Recruiting Intelligence

HAPPENING THIS WEEK!

Find us at AIEA in DC. Join our sessions:

• Resilient IEM: A History Lesson for Managing Current Chaos. Ben co-presenting with Dr. David DiMaria, UMBC
• AI: Your Old SEO Approach No Longer Cuts It. Iliana co-presenting with Dr. Balaji Krishnan, University of Memphis

The truth: AI is simply not mature enough to deliver consistently reliable, broad results at scale in enrollment and admissions.

Not yet. Despite what every tech solutions vendor out there is telling you right now. Large-scale implementations are simply not plug-and-play at this point.

We anticipate push back from many who are reading this post. However, you can test this by talking to their recent customers and asking whether they were able to plug and play. The answer will be, “No.” Get the details on that response before you buy.

The reality: For many enrollment teams, AI is more of a distraction than an instant solution. That may change in time; however, for now, it doesn’t pay to be out in front. Better to be a fast follower, in our estimation.

“There’s a big mental disconnect. Campus execs think they want AI, but what they really want is more structured, automated workflows,” says Seth Cargiuolo, adjunct professor at Boston University and Suffolk University and trusted “digital plumber.”

This disconnect often leaves teams who are chomping at the AI bit vulnerable to what’s colloquially known as vibe coding. Not sure what we’re talking about? Read on…

MEET US AT AIEA 2026!

We'll be presenting:

• Resilient IEM: A History Lesson for Managing Current Chaos
• AI: Your Old SEO Approach No Longer Cuts It

Or, be in touch to grab a cup of coffee. We'd love to connect!

That’s just a taste (so to speak) of the feedback Coke received. The company had wanted to re-energize the brand. They clearly energized something!

The company fielded up to 8,000 calls a day from dissatisfied customers and received over 40,000 complaint letters. Imagine if social media had existed then. Sales volume plummeted sending rival Pepsi sales through the roof. In today's dollars, this was roughly a $100M mistake.

Clearly, Coca-Cola got the message. A quick 79 days after New Coke’s launch, the original formula was back in market, rebranded as Coca-Cola Classic. Sales soared beyond previous highs. Consumers didn’t just return; they came back with enthusiasm and loyalty. Within a year, Coca-Cola was outperforming Pepsi more decisively than before. The Coca-Cola brand had emerged stronger than ever.

Why bring this up now?

Because the US is experiencing a New Coke moment all its own. You feel it, too, right?

Read on… 

Meet Intead!  

• Find us at AIEA in DC in February, WEIC in DC in March, and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

At the AIRC 2025 conference that just recently wrapped in Atlanta, almost all of the presenters and participants ultimately addressed the question of how to talk to institutional leadership and help them to understand the complexities of internationalization –  because most academic leaders are unaware of how the international education community works. 

Helpful slides from one of our sessions are available below. They speak to 6 hesitations leadership leans on when deciding not to invest in international and what you might present to them to modify their perspective. 

But here’s the focus: institutional leaders do not need to know HOW it all works. They simply need to see the value of it and the investment required. To do that, they need to listen to and trust the messenger (that’s you).  

Read on… 

Meet Intead!  

• Find us at AIEA in DC in February, WEIC in DC in March, and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

The goal for 2026 is clear: sustaining, if not growing, international enrollment despite external chaos. But is that even realistic in the current climate? Short-term gains are going to be hard to deliver, for sure. Failing to set your institution up for future growth, well, that is not a legacy we would choose. There are opportunities ahead that smart enrollment leaders are focused on.   

Looking backward, fall 2025 indicators offered mixed signals: decreased interest in master’s programs, fewer new arrivals (because many international students never left the country this past summer), more student-visa holders in 2025 vs 2024 (thank OPT for that) – and compelling counterpoints to each (nod to Karin Fischer for her perspective in The Chronicle’s “An Incomplete Enrollment Picture”).    

But first, which topics mattered most to you in 2025? Read on for the top 10 posts of last year as chosen by our readers. The countdown from 10 to 1 shows an interesting progression of the year’s hot topics. Take a scroll through and let us know what you think.  

Meet Intead!  

• Find us at AIEA in DC in February, and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

eBook Reboot:  88 Ways to Recruit International Students 2025 update. Your tactical toolkit for the year ahead. Covering all the bases in 10 quick-read chapters. Fosters great ideation discussions with your team.

NOTE: This week, our Recruiting Intelligence Blog will take its regular end-of-year break. We will see you again on Jan. 7, 2026, with our usual actionable future focus.

The institutions emboldened to act by realities of enrollment drops and general wariness around US travel are playing the long game. It’s the right move. Those who take a wait-and-see approach are already losing ground on future enrollment. But you already know this. And if you’ve been reading our blog, you also know:

• Why now is the right time to take international on a campus roadshow  

• That your Career Services office is an underutilized gem 

• Our NACAC takeaways on students, staffing, and new H-1B implications 

• What enrollment teams need in times of ambiguity 

Didn’t catch those topics? Read on… 

Going to AIRC in Atlanta? Let’s connect!  

