Recruiting Intelligence

For tens of thousands of international students, community college has been the secret to earning an affordable US degree. And the interest is growing. 

The latest numbers out of IIE show 59,315 international students enrolled in US community colleges in 2023/24. This option for international students peaked in 2016/2017 at 96,472. With the pandemic, the total dropped to 49,099 in 2021/22. The latest figure shows a 21% increase since then.

What’s behind the uptick? According to the international students we’ve spoken to in recent months, it comes down to: 

• Affordability (tuition) 
• Transferability (credits)
• Flexibility (study options)

Here’s the thing: Many of these students had never heard of community college until they began researching their options for studying in the US. Yet, once introduced to the idea, they were ready to sign on. 

Meet Intead!  

• If you’re at NAFSA, let us know! We’d love to connect. Or, find us at APLU in June, NACUBO in July, and NACAC in September.
• AI and the Future of Student Recruitment. A new webinar all about university recruitment in this dynamic, AICA's Emily Pacheco, Ashley Kern (MeetYourClass, Sightline), Ben Waxman (Intead). Register here.

IIE, UNESCO, the British Council, and other global student mobility evaluators all point to market growth over the next decade. Some of those projections are exceedingly rosy with US international student numbers hitting 2M or more in the next 5 to 10 years. We’re not so sure about that. We’ve seen these kinds of outsized predictions from reputable players before. And they didn’t pan out.  

Nevertheless, our own evaluation of the future is that there will continue to be a significant and growing number of students around the world seeking an international education (see our recent post explaining our thinking).

IIE is absolutely accurate in pointing to the significant capacity (number of seats) available in the US as compared to other common destinations (Canada, UK, Australia, Germany). Which brings us back to purchasing power – the growing number of internationally motivated students from countries around the world who will have the desire will also have less money. We see opportunity in that reality. 

US community colleges, this is your moment, if you are ready for it. Most of you are not.  

One proactive example worth talking about: College of the Canyons. The Intead team has been working closely with this institution which boasts a strong partnership with the University of California system. They use the internationally focused conferences (NAFSA, etc.) to build their network and regularly attend ICEF to connect to and manage a valuable agent network. And they deploy targeted digital campaigns to raise awareness and build the volume of student leads. The digital campaigns support their targeted recruitment travel.  

They do all of this work with a conscious effort to deploy messaging that educates students and their families about the value of community college as a route to a 4-year degree. 

The financial benefits alone are enough to pique prospective students’ interest. Community colleges cost a fraction of what a 4-year institution charges. And, depending on the institution, the ability to transfer credits to a nearby 4-year university to complete a bachelor’s degree is incredibly appealing. After all, these are visa-holding students who’ve already proven their academic capabilities. So, doing the math, many realize this approach to US education significantly cuts the cost of their desired degree while also lowering the barrier to entry for their preferred 4-year program. Win for the students. Win for the community colleges. Win for the 4-year institutions. 

But it’s not just about cost (though a lot of it is). Flexible programming, like online coursework, has opened the door to a wider range of students. Institutions offering international students the chance to start earning credits online before transitioning to on-campus studies are drawing in those who might otherwise hesitate—such as students with limited budgets, those who are still working on their English skills, or those who are simply getting themselves ready for university-level study.  

Take the story of one Taiwanese student we met. We’ll call him Chih-ming (not his real name). He spent his first year earning community college credits online from home. By the time Chih-ming moved to California to complete his associate degree, he had already adapted to the US education system and classroom expectations. This gave him the confidence to focus on adjusting to cultural differences when he arrived, making his transition much smoother. 

For students like Chih-ming, online courses are the bridge to achieving their aspirations, giving them the initial courage to pursue a US degree that will bring them closer to their dream careers. It is a low-risk confidence builder at a time when making the transition to a US university may seem daunting.  

Below we get into the considerations when recruiting (and retaining) international students who see online community college as their way into the US higher ed system. Whether you are an enrollment leader at a community college or a 4-year institution, there is something here for you. Read on...

What we know: international students have a well-documented and unambiguous impact on the US economy and society. Each year the US is $43+ billion wealthier because of these students. And our classrooms, campuses, and communities benefit from their diverse viewpoints and clear-minded ambitions, keeping our workforce competitive, tech companies growing, and sciences advancing. 

There’s no skirting the fact higher education is in a reactionary period as the White House does all it can to implement short-sighted changes to US higher education (and we’re being generous here with our choice of words). Advocacy has never mattered more. Which makes the release of our latest research – done in collaboration with the great minds at NAFSA and Fox Hollow Advisory – that much more important. 

