Recruiting Intelligence

Social media is becoming a must-do activity to generate prospects, nurture them through the admissions process and convert them into enrolled students.

You are reading an excerpt from our e-book "88 Ways to Recruit International Students". 

II. Armchair recruiting

Don’t underestimate what you can accomplish from your office in Dubuque, Syracuse or South Bend.  Even if you are chained to your desk, figuratively we hope, you can pursue numerous recruitment strategies with potentially great payoff.  If your institution is just beginning to explore international recruitment, many of these methods can help you wet your feet in the international sector.  Or if your institution has already made inroads in some markets, these methods can help to cultivate additional regions. Let’s begin. 

Excerpt...........

4. Targeted marketing materials for each international market

You are reading an excerpt from our e-book "88 Ways to Recruit International Students" (Click here to read the entire book).

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.

We have developed a unique university and college system as well as a unique admissions process in the United States.  This unique enrollment and application process appears arbitrary, opaque and difficult to master. As a result independent admissions counselors have become a critical intermediary in many countries, not to mention the United States. *For full disclosure, Lisa works as an independent admissions counselor. 

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.  

“It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future,” as the quote goes by Yogi Barra & Niels Bohr.  I was reminded of this quote as I read an article on trends in liberal arts colleges. "Since 1990, the number of liberal arts schools in the U.S. has dropped from 212 to 130, a 39 percent decrease". This information came from a study by Roger Baldwin from Michigan State University "Are liberal arts colleges disappearing"  The author states that only a handful of colleges have gone out of business, but many have added vocational programs in nursing and business and have changed their focus so dramatically that they no longer retain a liberal arts identity. It's a shift of great magnitude without any major headlines for the outside world to notice. I strongly feel that education will continue to change without dramatic public headlines.

 I want to discuss five predictions and analyze how these changes will affect student recruitment and marketing activities. 

Travel to international markets and personal outreach to students and parents is an important element of student recruitment. No different than in your home recruitment activities, the personal touch can be a critical starting point of a relationship and a future enrollment.

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.