Intead Blog

Do What Needs Doing: 2 International Enrollment Focus Areas | Intead

bwaxman@intead.com (Ben Waxman) — Wed, 27 May 2026 09:30:00 GMT

How is your LinkedIn feed treating you lately? The algorithm has so finely curated mine at this point that I have a seemingly endless stream of academic news from a wide variety of “mostly” insightful posts. All good food for thought.

Mostly, I scroll and learn. Other times, I marvel at the patterns of folks trying (perhaps too hard) to get noticed. Sometimes I’m frustrated by the all-too-common story arc: take something well known and accepted as truth and call it into question. These posts often prompt reader engagement but act as just a surface-level contrarian view with little insight to truly add to the conversation. And that description is likely generous.

Join Us Today at NAFSA 2026! 

If you get this in time, RSVP to meet us at 7:30 am today for coffee, bagels, and an informal discussion about the groundbreaking research study we are conducting with AIEA. Learn about how participating in this national study can help position you and your institution for long-term success. If you miss the bagel chat, still be in touch and we'll explore the research ideas with you (info@intead.com).

There are many of us in the field seeking insights to help us navigate these troubled times. Academia, the headlines seem to tell us, is under tremendous strain. True enough, and yet, a lot of those headlines end up being a whole lot of noise.

History shows us that troubled times come and go. Some institutions will fail to ride out the storm. Those that do make it to the other side sometimes prevail by what seems to be dumb luck. Others plan and adapt, giving their institution the best shot at future success. With so much noise in the system and so many distractions, planning and adapting require focus – a focus that helps you see the important signals separate from the noise. No easy task.

Two recent trips to DC for conferences (AIEA and WIEC) offered the desirable opportunity to meet with our community, maintain connections, share experiences, and noodle about what really is noise and what the truly important signals are. Really helpful, as so many in our field seem to spend a lot of time wringing their hands and falling into the rut of complaining. It’s easy to do when times are legitimately tough.

But that isn’t leadership.

And that is not planning and adapting.

Below we offer two valuable focus areas where we believe academic leaders can move the needle despite the turbulence AND two helpful resources in times like these.

Read on…

More US Students See Opportunities Abroad | Intead

Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop — Wed, 13 May 2026 09:30:00 GMT

Next week the British are coming, albeit to the opposite US coast.

As part of a broader effort celebrating collaboration between the US and the UK, the British Council’s Study UK team is hosting a large pop-up experience in Los Angeles designed to give area students, families, and educators an up-close look at what UK higher education is and can be. Sixteen UK universities, along with an array of niche experts and exhibits, are crossing the pond to put their best foot forward for students contemplating their academic futures.

Full disclosure, the Intead team is proudly part of the effort to develop the cross-border collaboration.

Though the event has been in the works for quite some time, as May 22 draws near, the timing seems particularly relevant as increasing numbers of US students are evaluating and taking advantage of study abroad opportunities.

The UK, of course, is already a top study abroad destination for American students.

Meet Intead! 

Find us at at NAFSA in Orlando in May. We're presenting at NACUBO in July. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

Fight for your Internationalization Program Funding with Data

Benchmark your internationalization strategy and outcomes against 100+ U.S. peer institutions. Join AIEA’s groundbreaking study on what drives internationalization success.

Outbound with room to grow

In 2023-24, nearly 300,000 Americans studied abroad for academic credit, a 6% increase from the year prior, according to the latest data from IIE, marking a strong rebound toward pre-pandemic levels (~347,000 in 2018-19).

That said, only about 9% of US undergraduates study abroad for credit in any given year, and most for a short stint.

So, while the trend line is moving upward, participation remains modest relative to the opportunities available.

Most (64%) US study-abroad students go to Europe, with Italy, Spain, the UK, and France hosting nearly half of all participants. Japan became the fifth-largest destination for the first time in 2023-24, with 16% growth.

More interesting than the short-term numbers is what’s happening at the full-degree level.

IIE’s Project Atlas reports that more than 95,000 Americans are enrolled in full-degree programs at institutions abroad. Fifteen years ago, that number was much lower at 41,000 (with some caveats due to expanded reporting countries). Still, IIE confirms the trend is clear: more US students are opting to earn their full credentials abroad.

An increasing number of countries are taking note. 18 countries, including the UK, now have institutions accepting the Common App, meeting US students in a system they already know and trust. Our recent discussions with the Chinese Consulate in DC also point to increased efforts to attract international students to degree programs in China.

Those of us committed to the ideal of international education and the global ties these programs create have always understood the appeal. And while the number of American students doing so remains modest, the outbound trend is real, the drivers are tangible, and the institutions paying attention now will be better positioned for what’s coming.

Read on for our tips on how institutions can leverage this trend to enhance their connection to their current students and attract new applicants.