Opportunities to Meet the Intead Team  

• Look for us at NAFSA in May, NACUBO and APLU in June, and NACAC in September. Let us know  if you want to connect at these events.
• Meet us online Tues., May 6, for the next AIRC webinar where Intead CEO Ben Waxman will join Co-panelists Kevin Timlin, Southeast Missouri State University and Manisha Zaveri, Career Mosaic for the expert-led discussion: IEM Student Lifecycle Series: Effective Student Recruitment Strategies.  

Bookmark this: Intead’s Resource Center 
Access 800+ articles, slides decks, reports with relevant content on any topic important to enrollment management and student recruiting.  Check it out.

Phase I of Global Talent: International Student Employment Trends After Graduation – released for download today – gives preliminary, yet important findings that will help bolster conversations we’re all having right now. This report goes beyond public data to answer:  

• What is the longer-term value of attracting and retaining international students to US higher ed institutions?
• How do international graduates contribute to the US workforce and economy?    

The report analyzes behaviors, motivations, and the economic impact of international students after earning their US degree. Special thanks to each of the following participating institutions:  

• California State University, San Bernardino
• Ottawa University 
• Salem State University 
• Southern Methodist University 
• University of California, Davis 
• University of Houston 
• University of Kansas 
• University of North Texas 
• University of Redlands 
• University of Texas at Austin 
• Washburn University 
• Wichita State University 

This research explores the alignment between US institutions producing international student talent, the US economy, and US job market demands. It’s part of a larger initiative aimed at understanding how US education benefits both international students and the nation. Read on to download the report… 

Grabbed my briefcase, checked the full-length mirror. Yup, got my badge. Opened the hotel room door dashing to get to the AIRC conference networking breakfast buffet. Eyeroll and back into the room. Forgot to brush my teeth. 

Conferencing tip for my colleagues: If, in your morning rush, you forget to brush your teeth, remove your conference badge and lanyard before you brush. The physics of the lanyard and badge during the lean over sink, rinse and spit process…well, you can imagine. 

Opportunities to Meet the Intead Team  

• AIEA in March, ASU+GSV in April, and NAFSA in May. We'll be presenting our latest findings with colleagues at AIEA and NAFSA. Let us know  if you want to connect at either of those two events. 

Bookmark this: Intead’s Resource Center 
Access 800+ articles, slides decks, reports with relevant content on any topic important to enrollment management and student recruiting.  Check it out.

The AIRC 2024 Conference produced exactly what it was supposed to produce at the end of a pretty arduous year. It’s all about the people in the room, their knowledge and expertise, and the culture of the gathering. AIRC achieves all of the right elements, repeatedly. The information we gathered will help us perform better in 2025 and beyond. 

The Intead team showed up in force. We presented our daylong Global Marketing Workshop as well as conference sessions focused on budgeting for international student recruitment and an approach to streamlining admissions processes to improve the overall intake. All very practical stuff.  

Institutions so often fail to calculate the full cost of IEM, leaving their international recruitment teams to a minimalist (at best) budget. An increasingly important consideration as demand for an international education grows in the coming years: How will changing student purchasing power influence your messaging? Can you reduce students’ total cost for a degree? 

Read on to download our AIRC presentations.  

Here we go again. Entering a new year with a certain trepidation. Recent headlines warning of mass deportations and reeking of transnational skepticism harken back to a pre-pandemic era of not so long ago. The difference this time: we come prepared. This is a road we’ve traveled. So, lace up your long-distance sneakers and let’s get going. 

Opportunities to Meet the Intead Team  

• AIEA in March and NAFSA in May, we'll be presenting our latest findings at both. Want to connect at either event? Let us know.

Bookmark this: Intead’s Resource Center 
Access 800+ articles, slides decks, reports with relevant content on any topic important to enrollment management and student recruiting.  Check it out.

Despite our wariness of upcoming US, UK, Australian, and Canadian policy changes that are sure to impact our international student community, we are looking forward to 2025. We will find our way forward even despite the incoming US administration's often petty, often chaotic, and consistently unpredictable management style. Sigh.

One important change to how we move forward here at Intead, a resolution if you will, is an adjustment to the cadence of this blog.  

We’ve been publishing Recruiting Intelligence since 2012, on a weekly basis. Our goal has always been, and continues to be, to provide you with deep industry insights that are practical, highly actionable, and meaningful to your day-to-day work. We report on markets, tech tools, recruitment trends, marketing strategy, you name it. If it can improve your enrollment management, we are researching and writing about it.  

This year we are shifting our output slightly by moving to an every-other-week schedule. This shift in cadence is born out of our digital strategy analysis and watching your engagement. Turns out, given our long form content format, not everyone has time to read our posts every week!!!   

