Recruiting Intelligence

A quick test. How many of these can you answer right now, without sending a single email?

• Is internationalization explicitly included in your institution's strategic plan?
• Who specifically exercises authority over budgets and decision-making for each of these areas: international partnerships, research, and enrollment?
• How many international inquiries has your institution received over the past three academic years, and which tool(s) are you using to track them?
• How do you select your global recruitment markets?
• How many students are participating in your study abroad programs and how many in COIL? How many of your faculty use COIL?
• Are you performing as well and as efficiently as your peer institutions in any of these areas?
  

That last question is the real kicker.

Most SIOs can answer some of these immediately. Others will need to tap knowledge from offices across campus and find at least one spreadsheet nobody has opened since spring. We wonder how your president and business office team would fare with those questions. And back to that last question...very few, if any, have the answer to that one.

These questions are a sample of what's being asked in the AIEA-Intead study Examining Success Factors in Internationalization, now underway.

This research is about understanding what the investment in internationalization (and the org chart that investment supports) produces. And importantly, how that investment and those outcomes compare across 100 U.S. institutions. There is real power in the findings we will report.

During an Intead webinar held recently, Dr. Cheryl Young, Associate Vice President of Global Initiatives and SIO at Miami University, and Dr. Gian Mario Besana, Associate Provost for Global Engagement and Online Learning at DePaul University, both research participants, recently spoke about their experiences with the study so far. One unexpected benefit they both cited: simply working through the study's questions is prompting conversations across their campuses that weren't happening before.

Full disclosure, early cross-campus collaboration wasn’t the primary driver for the research study, but we’re thrilled to hear it is happening so quickly.

Listen to the full conversation from our webinar, which includes our colleagues from Miami University and DePaul along with Clare Overmann of AIEA, industry veteran Brad Farnsworth, and me, to get first-hand insight into why these two institutions joined the study and what they’re finding so far.

Read on…

Your chief business officer is navigating rising personnel costs, deferred maintenance, technology investments, enrollment pressure, and limited institutional patience. International enrollment can be part of the answer. Yet many business officers still do not see it that way.

That disconnect was hard to miss at the NACUBO Annual Meeting. Unlike the international student-focused conferences your Intead team typically frequents, introductions at NACUBO often began with budgets, employee counts, bargaining units, and capital obligations. Students entered the conversation later. That observation is not a criticism. It is a reminder that business officers experience the institution through a different set of pressures -- and international leaders gain influence when they understand those pressures and that lens.

Your job: Get your CBO to see international as a revenue center (not a cost center).

Last week, we explained that international enrollment has always been a finance strategy. NACUBO 2026 reinforced the point. But the international office has more to offer the business office than a budget request. You can bring a disciplined revenue opportunity, a diversification strategy, and a clearer view of global market risk.

The finance conversation is already happening

Business officers are not waiting for international leaders to enter the room. They are already evaluating new programs, AI investments, auxiliary revenue, cost reductions, partnerships, and the return on nearly every institutional commitment. International enrollment belongs in the room where these conversations are happening.

Often, chief business officers lack information about global recruitment. But here’s the thing: when the international office brings CBOs that critical information, leaders often present the information in a form that does not answer the questions finance leaders are asking.

Market potential, brand visibility, student interest, and competitor activity matter. So do investment horizon, net tuition, program capacity, support costs, downside risk, and clarity on the points at which leadership can adjust course.

That distinction shaped the NACUBO session Intead presented with three institutional leaders: Dr. Jia-Yi Cheng-Levine, Dean of International Affairs and Global Engagement at College of the Canyons; Dr. Tamara T. Cunningham, Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Initiatives and Arts & Campus Activation at University of California, San Diego; and Dr. Balaji Krishnan, Vice Provost for International Affairs and Professor of Marketing at the University of Memphis. Our session, “International Enrollment Growth Options: Three Publics Share Business Perspectives,” examined how three very different public institutions evaluate international student-focused investments.

The range of institutions mattered. A community college, a major research university, and an urban public university do not share the same market position, operating model, or organizational culture. Yet each institution faces the same core questions: Where can internationalization create value that aligns with institutional priorities? How will global investments create financial resilience?

Read on…

Our regular readers know our devotion to cross-cultural intersections. Today we focus your attention on the financial value of global.

At the NACUBO 2026 Annual Meeting, I spent several days listening to chief business officers talk about the problems consuming higher education: rising personnel costs, deferred maintenance, enrollment pressure, AI investments, student success vs. access, the loss of institutional knowledge as long-serving leaders retire, oh, and changing Federal policies and guidelines.

Important to note: just 13% of CBOs say their institution understands per-student program and activity costs very well as reported in Inside Higher Ed from their annual survey of CBOs. There’s an opportunity for you right there.

You know what did not come up at the conference? International enrollment.

Nearly every concern being discussed at NACUBO pointed toward the need for new, sustainable revenue streams. While international enrollment cannot solve every financial challenge facing a college or university, it can become a meaningful part of the solution. And given today’s pressures, international is just as reliable as any other options for revenue-sustainability being evaluated by your leadership.

The larger point is easy to miss amid headlines about visa delays, geopolitics, and fluctuating student demand: international enrollment drives revenue. And that revenue opportunity is not well understood by your business officers. In fact, your CBO needs to hear from you, and this is important: they don’t know that they need to hear from you.

Read on...

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.

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…

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).

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! 

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. 

How far does the data go in helping us develop a strategy? Create a plan? 

Iliana and I took to NACAC in Columbus, Ohio this year. Reveled in hearing Brene Brown talk all things leadership and vulnerability. Participated in the sessions on global and domestic enrollment realities. Wandered the expo hall checking in on colleagues and clients throughout.  

