Recruiting Intelligence

Our aim with the original 88 Ways to Recruit International Students, published in 2012, was to create an accessible compendium of international recruitment tactics for edu institutions.  The download took off. At the time of publishing, we were hoping to get 300 downloads. We hit 10X that number in a couple months.  

So successful and widely used by academic and enrollment leaders in 2012-2013, a number of edu service providers in the field (our competitors) started paid search campaigns using our ebook title as their keywords ; -). Digital indicators that we were on to something. 

We have received terrific feedback and suggestions over the years from enrollment leaders. And we owe a debt of gratitude to our original authors, Lisa Cynamon Mayers and Michael Waxman-Lenz for their vision and groundbreaking research to compile our first edition back in the day. Our field has changed with new tools emerging (generative AI), others going away (remember Renren?). 

Currently, in 2025, some of our mainstay data sources (IIE, IPEDS, and EducationUSA) are truncated and under threat of disappearing as we go to press with this edition. Previously unthinkable. Also, potentially making some of our writing in the section called “Recruiting with US Government Support” a bit risky. Hopefully, that does not require an update too soon. 

A truly valuable addition to our latest edition: The intead team has been conducting market research and publishing our findings in our blog for more than a decade. Almost every summarized entry in this edition of 88 Ways has a link taking you to Intead’s deeper analysis of how that particular idea can work along with relevant data. 

So, yeah, you’re welcome.  

Meet Intead!  

• Find us at APLU in June, NACUBO in July, and NACAC in September. Be in touch to share a cup of coffee in person.

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.

Over the years, the Intead team has contributed to the evolution of our field. In 2012, the world was still crawling out of the 2008 market crash. (Remember AIG? Bear Stearns? Credit Default Swaps?) International student enrollment numbers were really starting to climb. And digital marketing was just starting to mature.  

For perspective, the first iPad was released in 2010. In 2012, Facebook had almost 1 billion users. (Today, it has more than 3 billion.) Back then, Renren was very popular and growing as the Chinese Facebook alternative.  

Here’s an interesting digital tidbit: Google Vine launched in January 2013 and died in 2017. TikTok arrived on the scene in 2016 and by October 2018 was the most downloaded app in the US. Today, 3 billion downloads worldwide. 

 So, yeah, it’s been a minute and much has changed.  

Where are we now? In 2025, there are new global threats to the economy, to geopolitical safety, to student mobility. Generative AI is THE hot topic. WeChat is on every Chinese citizen’s phone. WhatsApp (owned by Meta, Facebook’s parent company) is one of the preferred communication tools for 2.75 billion global users (think Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America). 

Importantly, there are many, many new enrollment leaders and practitioners out there who are trying to make sense of it all. Enrollment leaders are trying to bring their new hires up to speed with a global perspective. 

That’s no easy task. 

This is where our 88 Ways ebook truly shines: as a resource that helps folks old and new to the field get a quick overview of the many channels, tools, tactics available to help enrollment teams find and recruit relevant pockets of international students around the world. 

The reality that no institution has the resources to market to the entire world prompts smart leaders to evaluate options and focus investments where they have the greatest return value, the greatest potential for success. 

We’ve given 88 Ways a reboot to reflect the current world of enrollment operations and opportunities. We’ve updated the suggestions, retired a few ideas, and offered up new recruitment insights that will no doubt spur worthwhile ideation from your team – whether your institution is US-based or not, this compendium will get you and your team thinking.    

Read on to download our rebooted ebook…

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… 

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…  

Shout out to Q4 for giving us all something to think about. Cue the Chinese expression: "Better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos." (宁享平安犬生，莫为乱世中人). Yup, got it! Right now, we are those humans, perhaps wishing we were dogs.  

Between the US presidential election and IIE Open Doors data, many of us are recalibrating our approach to 2025. Fortunately, we’ve worked through anti-immigration policies and lackluster international student enrollment numbers before. We’ll weather this. But there is work ahead for all of us. 

So, if you’ve missed a few of our Recruiting Intelligence articles, we understand. This post will catch you right up. 

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.

