You are reading an excerpt from our e-book "88 Ways to Recruit International Students" (Click here to read the entire book)
Alumni can be your best resource for marketing your institution abroad. Don't underestimate the power of alumni in encouraging students and parents to consider your institution as an option for higher education. Alumni have the credibility factor as well as the ability to relate to students and parents in a way that you will not. Consider the following ways to use alumni in your recruitment efforts.
39. Alumni-hosted college fairs
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As mentioned previously, alumni are an incredible, often underutilized resource. Obviously you won’t be able to attend all of the fairs you’d like. Enter your alumni. As you build your pool of dedicated alumni you will be able to trust their capabilities at college fairs. In fact there is an entire week of college fairs organized by the US Departments of State and Education during International College Week. This is but one example of the myriad of fairs that can be staffed by alumni. |
40. Alumni meetings
In an earlier section we mentioned the importance of creating an alumni network. This can be useful within the US, but it can also be incredibly helpful abroad. Once your travel plans are solidified contact alumni living in the areas you will visit. By scheduling time to meet with alumni, you will strengthen the connection between the alumni and your institution. Use this opportunity to ask the alumni and their thoughts on means of enhancing your school’s image abroad. You can also inquire about additional high schools you might visit.
43. Utilizing alumni to staff events
Alumni are frequently utilized in the US recruitment process to staff college or high-school fairs and interview prospective students. From our experience, colleges are not as organized on the international front. In part, this is due to the limited numbers of international alumni and the greater effort required to organize alumni abroad.
| Furthermore, many alumni office systems do not track international alumni very well due to different address fields and fewer address updates. |
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Digital databases maintain relationships among a growing number of students and are starting to make the process much easier. Systems such as LinkedIn, which are accessible in almost all countries, connect with former students, regardless of their location.
45. Requesting names of prospective students from alumni
Depending on the size and connections of your alumni population, collecting names of prospective students may be appropriate and worthwhile. Word-of-mouth marketing is very powerful, and many schools benefit from their current student connections back home. In particular, social media, blogging, and LinkedIn make these connections easy and more frequent. The challenge is integrating these efforts systematically into the recruiting process.
Few Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM) exist to integrate international students into the alumni network. International alumni often miss out on traditionally mail-distributed newsletters and continued contact with their alma mater. Schools miss out on a valuabe resource for recruiting the next generation of students. Coordination between admissions and alumni relations can create valuable contacts and links to assist in recruitment.
46. Organizing home events with alumni
International alumni may be excited to host events in their homes. Depending on your network, the regional habits, and living circumstances, organizing alumni in their home countries may be challenging. Apartments in Japan or China may be on the outskirts of the city or too small for meetings. On the other hand, some alumni may have adequate space and would feel honored to represent their alma mater. Alternatively, alumni may also offer to host a program at a local hotel or restaurant.
