Recruiting Intelligence

Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

Recruiting Intel Digest: The Most Useful Stuff from Q1 2026

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

April 1, 2026

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…

Topics: Intead Insights

Vibe Coding and the Hidden Risks of AI in Enrollment

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

February 18, 2026

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…

Topics: enrollment management, AI, Student Enrollment

The US is Having A New Coke Moment

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

February 4, 2026

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…

Topics: Intead Insights, global branding, Geopolitical Challenges

Intead’s Top 10 Blog Posts of 2025: As Chosen by Readers

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

January 7, 2026

So, where should enrollment leaders focus as the new year begins? If 2025 reader engagement is any indication, the answer sits somewhere between the integration of smarter admissions technologies, clearer career outcomes, strategic education agent relationships, and a more resilient mindset.

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.

The goal for 2026 is clear: sustaining, if not growing, international enrollment despite external chaos. But is that even realistic in the current climate? Short-term gains are going to be hard to deliver, for sure. Failing to set your institution up for future growth, well, that is not a legacy we would choose. There are opportunities ahead that smart enrollment leaders are focused on.

Looking backward, fall 2025 indicators offered mixed signals: decreased interest in master’s programs, fewer new arrivals (because many international students never left the country this past summer), more student-visa holders in 2025 vs 2024 (thank OPT for that) – and compelling counterpoints to each (nod to Karin Fischer for her perspective in The Chronicle’s “An Incomplete Enrollment Picture”).

But first, which topics mattered most to you in 2025? Read on for the top 10 posts of last year as chosen by our readers. The countdown from 10 to 1 shows an interesting progression of the year’s hot topics. Take a scroll through and let us know what you think.

Topics: Higher Education

Recruiting Intel Digest: The Most Important Stuff from Q4 2025

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

December 10, 2025

Nothing forces the drive for clarity like experiencing chaos.

Good news in years like these, we suppose. The policy swings and shifts in student demand have tested every institution’s agility and fortitude. But for leaders paying attention, the volatility is forcing a refining of strategy and development of a sharper view of what truly drives enrollment growth.

Meet Intead! 

Find us at AIEA in DC in February, 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.

NOTE: This week, our Recruiting Intelligence Blog will take its regular end-of-year break. We will see you again on Jan. 7, 2026, with our usual actionable future focus.

The institutions emboldened to act by realities of enrollment drops and general wariness around US travel are playing the long game. It’s the right move. Those who take a wait-and-see approach are already losing ground on future enrollment. But you already know this. And if you’ve been reading our blog, you also know:

Why now is the right time to take international on a campus roadshow

That your Career Services office is an underutilized gem

Our NACAC takeaways on students, staffing, and new H-1B implications

What enrollment teams need in times of ambiguity

Didn’t catch those topics? Read on…

Topics: Enrollment Strategy, Higher Education

From Stasis to Strategy: Enrollment Teams, It’s Time to Act

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

November 24, 2025

Churn happens in every setting. Promotions, departures, budget realignment, team and department consolidation.

Disruptive, yes, but hardly unprecedented – a common cycle typically prompted by fiscal changes and then the disruptions ripple out from there.

And yet, change rarely feels routine. Especially at the scale we are experiencing right now.

Still, your programs need promotion, your Deans have their own priorities, and everyone knows that your important leadership chair is about to turn over (you know the one, right?).

What is an enrollment team to do? Do you launch a new marketing campaign now, or wait? What if today’s A, B, and C priorities become tomorrow’s D, E, and F because the new leader coming in 4 or 5 months will have their own ideas.

And what happens in the meantime as you try to sort it all out? Stasis.

So often, teams sit on their hard-won budgets, waiting for stability and clarity. An approach, for sure, but not a good one. Doing nothing isn’t leadership (too blunt?) – and doing nothing will do nothing to advance your yield or deliver your next class.

We all know there are legitimate excuses for not hitting your numbers. Yet we see this stasis mode all the time. And yet...

What your enrollment team needs in times of ambiguity: smart bets and clarity.

Going to AIRC in Atlanta? Let’s connect! 

