Recruiting Intelligence

College admission cycles are like the seasons of the year. If you follow a traditional admissions cycle you know what it's like to live through the cycles of the process. Many schools are admitting more frequently than annually but there is still a big new start in the fall.  

The Education Sector gets covered a lot in the Indian media and on Tuesday this week the Indian newspapers reported that foreign universities will be allowed to establish a campus in India, to operate independently and to issue foreign degrees locally.  While this may not be in the plans for all institutions, it is certainly something to keep an eye on, as it will potentially have a big impact on student recruitment, research collaboration and the local public perception of foreign education providers.

Remember the three Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic? For enrollment marketers and admission counselors, the three Rs have a much different meaning. This time of year there is such focus on rankings. In fact, today is the official release of the US News and World Report College Rankings. So happy college rankings day to you, dear colleagues.

When it comes to international student recruitment and marketing there are many obvious factors that affect a student's interest in one institution over another. Things like (US News and World Report) rankings, cost/financial assistance, availability of desired programs, an international student presence, post-graduation opportunities. These factors all play into a student's decision making process. But there are other factors, which I'll call "soft" factors that also affect student's decision making. In building or maintaining recruitment and marketing efforts it's certainly worth your while to consider these factors.

My wife and I have been working on time management for most of our marriage (>20 years). I have to admit that I am slightly obsessed about being on time.  Timeliness is one of those traits, that is part of my “cultural software." Why?  I grew up in Germany and timeliness matters more in Germany than most other countries.

Global Dexterity is a book about diagnosing cultural code.  Author Andy Molinsky provides a great deal of rich anecdotes around behavior that is appropriate, understandable and (un)acceptable in various cultural contexts.

Making fun of language and cross-cultural misunderstanding-- should we really do that?  I assure you that all of us who have worked, lived and traveled around the world have had our fair share of mishaps, misunderstandings, and embarrassing moments.  In the end, we believe that good willed individuals around the world understand the difference between naive, unintended mistakes and people who want to learn and, well, the opposite, people who are narrowminded, chauvinistic and only want to know their own ways.  

Universities are getting hit by a tsunami of changes ranging from increased competition among universities as they expand traditional recruiting territories, stronger on-line competition from traditional and new competitive entries, rising tuition and student debt levels as well as a new marketing environment.  I am focusing on the latter change, which is getting less attention given the magnitude of the other factors.