Cue the confetti. A new guide for international education practitioners just hit the bookshelves.
Produced by Star Scholars and filled with analysis and counsel from luminaries in our field, you'll want to grab a copy (link to purchase below). With thanks to editors Dr. Jing Luan, Leilt Habte, J.D., Dr. David Di Maria, and Dr. Krishna Bista, and too many amazing chapter contributors to list here, this book packs a punch.
We were honored to participate by contributing a chapter on how to Leverage International Student Alumni in your student recruitment efforts and another chapter on Using Digital Marketing for International Student Recruitment. Below, we will be talking about your international alumni and serving up a really nice interactive tool offering guidance based on where you are at with your alumni program.
We could not have provided the clear and actionable content without the leadership of our friend and colleague, Dr. Gretchen Dobson with the depth of her work in this area.
The value of your international alumni cannot be understated. Few ready-made resources can connect as quickly and honestly with prospective international students, making them feel understood and welcome. This is about helping them connect with what is real and tangible based on a degree from your institution. Yet, for many institutions, tapping into this network remains on the to-do list. It’s one of those great ideas that remains underutilized. Blame resources, blame poorly maintained databases, blame, well, you know exactly what we are talking about.
Of course, your institution has strong institutional support for building and maintaining a robust domestic alumni network. All the while, the relative importance and financial value of international students are often overlooked. In some cases, 7% of the total student population being international represents as much as 30% of total tuition revenue. A good idea to do that math for your institution if you have not already. Yet our institutional infrastructure remains lopsided, heavy on domestic alumni, light (or non-existent) on international alumni despite what they can contribute.
Our next opportunities to meet!
EducationUSA Forum, Washington, D.C., July 30-August 1. Ben and Virginia Commonwealth University SIO Jill Blondin will share insights on Navigating Budget Challenges in International Recruitment: Practical Strategies for Every Phase.
Be in touch! We’ll buy the coffee.
In Entry Points to US Education: Accessing the Next Wave of Growth, our chapter on international student alumni management is a great read for any enrollment leader looking to justify the costs associated with building a stronger connection to international alumni. It delves into the motives behind such an effort, including:
- Brand awareness
- Reputation management
- Recruitment
- Employability
- Global connections
- Public diplomacy
- Financial resource
At the end of the chapter, we offer the link to an interactive questionnaire designed to assist international student recruitment teams in evaluating their ability to deploy alumni ambassadors. This simple 8-question form provides customized recommendations based on your responses. Today this tool is available to Recruiting Intelligence blog readers (even if you don’t purchase the book. But really, purchase the book!) Read on to check out the evaluation form…
Building an International Alumni Network
We don’t have to tell you that international alumni are powerful connectors that can serve your international student recruitment efforts. Fostering these relationships opens doors to long-term opportunities that will help sustain growth in international student enrollment and institutional vitality. Brand awareness through powerful word of mouth marketing. Instant credibility delivered to your prospective students. What’s not to like?
Still, we have to ask: how prepared is your institution to engage international alumni in student recruitment initiatives?
This International Alumni and Recruitment Preparedness tool can help you assess your institution’s readiness and offers recommendations based on your responses.
Access it here.
It takes only two minutes to complete. Then, based on your answers, the system will send you an automated email with customized advice on:
- Leadership engagement
- Internal support
- Technology
- Resource allocation
Institutions prioritizing international engagement have so much to gain. We hope you find the tool valuable, and as always, be in touch (info@intead.com) if you want additional perspective on how to engage your alumni. Though, the book chapter can get you there. And you’ll have all those other great chapters enlightening you and your team on all things international student mobility.
More About the Book
Entry Points to US Education: Accessing the Next Wave of Growth
Available in print and digital formats, the book is a collection of articles focusing on the need to modernize international education in response to changes in international student mobility. It investigates Gen Z students’ distinct preferences and approaches, offering data-driven strategies to navigate ten entry points to U.S. undergraduate degrees. This book provides actionable strategies and model practices to encourage a national dialogue on student engagement and enhance global mobility.
For those interested in purchasing the Star Scholars Press book, you can find it here.
It was a pleasure working on this project with the editors and chapter authors all bringing their passion for the topics we care deeply about. If you are unfamiliar with the leaders we mentioned above...
- Jing Luan, Provost Emeritus of San Mateo Colleges of Silicon Valley (San Mateo County Community College District) and former President of the Association of International Enrollment Management
- Leilt Habte, Associate Director of the Transfer Center at the University of California Berkeley Center for Educational Partnership
- David L. Di Maria, Senior International Officer and Associate Vice Provost for international education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Krishna Bista, Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland
The Intead creative team even had the opportunity to design the book cover! We hope you enjoy the book as much as we enjoyed working on it. Happy reading!