Below, get our latest insights on topics that matter to you, including:  

• Digital Marketing: The impact of AI on your SEO; Our social algorithms cheat sheet
• Marketing Strategy: 5 Student recruitment markets worth considering; How to find and use your student career outcome data to recruit; Why personas get a bad rap
• Industry Reports: CHLOE 9: Strategy Shift -- Institutions Respond to Sustained Online Demand; Trump v Harris -- Student Sentiment Analysis 
• Conference Highlights: Intead’s notes and slides from AMA Higher Ed, PIE Live Boston, NAFSA XI 

Read on… 

This we know: this is a time to prepare, as in, think 5 years out. #PIELIVE24 in Boston brought industry leaders together as we all move toward the next Trump presidency. Challenging travel and visa regulations will be headed our way. Join us in developing the plans that focus on the international students we support and the progress we need for everyone in this field.

We have work to do.  

As one fearless leader, Fanta Aw, said in a recent NAFSA town hall, “We’re not allowed to be tired!” The Intead team found this rallying cry inspiring. Of course, we are tired. It has been a long year. Nevertheless, we all need to pick ourselves up, face forward, and use all the power we can muster to support the changes we know are worth it. 

Kicking off the PIE event in Boston, Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, pointed to the need to build on our collective strength to find a clear, unified voice. She asked us to use that voice to bolster our individual work and to serve as the foundational support our allies in Congress need from us so that they can ensure the US remains a strong, safe, desirable destination for international students. 

If you are looking for enrollment growth in the current environment, you'll find a Pro Tip at the end of this post you really don't want to miss!

Opportunities to Meet the Intead Team  

• AIEA in March and NAFSA in May, we'll be presenting our latest findings at both. 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.

PIE Live Boston wasn’t all politics and regulatory hurdles, though. The rising potential of Africa as a student source market, building trust on campus, university partnerships, and the value of US degrees were all hot topics. Intead’s presentations focused on how to read the latest IIE Open Doors data and our Connecting Dots research about career outcomes for international students. If you’ve not downloaded that yet, find it HERE.

I was honored to share the main stage to foster discussion around the hot-off-the-press IIE student mobility numbers with esteemed colleagues Clare Overmann, CEO of AIEA; John Sherman, CEO of The Evaluation Company; and Maureen Manning, senior vice president of strategy and insights for The PIE, US, who did a truly deft job moderating the discussion. 

A clear-eyed look at the new Open Doors data at PIE Live ‘24.

A key insight from that presentation: as the number of students desiring an international education grows globally, and given the fact that a growing number of them will have less money to spend on that education (see discussion below), lesser expensive degree options are going to attract more students.  

Your To Do: make a strategic decision about whether you want to: 

• Offer less expensive options (think certificates, scholarships, accepting more credits from prior activities to reduce time (and cost) to completed degree, among other options) OR  
• Develop stronger value propositions that make your institution stand out as worth the higher cost.  

Changing global dynamics have pushed the Intead team to focus our recent research on unearthing real data on international student career outcomes. We will be doing more research on the topic in the months ahead. Reach out if you’d like to be a part of it. We’ll also be presenting on this topic at AIEA and at NAFSA in 2025. We hope you’ll join us at those sessions and participate in the discussion.  

At PIE LIVE Boston we were joined by Kerry Salerno, vice president of marketing and communications at Babson College, and Andrew Chen, CEO of F1 Hire,for another presentation oncareer pathways available to international graduates. Standing room only for that session as institutions are clearly getting the message about arming prospective students with useful career outcome data.  

In total, the event brought together 330 colleagues from 25 countries. Since many of you (our faithful readers) were not there, we thought we would bring a bit of the conference to you. Read on to access Intead slides from our sessions on the new Open Doors data as well as career outcomes for F1 students.

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… 

2023 ushered in some much-needed numbers. Enrollment rose among undergraduate (+2.1%) and graduate (+0.7%) students. And while freshmen enrollment trended downward (-3.6%), interest in shorter-term credentials was on the rise (+9.9%). All this per National Student Clearinghouse figures. 

Likewise, IIE Open Doors data showed a 12% increase of incoming international students in 2022-23. And the more up-to-date SEVIS data indicated 2023 fall enrollment maintained this welcomed momentum. All good news in aggregate. As we parse all these data sets, there are interesting findings and nuanced opportunities to be sure. 

