Recruiting Intelligence

The student recruitment landscape has been in a state of flux that was forced upon all of us. Institutions have adapted in obvious ways (ramping up online education) and subtler ways that vary by institution. [Note: In Spring 2023, We updated this blog post from our previous summary of 10 international recruitment options to now incorporate 12 options]

Looking a bit over the horizon, we recognize that there is always the potential for unanticipated disruptions in addition to the challenging factors we see very clearly. As we consider what is next, the lever that has the greatest value is flexibility. The ability to ramp up or down with relative ease. The avoidance of plans that lock us into something long-term constricting our ability to adapt as circumstances change.

Building Flexibility Into the System

With that in mind, we offer up a quick comparison of 12 ways to develop strategic advantage for enrollment and their relative flexibility. In this case, we measure flexibility by two factors:

• Time: Investment of administrative/staff time into making it happen and sustaining it
• Money: Investment of capital (cash out) to make it happen

When we consider time, we also think about commitment – alliances and partnerships come with contracts that may or may not be easy to modify or escape from as factors on the ground change.

All in all, we see the largest value in those options that offer the greatest flexibility – least amount of effort (time), least amount of financial investment (money), and ability to ramp up or down on short notice (flexible contracts).

A little ways back, Brad Farnsworth, formerly at ACE and now running Fox Hollow Advisory, joined me to present at the CIEE Summit 2021. We discussed some of the options raised in this blog post and how they relate to institutional initiatives that deepen internationalization efforts.

Read on for more on those strategic advantages.

So many SIOs and others working with international students tell us the broader campus community lacks meaningful insight into the role internationalization plays across their institutions. Maybe you and I have had this very conversation. It’s quite likely. It comes up a lot.

The ideal of internationalization is of course generally understood. But actually achieving a strategic, coordinated framework that integrates globally oriented policies and programs across departments, well that is a different story. The level of understanding and commitment certainly varies.

Sure, the international recruitment team gets it. And the international student services group, too. But how is internationalization playing out in housing, nutritional services, career services, IT, marketing, and across faculty programs? Every department has a role in achieving the mission for the benefit of all. Not just the international students! That's kinda the point, right? The internationalization mission is institution-wide for a reason.

We get that championing this can feel like an uphill battle.

Yet we know it’s worth the fight. The folks we talk to are not ones for lip service.

At the upcoming Association of Governing Boards (AGB) conference in San Diego, Edu trustees and presidents will be talking about all thingsinstitutional policy and process and we are looking forward to presenting our internationalization perspective to those attending. We want to empower leadership to offer guidance and insight into the intersectionality (dare we use that word! We're looking at you, Florida) of this highly educational and career-boosting aspect of university life.

We thank AGB for recognizing the value of this topic and for giving us the opportunity to present a holistic picture of what internationalization is and offer perspectives that will help trustees support a plan for progress with a clear focus on student-first initiatives.

Intead has the honor to be presenting to this distinguished crowd alongside Brad Farnsworth from Fox Hollow Advisory (former ACE VP) and Dr. Gretchen Bataille from GMB Consulting (former president of the U of North Texas among other amazing higher ed roles).

Know this: From the dais, we will be channeling all the concerns you’ve raised and offering insights these university leaders need to guide their institutions’ internationalization efforts. Your concerns and priorities are our North Star.

Read on to learn more about the program and the opportunity to share your ideas before we head to the conference…

When Vice President Harris said, “Your nation is SO proud of you,” to a group of 20 Frederick Douglass Global Fellows, you could not have found more inspired university students anywhere. Absolutely anywhere. Their eyes said it all.

International education speaks deeply to all of us. And yet it remains inaccessible to so many. What we know is that roughly 6% of US students participating in study abroad are Black. How to make this privilege and opportunity available to many, many more?

Intead’s international team has been deeply honored to work alongside our colleagues at CIEE on an inspired and inspiring project – a concerted effort to bring the opportunity of international education, experiential education, to more BIPOC students. In just a few months, we’ve watched this effort draw pledges from dozens of university presidents who have matched CIEE’s scholarship funding to allow more students to experience the power of international education.

As the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship barrels forward with applications for 2022 now open, we bring you this bottle of inspiration — a 5 minute film featuring the perspectives and experiences of the 2021 cohort. This will lift your spirits and get you thinking.

To hear Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, president of Benedict College tell it, this program offers a lot and demands just as much back from the students who participate. Frederick Douglass Global Fellows and Scholars have a responsibility to share what they’ve learned as they become leaders in their chosen fields. To be, as one Frederick Douglass Global Fellow put it, “the first of many.”

We are gratified to see university presidents not just encouraging, but taking real action — signing up to catalyze their DEI initiatives in a valuable and visible way through this program. Will your institution be next? 

Read on to watch the film and hear from these future change-makers. 

Today, we start a new occasional series with our Recruiting Intelligence Blog calling on the expertise of our colleagues in the field and sharing their views with you. Many of you know our first “View from My Seat” writer and worked with him in his former role as Vice President for Global Engagement at the American Council on Education. Brad Farnsworth now runs Fox Hollow Advisory helping institutions develop and execute international strategy.

We are thrilled to share his counsel to SIOs as universities around the world continue to grapple with how the pandemic has changed their approach to global partnerships, student services, student enrollment, and overall academic business models.

Be sure to sign up for our AIRC-hosted webinar with Technion Israel Institute of Technology presenting “Shifting Student Perspectives: Digital Marketing Now” — Free to AIRC members and $45 for non-members. Register HERE. (If your institution is not an AIRC member, hit us up for a code and we'll see about getting you past the velvet ropes.)

Read on for Brad’s counterintuitive recommendations for all of our SIO colleagues.

Read on…