This week, Ben at Patricia are in Miami at the AIRC conference, where they will be hosting a digital marketing workshop alongside Angel Ahmed, CEO of GNET, and Hillary Dostal, Director, Global Initiatives at Northeastern University. This expert team and comprehensive workshop will help international recruitment leaders develop strategic communications plans that differentiate their unique institutions. And, they will be talking about the skills needed throughout the process to achieve success. 

Plans are only as good as the team executing them. Seems obvious, right?

Is your team aligned on your strategic enrollment plan? Do you have a comprehensive marketing plan to work from? Are there gaps in the skill sets? We bet there are at least a few areas that could use improvement, right?

This week we want to walk you through our strategic marketing workshop format and a series of corresponding worksheets available via Intead Plus to guide your marketing and enrollment teams. Ready? Let's check it out. 

Itinerary. Check. Tickets. Check. Hotel confirmations. Check. Passport. Check. Seems like you're all ready for your fall international student recruitment travel. But are you? What is your strategy for building and maintaining connections with the prospective students and parents you meet on the road? What's the point of traveling, the financial and time commitment, if you aren't going to effectively leverage your contacts?

How cutting edge is your institution's career services office? When key reports are published is the data considered for future planning? What is YOUR career services department doing with the Glassdoor report regarding employers hiring by sector?

Recruiting tours, fairs and the associated travel expenses are some of the biggest line items in an institution's recruiting budget. Given the investment of time and money to achieve student recruiting goals through travel, we hear the same great questions every year related to this topic. How do you know if you're getting the most bang for your buck in terms of recruitment travel? This is article is part one of two on this subject.

As admissions officers and higher education marketers, we are out there "selling," "marketing," and "explaining" our institutions and services. We are all committed to the value of education. Most of us appreciate the environment and respect the act of learning. University academic staff liked college so much that they never left school!  But what is happening around us?   We are selling into an environment that does not necessarily prioritize education for the sake of education, but is rightly looking for a preparation for life with a focus on professionalism. 

Do you watch your frequent flyer status? To be honest I do, too.  I like free flights. And it helps to have status for early boarding and luggage perks as airlines have gotten so stingy and charge for bathroom visits (no, they haven't come up with that one...yet).  For this blog, I have selected a few services that can make your travel easier.

Here it is. Delivered fresh to your mailbox. Another exciting edition of the Intead Index, one in a series of indices that provides you with all of the information you need to make informed decisions.

In this edition we provide you with a comprehensive chart outlining the many credential evaluation companies. 

Hot off the digital presses: It's the Intead Index: Book of Lists.

Our expert researchers have gathered the information we wish we had when we were working in admissions offices.

We've spent time evaluating, comparing and then compiling the results. We do this to help you make informed decisions as you scale your international student enrollment.

• Social media tools to help you manage a multi-country campaign
• Tour provider comparisons
• International educator associations listed
• Lead generators compared
• Linked In groups listed

All of these, and more. We are comparing the tools used by some of the most successful institutions. We've gathered information from many sources including administrators who have traveled this path and expanded their international student populations by 100% or more.

We have entered the season in which we become fully entrenched in deep thoughts on learning and growing, living and celebrating. There will be memorable moments shared by families throughout the world. It is graduation season, a time when we review accomplishments of the past and look towards future achievements. Celebrated college graduation speakers often draw upon quotes of earlier orators and authors. Those very best life lessons are distilled into brilliant quotes for future generations to share and appreciate. We at Intead would like to commend all recent graduates, as well as the individuals who are called upon to give the commencement addresses. Our passion for education runs deep; we celebrate and promote education everyday on our site Why Education Matters.