Yet, all news was not good. The chaos of the world at large continued to make its way onto campuses across the nation. Safety continues to be a growing concern, and your prospective students and their families are unsure what to make of it. More admissions inquiries shift from campus life to safety and mental health support services. Also important to note: social justice activities influence an increasing number of applicants. 

In the midst of it all, we do our best to use this blog to weigh in on topics that matter to enrollment teams like yours. So, it’s always interesting for us to look back and see which posts were your faves for most valuable content from the year. There are always a few surprises. 

In 2023, there was a ton of interest in all things internationalization – especially around how student activity in India and China is changing. But that’s not all.

We were told our posts on student career prep, social media trends, and budgeting framework were also really helpful. So, with that, we share our top 10 posts from 2023, as chosen by you, our readers. Plus our staff pick for the most valuable post of 2023. If you missed any of these top pieces, you’ll want to read on…  

Those of us with an entrepreneurial spirit and a global network typically see things others don’t. In the enrollment management field, the entrepreneur mindset is an asset, and yet…and yet, if only those in control of the purse understood what we understand about global markets and student motivations. 

The opportunities are there. The need is growing increasingly intense as revenue sources are threatened or declining. The Intead team shares your entrepreneurial enthusiasm and we are here to offer the insights that help you succeed. It’s one reason we connect so well with our university colleagues.   

Now, if only there were an easy way to satisfy your global entrepreneurial instinct while demonstrating recruitment success in such a way as to unequivocally justify your funding requests and get the programs you envision started and growing.  

Ben and Iliana will be at the NACAC conference presenting alongside our colleagues from AIRC on Sept 22 in Baltimore. Can we schedule a time to chat? Coffee's on us!

The simple truth: the root of successful international student recruitment lies in understanding your target markets, connecting with them, and effectively managing them over time. It has to do with simply doing the work as opposed to finding some magical online tool that suddenly produces all the enrollments you ever wanted. (Note the word magical in that last sentence).

To DO the work, you’ll need to take a deep dive into the macro- and micro-economics of what drives student mobility. Sounds more complicated than it is.  

If you’ve been following our blog, then you know we’ve been helping institutions like yours recruit international students for a very long time. Our multi-cultural marketing team, our bandwidth, and the tech systems in place bring focus and produce macro and micro level insights. Oh, and results. See case studies in our resource center here. 

Our work takes a load off our university counterparts who, like you, are being asked to over deliver while being chronically underfunded (and understaffed). We’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, including three common mistakes that will derail any international student recruitment program. Avoid these at all costs. Read on…

Global student recruitment, finding student segments domestically and abroad, is simply not rocket science.

We know the processes and don't need another generic report about what students are thinking and how important parents are to the process. If new student mobility trend data of significance emerges (thank you IIE and National Clearinghouse), you can count on us to evaluate it and report on it. But, most of the reports we are seeing right now from marketing agencies (like us) are rehashing everything we already know.

And annoyingly, they are somehow pointing to their nothing new findings as revelatory. Wut?

So, let’s get to work plotting out the work and bringing the successful results we all want.

The Formula: custom research on your differentiators, your strongest recruitment options (countries/regions), and messaging that engages your target audience on the channels they use.

That’s really about it. That’s what we need. Oh, and to do it successfully, that actually requires investment, technology, and expertise.

So...yes, trend analysis because decision making actually did change since 2019 - safety, cost, the value of education overall, visa issues - all much more significant. These factors existed before the pandemic, before the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, and the ever-horrific state of gun violence in the US. Not new info. All of these factors have been on students’ and parents’ minds for a while. Yours too, right?

And yet, international students continue to find value in a US education and the experience of living and studying in the US. And as they make their decisions, all the things we see in the latest reports and infographics about student mobility trends say essentially the same things we’ve seen for more than a decade.

Reputation matters. Rank matters (more in some regions than others). Career connections matter, parent opinions matter, etc., etc., etc. Tedious findings touted as new, ground-breaking, must-have trend analysis.

Read on for a few student influencers that are actually rising to the top of students' decision-making criteria, and more importantly, what all of this means for your institution's recruitment planning.