OK, obvious, right? What this means in simple terms: our efforts to disseminate meaningful content to as many people as possible is not as effective as it could be with each post. 

By shifting to an every-other-week schedule, our digital team can use social channels more effectively to promote the content we produce. There will be more time for the social algorithms and your clicks and shares to do their work.  

So, long story short, you will still see our longer form musings here, and an increasing presence on social media as we hold true to our goal of providing useful content to industry insiders. Speaking of, we are connected on LinkedIn, right? If not, follow us here.  

In the meantime, a quick look back at 2024 through this blog’s top 10 posts as chosen by you, our readers. We were not at all surprised at #1. Read on…  

Increased demand for online learning is forcing institutions to rethink their approach to programming. 

You likely read that line in a news article a decade ago. But it is news once again. 

Consider this: 69% of chief online learning officers (COLOs) surveyed this year reported prioritizing online versions of on-campus courses, and 65% said they are prioritizing online equivalents of degree programs.  

These significant stats unveiled in the Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) report, CHLOE 9: Strategy Shift: Institutions Respond to Sustained Online Demand, produced by Quality Matters, Eduventures, and Educause, reveal just how far our industry has come.  

For the past decade, a common hesitation among campus leaders resisting change was the legit and long-held idea that online courses of on-campus offerings risk cannibalizing campus student enrollments. That concern has given way to the notion that these virtual programs may instead attract new audiences. Have we achieved win, win?  

And what of the potential for Online Program Managers (OPMs) in all of this? 

Opportunities to Meet the Intead Team  
- NAFSA Region XI, Hartford, Connecticut, Oct. 27-29, 2024
- PIE Live North America, Boston, MA, Nov. 19-20, 2024
- AIRC, Seattle-Bellevue, Washington, Dec. 4-7 -- including our pre-conference global marketing workshop. A full day of Intead global intel (lunch included ; -). Details here. 

Bookmark this: Intead’s Resource Center 
Access 800+ articles, slides decks, reports with relevant content on any topic important to enrollment management and student recruiting.  Check it out.

It’s obvious that the pandemic dramatically accelerated online edu investment. Now, a few semesters past its throes, demand for online learning remains high, particularly from students – though more faculty appreciate it, too. And obviously, institution leaders are paying attention. Thankfully the mood is also shifting from emergency response to long-term sustainability, hastening more meaningful cross-campus discussions on implementation, support, and strategy.  

The CHLOE 9 report adds depth to the conversations we’re all having about online education: investment priorities, pricing approaches, points of friction, third-party services (oh, those OPMS!), and a handful of other key topics worth consideration. Not least among them: Are the participants (faculty and students) simply phoning it in? In other words, does the convenience of remote learning still achieve the desired learning outcomes? 

And for you, what impact does this report have on your recruitment strategy? Read on…  

Our new Know Your Neighborhood (KYN) 2024 Student Sentiment Analysis is a follow-on report to our previous US election research published in June. This one provides the nuance behind the stats. And yes, there’s a clear Trump factor with some choice words shared in the student comments.  

Available today, this new research adds depth to our KYN 2024 report issued in partnership with global study choice platform Studyportals. That initial data set was all about factors influencing international students’ decisions to study abroad, including the effect of the US presidential election (Biden vs. Trump at the time). If you missed that phase 1 research, download it for free here. 

Today’s data set, also produced in partnership with our colleagues at Studyportals, presents new findings by looking at the sentiment behind the survey responses. This report adds even more to our findings with results from a new 4-question survey regarding Harris v. Trump (per shift in Democrat ticket). The Harris v. Trump survey, which ran Aug. 12, 2024 – Sept. 9, 2024, was accessible as a banner ad on Studyportals’ website, resulting in 1,028 responses.   

Opportunities to Meet the Intead Team  
- NAFSA Region XI, Hartford, Connecticut, Oct. 27-29, 2024
- PIE Live North America, Boston, MA, Nov. 19-20, 2024
- AIRC, Seattle-Bellevue, Washington, Dec. 4-7 -- including our pre-conference global marketing workshop. A full day of Intead global intel (lunch included ; -). Details here. 

Bookmark this: Intead’s Resource Center 
Access 800+ articles, slides decks, reports with relevant content on any topic important to enrollment management and student recruiting.  Check it out.

As you well know, the international student market is a competitive one. The universities that succeed are those that truly understand the consumer in each student segment. So, yes, while the KYN 2024 follow-on report is an interesting read, it also gives insight into the mindset of the international students you’re trying to recruit now. In other words, there’s something to be learned here.  

Read on to download the free report…