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Beyond our borders recruiting

Traveling outside the US enables new opportunities for student recruitment. The possibilities are endless and can be overwhelming.  Before you dive in, take some time to plan the best use of your time and precious institutional resources.

33. High school visits – organized on your own

High school visits are one of the most commonly used methods of meeting prospective students.  As budgets are cut, admission counselors need to be thoughtful and creative in their travel planning.  Word of mouth seems to be the most common means of determining new regions to tap for recruitment and specific high schools to visit.  For new admission counselors, turning to seasoned veterans can be incredibly helpful for travel planning.  Your colleagues on NAFSA’s national or regional listserves are a great way to get input from your peers and gain perspective for your planning in different regions.

34. High school visits – organized through a tour company

If planning and implementing an international high school visit schedule seems daunting, organizing travel through a reputable tour company can be a great solution.  Many tour companies specifically focused on education institutions exist, satisfying a wide range of budgets, interests and locations.

Have you joined any international high schools tours?  Tell your colleagues about your experience here.

35. High school visits – organized with other universities

Many universities will join forces to plan and execute recruitment travel.  There are pros and cons to this type of arrangement.  First you must determine like-minded universities with the same resources (time and money) to coordinate travel.  There are advantages to numerous universities planning visits together.  Students who initially have no interest in your college may choose to attend a group session for another school and come away excited about your school’s offering.  There may also be comfort in traveling with a group, particularly for first-time admission counselors.  Be sure you have solid differences and advantages that set you apart from the other schools on the trip.  Choose a collection of travel partner schools that represent a range of options for the students you will meet.

36. US travel to secondary schools with high international population

Increasing numbers of international students attend boarding schools in the US.  You benefit when your colleagues target US boarding schools with high international populations.  Leveraging your colleagues’ visits facilitates recruitment and matriculation of international students.  International high school students don’t always have the benefit of visiting college campuses as easily as their American peers.  A meeting during a high school visit brings the campus to them more vividly than a website viewing.

37. College visits (to recruit for graduate programs)

College visits gain your institution visibility in recruiting for your graduate programs.  Use this  opportunity to speak directly with students to increase brand recognition and answer questions on your graduate programs.

We realize that relationships between colleges are built and maintained through personal contacts, in particular among faculty members.  Ultimately some of these factulty connections result in formation of dual degrees or joint degrees across colleges.

The goal is to create a win-win situation for both institutions.  A new joint progam should attract revenue to both institutions.  Realistically, no institution wants to give up tuition revenue and see their students leave for another program.

See section 80 on the US Commercial Service’s “Gold Key Service,” which arranges meetings for American colleges with international colleges to establish joint programs or possibly to recruit for graduate programs.