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?
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- 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.
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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…
We’ve told this story a few times this year, and it seems to resonate. So, we’ll share it more broadly here in case your team, like so many others, is navigating how to plan a recruitment strategy for the year ahead.
A container ship sets sail from New York, bound for Lisbon. Its mission? Deliver the cargo. Midway across the Atlantic, a hurricane forms. The destination doesn’t change, but the route does. The crew adjusts its tactical approach because reaching the destination still matters.
In the current political storm that ripples globally, the same principle applies. Our mission remains steady. It’s the tactical approach that must adapt. Download our popular workshop handout "Building a Strategic International Enrollment Plan" and be in touch if you'd like to discuss your current state and how these steps apply to your situation.
Adapting Marketing Tactics to Market Shifts
While underlying student motivations have not changed, the ways we reach them – the messaging and channels that capture top-of-funnel engagement – has.
Same goes for the processes and tools for mid-funnel nurturing. And that's significant from a marketing standpoint. In other words, while many fundamentals have remained the same, other important aspects of marketing have changed alongside the attitudes and behaviors of prospective students.
Examples:
- Personal safety was always a topic of interest for students and their families, but that has risen to a greater concern over the past 15 years with the rising reports of gun violence in the US. This is not true globally, but for specific market segments, absolutely. Consider different perspectives on personal safety in Japan vs. Colombia.
- Career outcomes have always been an important influencer of enrollment decisions for prospective students. However, they’ve risen to the very top of the list and can overcome ranking as an influencer for institutions that truly demonstrate success in this area.
Intead has tracked and reported on all of this (tools, messaging, channels, tracking techniques) through the years to help our colleagues develop winning strategies and adjust to the times. Our searchable Resource Center can help you find substantive posts with clear counsel on how to move forward in so many areas (see link above and below).
100 Sessions and Counting
We’re honored to have been asked to present over 100 conference sessions at so many industry events over the past decade+ (NAFSA, AIEA, EIAE, AIRC, ICEF, NACAC, CIEE, GMAC, AGB, EdUSA Forum, PIE Live, TABS, EMA…). Many of you have been in the audience. Some have been on stage with us sharing the insights. It's been a blast and we thank you all.
We’ve done our best to add to the broader industry knowledge base using data and student decision making realities, always with a guiding principle of supporting international students who add so much to everyone's overall academic experience, not to mention the communities served by your academic institutions.
A few topics from just the past year:
- Who Stays, Who Leaves: Global Talent Trends in the US
- Connecting Dots: US Institutions & International Student Career Success
- Leading University Global Partnerships: Defining the Role
- Admissions Process Analysis: Value Mapping and Improvement
- Navigating Budget Challenges in International Recruitment
- Creating a Campus Culture for Study Abroad
These and many other presentation slides and resources are available through our Resource Center, with most shared routinely through our blog (so be sure to check in often!). The slide decks, reports, webinar recordings are all there to help you plan.
We share these materials in the hope that institutions across the higher ed community can use them as guideposts during periods of change. Oh, for the days of stasis in our field. (Checks notes, were there ever days like that?)
As you prepare for a new recruitment cycle, we invite you to explore our resources as practical tools to help navigate the tactical shifts ahead. Better yet, be in touch. We’d welcome the opportunity to have a conversation and better understand what your institution or department is facing right now. Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself on stage with us, helping your colleagues move forward with innovation and insight despite the challenges we all face.
Here for you. Always.