Join us Dec. 3, 2025, 1 – 4 p.m., for our workshop, Exploring Third-Party Business Models for International Student Recruitment, or any one of our other conference sessions. You are registered, right? 🙂

Or, meet us at:AIEA in DC in February and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April.

How you get to clarity and forward motion: concrete data to identify the opportunities and cut through uncertainty. And importantly, you need stong presentations to build internal support for your plans.

In this time of seemingly never-ending uncertainty, institutions need leaders who act. Read on for our views on what proactive enrollment leadership looks like…

Topics: International Student Recruitment, International Student Enrollment, Enrollment Strategy, Leadership

Your Career Services Office is Underutilized and It Shows

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

October 29, 2025

It’s well understood that future careers motivate students to pursue higher education. You could ask almost any student – domestic or international – whether career opportunities and outcomes influenced their decision to enroll, and the answer will be yes.

Take the 2024 State of Higher Education study by Lumina Foundation and Gallup. In it, 84% of respondents cited at least one employment-related reason for pursuing (or potentially pursuing) a degree or credential. Another Gallup study found that students who stopped out were less likely to be motivated by career goals (they were more motivated by general learning) – suggesting that career motivations don’t just drive enrollment – they support retention.

Meet Intead! 

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

Our own research on the preferences and motivations of international students aligns with this. We suspect your experience does, too. Broader media reports emphasize that domestic families and students are increasingly focused on career outcomes as the justification for the cost of university. International students and families always have been.

Where we are going with this: the more successful you are at getting students into the careers they want, the more successful you will be at getting students to fill the seats you want.

And yes, we know you’re already telling prospective students that “95% of your graduates get a job or continue on to an advanced degree after graduation.” That’s no differentiator if everyone is saying it, despite its accuracy.

This is where Career Services should chime in. Yet, many (read: most) students view Career Services through a lens of “why bother?” Hard to blame them. Help with resume and cover letter writing is too basic and can be provided by ChatGPT. Mock interviews have value, but there’s SO much more these departments could be doing to help students and your institution’s enrollment growth.

Read on for some interesting data points and our recommendations for improving Career Services with an eye on driving enrollment…

Topics: Career Services, Higher Education, Jobs & Internships, international student employment, International Alumni, International Student Career Outcomes

This Moment is Built for SIOs: Bringing International to Campus

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

October 15, 2025

SIOs (Senior International Officers) have for years been understaffed and under resourced. As vetting of international students ratchets up and new policies continue to challenge immigration and inclusion, SIOs wonder: what’s next?

What we know is that our SIO colleagues have been receiving an abundance of well-intended, and often unwanted, emails of concern from their academic peers across the campus. Administrators, deans, and faculty are coming out of the woodwork, asking how the SIO and the institution as a whole are supporting international students. Sidebar comments may also raise concerns about how the institution will meet our future international student enrollment targets.

SIOs often view the sudden and intense interest in all things international as unnecessary and intrusive. As the questions stream into your inbox your knee jerk reaction may be to push them off.

I can spend all day writing substantiative responses to each of your inquiries. Or I can do my job. Frankly, I’d prefer you simply stayed out of it. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.

Meet Intead! 

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

Of course, you have been staying informed about all the policy changes. And no, you won't provide a summary of the policy changes that are coming in weekly with your multi-faceted plan to address each one, giving appropriate weight to the student, department, and institutional priorities.

Still, you know your colleagues are coming from a good place as they express their dismay. It can be gratifying to establish that these colleagues actually know your office and your role exist! We jest (but only a little).

Are you seeing the opportunity?

The SIO’s job is rarely well understood. The international staff swims in different, more complex currents than the larger domestic team. Storm clouds that the domestic team can ignore look entirely different from the SIO's office.

Just one example: A downturn in oil prices, for instance, can disrupt the finances of students from oil-dependent economies. An economic shift like this rarely impacts domestic students. Is the domestic enrollment marketing team even aware of stuff like that? Likewise, any sudden shift in international currency exchange rates can alter student retention realities overnight.