NACAC is such a multi-faceted group of academic leaders paired with the many, many student-facing counselors. The responsibilities of these different facets of higher education are often at odds and that too is on display at every NACAC conference.  

Pro Tip: If you truly want to understand an organization, attend their business meeting and listen to the issues raised (or ignored). Fascinating stuff and the true grist that both slows and drives progress. NACAC, along with the many other associations serving our community, has very well-meaning leaders and members all struggling to figure out how to move forward in aggressively turbulent times. 

We all absorbed a few sucker punches at NAFSA 2025. And we experienced all the feels. 

While the White House released a new set of directives to further disrupt international student access to US institutions, NAFSANs gathered and found support amongst each other in San Diego. We ran as a pack (more on that below).

I spent my time at the conference largely with community and institutional leaders who have been down similar paths before. With sighs, eyerolls, and steadfast determination, we assessed what we knew, gave each other hugs, and took to planning for the future.  

As NAFSA CEO Dr. Fanta Aw says, “We do not get to be tired.” 

Meet Intead!  

• Find us at APLU in NYC in June, NACUBO in DC in July, and NACAC in Columbus in September. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

Bookmark this: Intead’s Resource Center 
Access 800+ articles, slides decks, reports with relevant content on any topic important to enrollment management and student recruiting.  Check it out.

While many NAFSANs did express a weariness and some sessions had a very somber tone, that feeling was not pervasive. There will continue to be pain along the way, no doubt. Some of us will suffer losses due to the threats and disruptions. Student stress (and worse) is no joke. Fabulous and motivated international students will be denied access. Nevertheless, the dust will settle. Reason will prevail. And our community will fix what is being broken. NAFSA, among other leaders in our field, will be there throughout and after.  

To be clear, no one is giving up the fight.  

We were part of three presentations at NAFSA this year, mostly about career outcomes for international students and about how institutions can use this information to improve enrollment and advocate for our community. Find the link to our data (slides and a report) later in this blog post. 

Read on… 

AIEA rode into town overlapping the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in March. You tell me which one brought more excitement and better BBQ? 

The truth: I was down for the whole AIEA thing more than the rodeo. Clearly, I’m not the one to call when you are going out to a raucous party. It’s a character flaw, I know. 

AIEA’s board and their dynamic staff, led by newly minted CEO Clare Overman, delivered exactly what academic leaders and SIOs needed. An opportunity to gather amidst the chaos of the new administration in Washington, DC. An opportunity to fret, consider, and plan.  

Under the heading of planning, our boldest initiative, launched at the conference: a two-year research project in conjunction with AIEA to identify and share the effectiveness of various internationalization office structures. A complex endeavor to be sure. Learn a bit more about it HERE and sign up to stay informed. We are thrilled to be collaborating with former ACE Internationalization Lab leader Brad Farnsworth for this research. 

Those in this field do a whole lot with fairly little support or budget. Shared models and simply thinking together has so much value. The Intead team was honored to share the dais for three very different presentations with colleagues Balaji Krishnan (University of Memphis), Vivian Wang (University of Tulsa), Helen Zhang (Northeastern University), Mirka Martel (IIE), Andrew Chen (FrogHire.ai), and Brad Farnsworth (Fox Hollow Advisory).

Opportunities to Meet the Intead Team  

• Will you be at ASU+GSV in April or NAFSA in May? Let us know  if you want to connect at these events.  

Bookmark this: Intead’s Resource Center 
Access 800+ articles, slides decks, reports with relevant content on any topic important to enrollment management and student recruiting.  Check it out.

Below, I share a few observations about the conversations at the conference ranging from fundraising from international families (alumni giving) to global partnership development and how that plays with enrollment management and student services. You’ll also find links to our slide decks and an invitation to chat if you’d like more information about our ideas on how your institution can improve in three areas: 

• Global Partnership Development and Management 
• International Student Career Placements
• Internationalization Office Structure and Outcomes

Read on for perspective on the machinations over White House pronouncements and access to our slides… 

Grabbed my briefcase, checked the full-length mirror. Yup, got my badge. Opened the hotel room door dashing to get to the AIRC conference networking breakfast buffet. Eyeroll and back into the room. Forgot to brush my teeth. 

Conferencing tip for my colleagues: If, in your morning rush, you forget to brush your teeth, remove your conference badge and lanyard before you brush. The physics of the lanyard and badge during the lean over sink, rinse and spit process…well, you can imagine. 

Opportunities to Meet the Intead Team  

• AIEA in March, ASU+GSV in April, and NAFSA in May. We'll be presenting our latest findings with colleagues at AIEA and NAFSA. Let us know  if you want to connect at either of those two events. 

Bookmark this: Intead’s Resource Center 
Access 800+ articles, slides decks, reports with relevant content on any topic important to enrollment management and student recruiting.  Check it out.

The AIRC 2024 Conference produced exactly what it was supposed to produce at the end of a pretty arduous year. It’s all about the people in the room, their knowledge and expertise, and the culture of the gathering. AIRC achieves all of the right elements, repeatedly. The information we gathered will help us perform better in 2025 and beyond. 

The Intead team showed up in force. We presented our daylong Global Marketing Workshop as well as conference sessions focused on budgeting for international student recruitment and an approach to streamlining admissions processes to improve the overall intake. All very practical stuff.  

Institutions so often fail to calculate the full cost of IEM, leaving their international recruitment teams to a minimalist (at best) budget. An increasingly important consideration as demand for an international education grows in the coming years: How will changing student purchasing power influence your messaging? Can you reduce students’ total cost for a degree? 

Read on to download our AIRC presentations.