1 Incentive Schemes

A basic premise of Unibuddy is that the time that current students spend providing information to prospective students should be valued and rewarded. Our current partners use three main reward structures:

Many universities use this model to pay ambassadors on a weekly or hourly rate. This rate includes answering questions and producing regular blogs/vlogs. It is possible to answer a lot of questions in one hour and the dashboard will show you how many conversations the ambassadors are having and how long they are spending online.

If an ambassador has a particularly quiet week with a low number of questions, you could encourage them to write a blog or record a vlog to keep their profile active. If they have a very busy week with a high volume of questions and conversations, you can also give them the opportunity to log additional time. In both circumstances, the dashboard will show you how the ambassadors are engaging and can be used to increase or decrease payment.

1.2 Annual scholarship or honorarium

A number of universities choose to pay Unibuddy ambassadors on an annual scholarship or honorarium programme. Students on this type of programme undertake a range of ambassadorial activities including campus tours and higher education fairs, and Unibuddy is incorporated into this paid work.

1.3 Voluntary schemes

Some universities run Unibuddy on a voluntary basis. Through voluntary ambassador programmes, students are able to undertake a range of different activities in return for professional experience, training and references. Unibuddy can be easily incorporated into these programmes because the platform provides great opportunities for personal and professional development.

However, it is worth noting that ambassadors on voluntary schemes may sometimes have longer average response times and lower engagement levels. With this in mind, it may be worth introducing some incentivisation methods such as vouchers and prizes to acknowledge, encourage and maintain good work.