India’s Growth Mindset - US vs. India: Academic Opportunities | Intead

bwaxman@intead.com (Ben Waxman) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:30:00 GMT

Growth follows investment and attitude.

We talk about growth mindsets. We talk about innovation. These are attitudes or approaches to our work and our lives. There are best practices we can apply to achieve our goals. And superseding best practices are our actual practices. Our efforts to be great.

Those who take growth seriously invest their personal energy into using past knowledge to envision what could be. These are the people who lead in small ways and big. We look to them for inspiration, and they motivate us to do more.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in the Junction 91 Gathering in Delhi. I also joined the GenNext tour and visited academic leaders in four additional cities (Ahmedabad/GIFT City, Jaipur, Hyderabad, and Bangalore).

Meet Intead! 

Find us at at NAFSA in Orlando in May. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

Fight for your Internationalization Program Funding with Data

Benchmark your internationalization strategy and outcomes against 100+ U.S. peer institutions. Join AIEA’s groundbreaking study on what drives internationalization success.

The GenNext tour, led by Girish Ballolla and Pritika Sachar, was top-notch. The GenNext team provided the connections to be sure we met with senior-level folks at each university. Also important when traveling internationally, when so many things can easily go wrong, GenNext had the logistics down with all the city hopping, ensuring we arrived where we were supposed to be each day of the trip.

The conversations were eye-opening, refreshing, and valuable. We spoke candidly to students along the way.

Here’s the thing: India is all about growth mindset right now. oh, and investment.

This, while the big four English-speaking student destinations (US, UK, Australia, and Canada) are all struggling to figure out what they care about and where to invest.

Read on for insights about what this means for our work building global campuses and some eye-opening global data. Don't miss our bottom line recommendation at the end!

AI is Now Your Students’ First Campus Visit | Intead

Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:30:00 GMT

Students used to learn about universities the old-fashioned way: browsing websites. (How very Millennial of them.)

Soon enough, social media became prospective students’ means of discovery.

Now? Increasingly, students are using AI to identify and evaluate their academic options. Long before they see your website, they have already developed an AI-informed opinion.

We have helpful slides available below from our AIEA session presentation by Balaji Krishnan, Vice Provost at University of Memphis and our own Marketing Analytics Director, Iliana Joaquin.

One SIO told us afterward, “That was the most useful session of the conference.” We’re not surprised. The content shift happening right now isn’t simply about search rankings. It’s about how institutions are being understood in an AI-mediated world.

To be certain, websites and social media are still incredibly important to student search processes. Even direct mail and out-of-home have their place in the marketing mix. But the truth is AI has quickly become a (The?) go-to research tool for students and their parents.

In case you need stats for confirmation, the Pew Research Center found:

~64% of US teens report using AI chatbots
~ 3 in 10 use them daily for questions, research, and learning

Further research from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that roughly 60% of US adults have used AI to search for information. This is from July 2025. That number is even higher now. Consider the frequency of your own use of AI tools compared to last year.

Meet Intead! 

Today only: Find us at ASU+GSV in San Diego in April, and at NAFSA in Orlando in May. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

Shape Institution-Agency Partnerships
Join your peers across IEM and complete AIRC’s 15-minute survey about your experience working with recruitment agencies. Participants will receive the resulting report. Deadline: May 1st

If students aren’t using ChatGPT or Claude, Google’s Gemini often steps in as AI gatekeeper. It’s fundamentally reshaping the way students conduct research and what they see when they search online, including about your institution.

And so, AI is now the first campus visit.

Below we offer 3 steps you can take to improve the value of your content for students’ AI searches. And yes, you can try this at home: try an open-ended prompt: “What university is best to become a [fill in career of choice]?”

Read on for the quick notes worth sharing with your marketing and recruitment teams plus access to our slides…

Recruiting Intel Digest: The Most Useful Stuff from Q1 2026 | Intead

Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:30:01 GMT

After months of visa delays and a June freeze on student visa interviews, the numbers are in. No doubt you’ve seen them. And we all anticipated them. For those in the know, there was no surprise here.

New international student visa issuances dropped 36% year over year – an indicator of continued enrollment declines on the horizon. And if you are just talking about India–with its 62% drop–the picture is even more stark. The impact is uneven across the U.S. High prestige (aka the highly rejective) institutions will not struggle for enrollment. Others have some adapting to do.

But we don’t trade in pessimism.

Our view is more pragmatic. Because there’s always a path forward, if you know where to look and how to act. Challenge is the source of opportunity. Some will fall by the wayside, and usually, those are the unprepared, less thoughtful, highly inefficient, and fearful-of-change institutions.

The fact is, the US continues to hold the title of most sought after study destination while other valuable study destinations have rising allure. Lower cost paths such as US community colleges have a stronger power to draw than they have in years past. And the two tools we've been harping on since 2015 are suddenly aha moments for so many in our field: international alumni networks and a focus on career outcomes.