Join us Dec. 3, 2025, 1 – 4 p.m., for our workshop, Exploring Third-Party Business Models for International Student Recruitment, or any one of our other conference sessions. You are registered, right? 🙂

Or, meet us at:
AIEA in DC in February and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April.

How you get to clarity and forward motion: concrete data to identify the opportunities and cut through uncertainty. And importantly, you need stong presentations to build internal support for your plans. 

In this time of seemingly never-ending uncertainty, institutions need leaders who act. Read on for our views on what proactive enrollment leadership looks like… 

Going to AIRC in Atlanta? Let’s connect!  

Or, meet us at:
AIEA in DC in February and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April.

Kudos to NACAC leadership for never shying away from the hard issues in the face of ever-present financial challenges. Prompts feelings of mad respect for all those who put in the long, fretful hours forging the path forward. Especially now when our fairly recognizable business landscape has morphed into a very strange wilderness. 

The Intead team feels the consistent pressure to deliver actionable insights to our community. Below, we share a few significant takeaways from our NACAC presence. What we’re thinking about:

• How will chief enrollment officers deliver the enrollment numbers their institutions need?
• Where will we see universities closing next year?
• And will the new H-1B fee proposal from the White House support international student mobility to the US? (spoiler alert: Yes!) 

Read on…   

Meet Intead!  

• Find us at AIRC in Atlanta in December, AIEA in DC in February, and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

eBook Reboot:  88 Ways to Recruit International Students 2025 update. Your tactical toolkit for the year ahead. Covering all the bases in 10 quick-read chapters. Fosters great ideation discussions with your team.

Our own research on the preferences and motivations of international students aligns with this. We suspect your experience does, too. Broader media reports emphasize that domestic families and students are increasingly focused on career outcomes as the justification for the cost of university. International students and families always have been. 

Where we are going with this: the more successful you are at getting students into the careers they want, the more successful you will be at getting students to fill the seats you want.  

And yes, we know you’re already telling prospective students that “95% of your graduates get a job or continue on to an advanced degree after graduation.” That’s no differentiator if everyone is saying it, despite its accuracy. 

This is where Career Services should chime in. Yet, many (read: most) students view Career Services through a lens of “why bother?” Hard to blame them. Help with resume and cover letter writing is too basic and can be provided by ChatGPT. Mock interviews have value, but there’s SO much more these departments could be doing to help students and your institution’s enrollment growth. 

Read on for some interesting data points and our recommendations for improving Career Services with an eye on driving enrollment…  

Meet Intead!  

• Find us at AIRC in Atlanta in December, AIEA in DC in February, and ASU+GSV in San Diego in April. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

eBook Reboot:  88 Ways to Recruit International Students 2025 update. Your tactical toolkit for the year ahead. Covering all the bases in 10 quick-read chapters. Fosters great ideation discussions with your team.

Of course, you have been staying informed about all the policy changes. And no, you won't provide a summary of the policy changes that are coming in weekly with your multi-faceted plan to address each one, giving appropriate weight to the student, department, and institutional priorities.

Still, you know your colleagues are coming from a good place as they express their dismay. It can be gratifying to establish that these colleagues actually know your office and your role exist! We jest (but only a little). 

Are you seeing the opportunity? 

The SIO’s job is rarely well understood. The international staff swims in different, more complex currents than the larger domestic team. Storm clouds that the domestic team can ignore look entirely different from the SIO's office.  

Just one example: A downturn in oil prices, for instance, can disrupt the finances of students from oil-dependent economies. An economic shift like this rarely impacts domestic students. Is the domestic enrollment marketing team even aware of stuff like that? Likewise, any sudden shift in international currency exchange rates can alter student retention realities overnight. 

Truth is, you’ve been addressing the new realities each time new policies or statements emerge. And you’ve even informed your internal community about your efforts. Have they been listening? 

This really is a golden moment to get leadership across campus in tune to what is going on with international enrollment, international student experience, and overall campus internationalization efforts. It is a golden opportunity to let your colleagues know what their role could and should be.  

Deep breath. Therein lies the opportunity. Read on… 

Meet Intead!  

• Find us at NAFSA Reg XI in Springfield in November, and AIRC in Atlanta in December. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

eBook Reboot:  88 Ways to Recruit International Students 2025 update. Your tactical toolkit for the year ahead. Covering all the bases in 10 quick-read chapters. Fosters great ideation discussions with your team.

So, while you’ve been navigating stalled visas, funding uncertainties, increased competition, and, we hope, maybe a bit of summer vacation this past quarter, we’ve published actionable ideas on: 

• Predicting student yield 
• Finding right-fit education agents 
• Keeping your education agent partnerships strong 
• Creating “Reel” connections, based on our work with a UK higher ed NGO 
• Staying the course in international student recruitment despite headwinds 

Plus, access to popular worksheets on: 

• Agent evaluation
• Building strategic international enrollment plan

Read on…