A new year calls for new beginnings. We're always a little sentimental given the fresh start to the new year. In the years we've been working in higher education we've noticed an increasing negativity towards higher education. At the core of everything we do we believe strongly in higher education-- access, affordability, creative approaches, and positive change. We know why education matters.

In 2014 our research and editorial teams worked hard to bring you engaging and cutting-edge blog articles. As we enter 2015 we thought a retrospective of the best and most popular Intead content of 2014 was in order-- just in case you missed anything the first time around.

Last week we revealed that Intead has once again conducted a mystery shopper experiment. This week we reveal the big winners! Read on to discover if your institution made the list...

What happens when a prospective international student uses Facebook and Twitter to signify her interest in, and hopefully to learn more about, various institutions in the English speaking world? We, at Intead, recently conducted another mystery shopper experiment with institutions in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. As has happened in previous mystery shopper experiments, we were not surprised, yet still disappointed by the dismal rate of response by institutions in these countries. One country proved exceptional in their universities’ ability to respond quickly and effectively. You might be surprised to learn the big winner of this experiment.

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?

Graeme Menzies, Director of Marketing Communications & Social Media at The University of British Columbia, joins Michael Waxman-Lenz, Intead CEO and co-founder, to share his vast knowledge of marketing and social media in the higher education realm. Higher education professionals seeking to improve their marketing, communications and social media strategies will gain a great deal of insight through Mr. Menzies discussion.

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?

What does storytelling have to do with overseas student marketing? How can improved storytelling help institutional marketing teams to improve their international student recruitment strategies? Paul Jensen, Weber Shandwick's President of Corporate Practice in North America brought these topics to life.

Mobile might be the single most important word in technology, digital marketing, and overseas student recruitment. What you don't know about mobile CAN hurt you.