Those of you who are long-time followers of this blog are nodding along as others seem to be just waking up to long-time student motivation realities.

Meet Intead! 

Find us at ASU+GSV in San Diego in April and NAFSA in Orlando in May . Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

eBook Reboot: 88 Ways to Recruit International Studentsupdated for our times. Your tactical toolkit for the year ahead. Covering all the bases in 10 quick-read chapters. Fosters great ideation discussions with your team.

And so, this past quarter we asked: What holds leadership back from strategic investments in internationalization? What data should we trust? Where can we find clarity? What is going on with digital and search these days? And, if we’re being honest, where’s the sanity? Because it’s in short supply.

Topics summarized below and more actionable counsel in the links:

6 hesitations leadership leans on when deciding not to invest in internationalization
Recognizing our “New Coke” era
What to know about vibe coding

The Chinese student in America experience, as told by Tianyu Shen

Miss any of these? No problem. Read on for quick access to each…

A Decade in America: My Journey as a Chinese Student, Part 2 | Intead

Tianyu Shen, Intro by Ben Waxman — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:30:00 GMT

As much as Tianyu Shen’s undergraduate years as a Chinese student in the US were about belonging, his postgraduate experience in Boston revealed the other side of the international student journey: employability, professional development, and deeper cultural immersion.

Meet Intead! 

Find us at WEIC in DC in March, ASU+GSV in San Diego in April and NAFSA in Orlando in May . Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

If you missed our last post, Tianyu shared the influencing factors that prompted his decision to study in the US and how he selected his institutions from language program to undergraduate university. Today, he shares what came next. And for those of us in enrollment, we know that all eyes are on what happens next.

Caution: If you have not experienced the job search process as an international student, you might be surprised at what Tianyu has to say.

My Journey as a Chinese Student, Graduate Years

I want to share my story not only as a reflection of what I gained but also as a plea to policymakers: behind every F-1 visa and OPT application is a human being who comes to the US with hope, ambition, and a willingness to contribute. Policies that close doors hurt not just students but also the communities, universities, and employers making up the vast economic and societal ecosystem that is America.

I feel so fortunate for the time spent in the US, though it wasn’t always easy.

Read on…

A Decade in America: My Journey as a Chinese Student, Part 1 | Intead

Tianyu Shen, Intro by Ben Waxman — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:30:00 GMT

After a decade of studying, working, and contributing to US higher education, Tianyu Shen has returned to China – a move that mirrors what many Chinese students who studied in America have experienced. As so many countries are revising their policies about who may come and how long they may stay, this recounting of Tianyu’s experience is particularly poignant.

Many of you know Tianyu, the affable, talented Data Analyst who did some amazing work during his time at Intead as a STEM OPT student. Like so many international students, Tianyu’s initial inclination to study abroad was rooted in adventure. His initial thought more than a decade ago: Let’s go to New Zealand! And, like so many others from China, his parents redirected him to the US.

So that was 2015, and at the time, IIE was reporting that US universities were experiencing the highest growth rate in 35 years, with China as the key driver. At the time, the influx of Chinese students in particular helped many US universities launch new academic degree programs that benefited American students as well as international cohorts. Now, in hindsight, analysts point to how the revenue generated by the growth in international students from 2010-2020 gave many institutions the capacity to invest in infrastructure and academic advances that created huge opportunities for the entire campus.

Now, there’s a very different narrative being played out in the US and globally. We wonder where Tianyu’s parents would advise him to go for study abroad if he were starting his journey today.

We think you’ll enjoy his observations about Hollywood movies, and comparisons of Boston, MA to Lincoln, NE.

Meet Intead! 

Find us at WIEC in DC in March, and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

Because Tianyu’s experience mirrors that of so many students sitting in US classrooms and working OPT jobs right now, we asked him to take you through his student journey. What is it really like to come to the US still needing to learn English while seeking an adventure? When does the mindset turn toward career? And what did the OPT experience really deliver?

Today, Tianyu offers his perspective on the formative time he spent learning English in Boston and as an international undergrad studying in Nebraska, where he says he spent some of the happiest years of his life. An overview of his more career-focused years as a grad student will come in our next post. Be sure to check back for that. Read on now for his unvarnished take as a recent international student. And please, share with those who are shaping the American higher ed system today…

Vibe Coding and the Hidden Risks of AI in Enrollment | Intead

Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 10:30:00 GMT

AI drives more than its fair share of FOMO, especially among team leadership. It’s true across industries, and enrollment management is no exception. The promise of faster, smarter, cheaper is undeniably enticing. And leaders know they don’t know what they don’t know.

What they do know is that they need more efficiency from their team. And they keep hearing promises about new AI integrations that can seamlessly replace many human steps in their processes.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK!

