Recruiting Intelligence

Although students are the ones who will ultimately attend a higher education program, the role of parents cannot be minimized. International parents seem to play an even greater role in school selection than American parents. Armed with this knowledge, the next logical question is: What do parents want to know?

What factors need to be considered in developing a strategic plan for international student recruitment? Which stakeholders need to be involved in that process? Though there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for all institutions to these questions, we'd like to use this post to give you some factors to consider as you develop or augment your strategic plan.

For effective international student marketing, you know that you're supposed to post regularly on social media platforms. You also know that you're supposed to brush your teeth multiple times a day, pick salads over french fries, and exercise daily. What we're supposed to do doesn't always happen, even with the best of intentions. We're here to support you and give you some tips for improving your social media posts.

Does this sound familar? Your institutional leadership has announced that you will be embarking on a campaign to increase your international student population. By 2017 you need to increase the number of international students by 100, 500, 1000 students. Are you really prepared for an influx of international students?

I recently had the pleasure of connecting with Lavinia Yang, Executive Director of First Study, a Taiwanese education consultancy. Ms. Yang shared in depth responses about the recruiting landscape in Taiwan. Higher education professionals with an interest in developing or expanding recruitment in Taiwan should read Ms. Yang's insightful responses to my questions.

In our ongoing effort to expose our readers to innovative educational models, we'd like to share this podcast with Nikhil Abraham from Codecademy, the leader in online coding education. Codecademy's model shakes the foundation of traditional education. What is the future of new educational models? How will Codecademy affect traditional modes of education?

At the 2014 NAFSA Region VI Conference, I attended a terrific session given by Mindy Yiu and Ann Rahmat of Miami University (Ohio). These knowledgeable higher education professionals presented a session titled Tired of Traveling Alone: How to Form a Consortium Travel Group. Since many of our readers are in the position of planning travel we would like to share the highlights of this session.

Ryan Craig, Managing Director of University Ventures, joins Michael Waxman-Lenz, CEO and co-founder of Intead, in a discussion about the key insights of his forthcoming book College Disrupted: The Great Unbundling of Higher Education. Listeners will enjoy his perspective on the future of higher education in America.

President Barack Obama’s announcement at the end of 2014 that the US would be restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba opened the floodgates for articles and newscasts about what this will mean for US businesses. There are a range of businesses elbowing to enter the Cuban market, but what does this mean for the higher education sector? What will this mean for study abroad programs in Cuba, language schools that see possibility in opening in Cuba, and, in particular, what will renewed diplomatic ties with Cuba mean for Cuban students who seek to attend institutions abroad?

Brazil is the buzz word in international education recruitment these days. And we know that you want to learn as much as you can about Brazil. What do you need to know about Brazil in order to make your recruitment strategy more effective? This podcast will give you a great deal of useful information to build or expand your Brazilian student recruitment.