Truth is, you’ve been addressing the new realities each time new policies or statements emerge. And you’ve even informed your internal community about your efforts. Have they been listening?

This really is a golden moment to get leadership across campus in tune to what is going on with international enrollment, international student experience, and overall campus internationalization efforts. It is a golden opportunity to let your colleagues know what their role could and should be.

Deep breath. Therein lies the opportunity. Read on…

Topics: International Students, internationalization, Leadership, SIO, Team Dynamics

Recruiting Intel Digest: The Most Interesting Stuff from Q3 2025

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

October 15, 2025

The never-ending quest for content that helps you move the needle. This year that means a serious focus on ideas and tools your enrollment team can use to adapt to the opportunities out there and reach enrollment goals. The pressure our clients and so many others are under right now feels daunting, to say the least. Our goal: help keep them (and you) focused on effective recruitment and retention.

In troubled times, we do not sit on our hands. There are always actions we can take despite the challenges that throw us off our original game plan.

Meet Intead! 

Find us at NAFSA Reg XI in Springfield in November, and AIRC in Atlanta in December. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

So, while you’ve been navigating stalled visas, funding uncertainties, increased competition, and, we hope, maybe a bit of summer vacation this past quarter, we’ve published actionable ideas on:

Predicting student yield
Finding right-fit education agents
Keeping your education agent partnerships strong
Creating “Reel” connections, based on our work with a UK higher ed NGO
Staying the course in international student recruitment despite headwinds

Plus, access to popular worksheets on:

Agent evaluation
Building strategic international enrollment plan

Read on…

Topics: Student Recruitment, Enrollment Strategy, Higher Education

Everything Has Changed! But Has It?...

Posted by Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

September 3, 2025

During a recent staff meeting, it occurred to us: over the past 15 years the Intead team has given more than 100 conference presentations. That’s a lot of higher edu conferences! And if there’s one theme that runs through them all, it’s change.

(We like to think another theme running through them all is innovative use of data leading to valuable enrollment insights, but those of you who have been in the sessions can be the judge of that).

Five years ago, Covid “changed everything.” Mask mandates and travel restrictions arrived so suddenly, they still feel within uncomfortable reach. While those disruptions have mostly passed – some effects stuck. Think: hybrid work, remote classes.

And yet, at a NAFSA session on enrollment marketing earlier this year, when a fellow attendee remarked with dismay, “My school is doing all the same things we did before Covid. But everything has changed…” We couldn’t help but wonder, has it?

Meet Intead! 

Find us at NACUBO in Phili and NACAC in Columbus in September, NAFSA Reg XI in Springfield in November and AIRC in Atlanta in December. 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 .

From everything we’ve seen, heard, and researched, students still want what they’ve always wanted: a good education, a career on the other side of graduation, meaningful friendships, and some international adventure.

These aspirations persist – despite anti-immigration rhetoric, despite visa complications, despite global uncertainty. Student goals have persisted through 9/11, the 2009 global financial crisis, Brexit, and skyrocketing US tuition. They’ve persisted within Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and are showing up in Gen Alpha.

So yes, some things change (see below). But the fundamentals of what pursuit of education is all about, not so much.

Below we offer a useful one-pager breaking down the steps to building a strategic international enrollment plan. Your colleagues have scooped these up from us during our conference presentations and downloaded them from our website. Helpful perspective as you consider your options and your processes in place (and those desired).

Read on…

Topics: Enrollment Strategy, Conferences, conference learning, Worksheet

Ben Waxman & Carrie Bishop

Recruiting Intel Digest: The Most Useful Stuff from Q1 2026

Vibe Coding and the Hidden Risks of AI in Enrollment

The US is Having A New Coke Moment

Intead’s Top 10 Blog Posts of 2025: As Chosen by Readers

Recruiting Intel Digest: The Most Important Stuff from Q4 2025

From Stasis to Strategy: Enrollment Teams, It’s Time to Act

Your Career Services Office is Underutilized and It Shows

This Moment is Built for SIOs: Bringing International to Campus

Recruiting Intel Digest: The Most Interesting Stuff from Q3 2025

Everything Has Changed! But Has It?...

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