Find us at AIEA in DC. Join our sessions:

Resilient IEM: A History Lesson for Managing Current Chaos. Ben co-presenting with Dr. David DiMaria, UMBC
AI: Your Old SEO Approach No Longer Cuts It. Iliana co-presenting with Dr. Balaji Krishnan, University of Memphis

Or, be in touch to grab a cup of coffee. We'd love to connect!

The truth: AI is simply not mature enough to deliver consistently reliable, broad results at scale in enrollment and admissions.

Not yet. Despite what every tech solutions vendor out there is telling you right now. Large-scale implementations are simply not plug-and-play at this point.

We anticipate push back from many who are reading this post. However, you can test this by talking to their recent customers and asking whether they were able to plug and play. The answer will be, “No.” Get the details on that response before you buy.

The reality: For many enrollment teams, AI is more of a distraction than an instant solution. That may change in time; however, for now, it doesn’t pay to be out in front. Better to be a fast follower, in our estimation.

“There’s a big mental disconnect. Campus execs think they want AI, but what they really want is more structured, automated workflows,” says Seth Cargiuolo, adjunct professor at Boston University and Suffolk University and trusted “digital plumber.”

This disconnect often leaves teams who are chomping at the AI bit vulnerable to what’s colloquially known as vibe coding. Not sure what we’re talking about? Read on…

The US is Having It’s New Coke Moment | Intead

Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:30:00 GMT

In 1985, Coca-Cola’s leadership concluded the soft drink needed to change. Sales of nemesis Pepsi were on the rise and thousands of blind taste tests suggested consumers preferred something sweeter. Their answer: New Coke.

So, on April 23 of that year, they unveiled an “improved” formula, giving consumers a new taste, new logo, and a massive new product rollout. Welcome to New Coke. You can imagine the financial investment made.

Almost immediately, consumers revolted. Recorded consumer sentiment:

“Changing Coke is like breaking the American dream, like not selling hot dogs at a ball game.”

“My dearest Coke: You have betrayed me.”

“Millions of dollars worth of advertising cannot overcome years of conditioning. Or in my case, generations. The old Coke is in the blood.”

MEET US AT AIEA 2026!

We'll be presenting:

Resilient IEM: A History Lesson for Managing Current Chaos
AI: Your Old SEO Approach No Longer Cuts It

Or, be in touch to grab a cup of coffee. We'd love to connect!

That’s just a taste (so to speak) of the feedback Coke received. The company had wanted to re-energize the brand. They clearly energized something!

The company fielded up to 8,000 calls a day from dissatisfied customers and received over 40,000 complaint letters. Imagine if social media had existed then. Sales volume plummeted sending rival Pepsi sales through the roof. In today's dollars, this was roughly a $100M mistake.

Clearly, Coca-Cola got the message. A quick 79 days after New Coke’s launch, the original formula was back in market, rebranded as Coca-Cola Classic. Sales soared beyond previous highs. Consumers didn’t just return; they came back with enthusiasm and loyalty. Within a year, Coca-Cola was outperforming Pepsi more decisively than before. The Coca-Cola brand had emerged stronger than ever.

Why bring this up now?

Because the US is experiencing a New Coke moment all its own. You feel it, too, right?

Read on…

Translating Reality into Action: Reflections from AIRC 2025 | Intead

bwaxman@intead.com (Ben Waxman) — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 10:30:00 GMT

Is your leadership happy right now? How about your staff?

We’re talking to you, enrollment leaders. The conversations we are having consistently are about managing up and managing down. The challenge of leading those around you through significant disruption.

Your institutional leadership is rightfully worried about the enrollment future (domestic and international). Your staff are rightfully worried that the current climate is a doomsday scenario for academic institutions. There is a lot of job dissatisfaction going around.

Still, truth is, there have always been times like these. The stressors may be different, the intensity a bit higher, but the anxiety and resulting need for focused work to solve problems are nothing new.

Meet Intead! 

Find us at AIEA in DC in February, WEIC in DC in March, and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

eBook Reboot: 88 Ways to Recruit International Students 2025 update. Your tactical toolkit for the year ahead. Covering all the bases in 10 quick-read chapters. Fosters great ideation discussions with your team.

At the AIRC 2025 conference that just recently wrapped in Atlanta, almost all of the presenters and participants ultimately addressed the question of how to talk to institutional leadership and help them to understand the complexities of internationalization – because most academic leaders are unaware of how the international education community works.

Helpful slides from one of our sessions are available below. They speak to 6 hesitations leadership leans on when deciding not to invest in international and what you might present to them to modify their perspective.

But here’s the focus: institutional leaders do not need to know HOW it all works. They simply need to see the value of it and the investment required. To do that, they need to listen to and trust the messenger (that’s you).

Read on…