Recruiting Intelligence

Creating brand recognition abroad when there are so many higher education institutions can be an ongoing challenge for universities. Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio has instituted an exciting and novel approach to building brand awareness, spreading its educational message and educating international students who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to attain an American degree. At the 2012 NAFSA Region VI Conference three Franklin University leaders presented their exciting on-location international degree programs. A special thank you to Suzie Arehart, Bridget Banaszak and Tamer Khadre for presenting this information.

Many admissions officers will say: I wish that I had this problem. We are hearing more frequently from university officials concerns about having too many Chinese students with the consequence of isolation and limited contact with American students.  

Would you spend $5 million to organize a discussion?   According to media reports*, that's exactly what Lynn University in Florida spent in preparation of holding the last presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney this year.

Orientation is an important part of setting up, integrating and preparing international students for their new living and academic environments. We have heard questions and frustration about students missing orientation at the beginning of the semester. We'd like to give a few suggestions on how to encourage greater participation. 

I have heard quite a few U.S. colleagues asking me about the secondary schools in Vietnam and where they would find the most number of potential candidates for their programs. Where will you find students with strong academic performance, best English skills, and high propensity to seek a college education in the U.S.?

Are you concerned about improving your reach and productivity in social media marketing? You should always be thinking about improving your systems, and this could be one to consider. 

The recruiting environment is getting more competitive in China for international universities. International admission officers have to find ways to broaden the pool of students they can reach. As a result, it is even more important to understand the Chinese high school system to craft a successful recruitment strategy for your college or university. 

In the spring and summer of 1988, I was sitting in Germany with three U.S. graduate school admissions in hand, two of them to similar prestigious programs in Washington D.C. - Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) and Georgetown University. I didn't get to visit either campus. I had never been to the United States, had no emotional, family and other ties to either university. Where to attend?

Have you ever noticed that different key word searches bring completely different results? This happens throughout the Internet but we noticed it most recently on the Chinese social media site RenRen. This can be a great source of frustration for both students and universities.

Coordinating efforts between recruitment and student services