them entirely. That belief in the transformative power of international experiences brought Scott to Keystone in 2010, where he's spent over a decade (and counting) helping higher education institutions reach students worldwide.

On Keystone Higher Ed Chats, Scott speaks with thought-leaders in the industry about what he's most passionate about: how education changes lives, how cultural experiences broaden perspectives at any age, and how Keystone's mission—connecting students with their ideal higher education institution—makes those life-changing moments possible.

Timestamps & Takeaways

Timestamps

Takeaways

Build a 23-touch-point communication funnel before expecting better conversion
St. Martin's international recruitment results came after UniQuest implemented a documented 23-touch-point communication sequence per prospective student. That cadence spans phone calls, texts, and emails, and it adds up fast: 2,300 calls and over 200,000 lines of communication in the partnership. If your institution is relying on a handful of email follow-ups, that's the gap to close first. Audit your current inquiry-to-application sequence against this benchmark.

Outsource to extend capacity, not to hand off control
A common concern about recruitment partnerships is loss of institutional ownership. Roger was direct on this: "UniQuest is not going to come in and take over. You are driving the boat, basically." The practical upside for small teams is 24/7 global coverage that no single-office staff could maintain on its own. St. Martin's used the partnership to scale what the internal team couldn't, not to replace it.

Diversify source countries deliberately to protect against geopolitical disruption
Roger's recruitment strategy targets a spread of countries including Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Sweden, Canada, and India. The reasoning is straightforward: over-reliance on one feeder country creates real exposure if visa policy changes, political instability hits, or student demand shifts in that market. With roughly 100 international students out of 1,350 total, St. Martin's can't afford to have a single country account for the bulk of that number.

Foreign transcript evaluation is a conversion bottleneck worth solving now
St. Martin's became the first US institution to adopt UniQuest's transcript evaluation service, and the operational payoff was immediate. Roger's team submits transcripts at the end of the day; results are ready by morning, handled overnight by UniQuest's London team. That turnaround compresses a process that often takes days or weeks at institutions handling evaluations internally.

Staff turnover in international recruitment is a strategic problem, not just an HR one
The decision to partner with UniQuest wasn't purely proactive. Staff turnover had created a real operational gap, and rebuilding that expertise internally takes time St. Martin's didn't have. The partnership stabilized the operation faster than a new hire could have. For institutions experiencing similar churn in international enrollment roles, this is worth considering before the next cycle begins.

Relationship quality in outsourced recruitment can translate directly to campus culture
One data point from Roger that's easy to overlook: incoming students arrived on campus asking to speak with their UniQuest advisor by name. That's not just a warm handoff, it's evidence that the communication quality through the funnel was personal enough to build real familiarity. Prospective students don't distinguish between your internal team and your partners, so the partner's tone and consistency matter as much as your own.

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Saint Martin's Success Story: Partnering with UniQuest

Who’s in the episode?

Roger Douglas

Scott Miller

Timestamps & Takeaways

Timestamps

Takeaways

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