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Recruiting Intelligence

How much to pay commission-based student recruiters?

The agent debate ended a number of years ago for most of us. Sure, there are a few stragglers complaining about the unethical practices out there.

Our view: Every industry has unethical characters. Commission-based recruiters, as a group, have more than their fair share. Basic buyer beware precautions are the rule. Careful vetting and management of your recruiters will keep you from getting burned more than once.

Rather than being asked whether commission-based agents are a valid recruitment channel, we are now consistently asked, “What is the going rate?” And the market is shifting.

Intead and AIRC set out to understand as much as we could from both universities and agents in the current market. We published our report late last year and offered up a well-attended webinar.

Want to learn more about what others are paying their agents and how they are managing those relationships? Our most recent research findings and the webinar recording are just a click away.

Read on…

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Developing Essential Skills Within Your Recruitment Team

This week, Ben at Patricia are in Miami at the AIRC conference 2018, where they will be hosting a digital marketing workshop alongside Angel Ahmed, CEO of GNET, and Hillary Dostal, Director, Global Initiatives at Northeastern University. This expert team and comprehensive workshop will help international recruitment leaders develop strategic communications plans that differentiate their unique institutions. And, they will be talking about the skills needed throughout the process to achieve success. 

Plans are only as good as the team executing them. Seems obvious, right?

Is your team aligned on your strategic enrollment plan? Do you have a comprehensive marketing plan to work from? Are there gaps in the skill sets? We bet there are at least a few areas that could use improvement, right?

This week we want to walk you through our strategic marketing workshop format and a series of corresponding worksheets available via Intead Plus to guide your marketing and enrollment teams. Ready? Let's check it out. 

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10 Websites in China Your Admissions Department Should Know

The following post has been updated from an article published on ICEF Monitor on September 5, 2014. It was originally co-authored by Michael Waxman-Lenz, co-founder of Intead, and Jiangyinan Zhai, a graduate student of integrated marketing at New York University. It has since been heavily revised and updated for 2018 by Intead's very own Wanhua (Jenny) Yuan, Digital Analyst; Cathryn Andrews, Marketing Communications Manager; and Ben Waxman, CEO. 

Is your admissions department challenged with social media and digital media management? It’s no wonder with new sites, platforms, and new channels coming up all the time.

Approaching the Chinese student market is a challenge – there is no doubt about it. The Chinese digital world essentially exists in it's own self-contained environment, limiting or forbidding access to many western sites and operating an entirely unique set of platforms. Where to begin? 

We would like to give you a number of practical pointers to enhance your knowledge and your management of the digital footprint of your university or high school in China.

Special Notes: This month Intead releases our latest research report, in partnership with Vericant: What's on the Mind's of Chinese Parents? A Research Report for U.S. Admissions Professionals on the Factors Swaying Academic Decision-Making. This post will include excerpts from the report detailing websites that Chinese parents indicate have been influential in their academic decision-making process. To learn more about these sites and how you can use them to promote your institution in China, you can download the full report as part of an Intead Plus membership. So much value. So little cost.

Ben and Patricia look forward to catching up with many of you and your colleagues at NACAC in Salt Lake City next week. Get in touch so we can tell you more about our latest research and learning (info@intead.com). 

Some great marketing tips follow. Read on...

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Are You Ready for Fall Recruitment Travel?

Itinerary. Check. Tickets. Check. Hotel confirmations. Check. Passport. Check. Seems like you're all ready for your fall international student recruitment travel. But are you? What is your strategy for building and maintaining connections with the prospective students and parents you meet on the road? What's the point of traveling, the financial and time commitment, if you aren't going to effectively leverage your contacts?

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Is Your Career Services Office Cutting Edge?

How cutting edge is your institution's career services office? When key reports are published is the data considered for future planning? What is YOUR career services department doing with the Glassdoor report regarding employers hiring by sector?

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Will Your Student Fair Provider Deliver Value This Recruiting Season?

Recruiting tours, fairs and the associated travel expenses are some of the biggest line items in an institution's recruiting budget. Given the investment of time and money to achieve student recruiting goals through travel, we hear the same great questions every year related to this topic. How do you know if you're getting the most bang for your buck in terms of recruitment travel? This is article is part one of two on this subject.

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Is Education Losing the PR War?

As admissions officers and higher education marketers, we are out there "selling," "marketing," and "explaining" our institutions and services. We are all committed to the value of education. Most of us appreciate the environment and respect the act of learning. University academic staff liked college so much that they never left school!  But what is happening around us?   We are selling into an environment that does not necessarily prioritize education for the sake of education, but is rightly looking for a preparation for life with a focus on professionalism. 

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479 Out of Office Messages = Many Frequent Flyer Miles

Do you watch your frequent flyer status? To be honest I do, too.  I like free flights. And it helps to have status for early boarding and luggage perks as airlines have gotten so stingy and charge for bathroom visits (no, they haven't come up with that one...yet).  For this blog, I have selected a few services that can make your travel easier.

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Intead Index: Credential Evaluation Companies

Here it is. Delivered fresh to your mailbox. Another exciting edition of the Intead Index, one in a series of indices that provides you with all of the information you need to make informed decisions.

In this edition we provide you with a comprehensive chart outlining the many credential evaluation companies. 

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The Intead Index - Book of Lists Has Arrived!

Hot off the digital presses: It's the Intead Index: Book of Lists.

Our expert researchers have gathered the information we wish we had when we were working in admissions offices.

We've spent time evaluating, comparing and then compiling the results. We do this to help you make informed decisions as you scale your international student enrollment.

  • Social media tools to help you manage a multi-country campaign
  • Tour provider comparisons
  • International educator associations listed
  • Lead generators compared
  • Linked In groups listed

All of these, and more. We are comparing the tools used by some of the most successful institutions. We've gathered information from many sources including administrators who have traveled this path and expanded their international student populations by 100% or more.

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