Social Media News

Interested in recruiting Australian students? Check out this useful Webcertain guide that touches on important digital, social, and search trends to connect Down Under.
If you want to learn more about how AI can be leveraged in intl admissions and how Google views international student search trends, check out this PIE webinar this Wednesday.
Do you have a YouTube channel full of videos but aren’t sure how to analyze what’s working best? If so, check out this Social Media Examiner piece on understanding this video platform’s analytics.
Wondering how to best leverage video in your social media marketing? This Social Media Explorer story shares why “outside-the-box” thinking is required.

International Education News

Big Picture Issues

ACE’s latest report on Career Pathways for International Students is a worthy read, emphasizing the importance of outcomes: “Work-related drivers have become higher priorities for recruits; in turn, this has increased pressure on colleges and universities to deliver and quantify employment outcomes and to forefront these in their recruitment activities.”
International students will want to know this list backwards and forwards as they begin their initial OPT job searches. These top 15 companies are heavily tech and consulting based.
How have Chinese students felt about their experiences during the pandemic, especially regarding accommodations in various host institutions in major destination markets. Interesting perspectives.
While I’m always supportive of elected officials taking a stand on issues critical for international students, this one asking for attention on visa accessibility overseas is a bit too late for this fall, but does keep the conversation going.
Even in a smaller country like the UAE, US consulates in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are not able to meet the demand for student visa appointments for this coming fall term. More deferrals likely.
One of the biggest service providers in India for Western nations, Sannam S4, is moving into the TNE (trans national education) game offering matching services for institutions seeking university partners in South and Southeast Asia.

Solutions Central

If your administration needs to understand the value of international students on campus, be sure to share this piece with your leadership. Simply put, these students make our nation stronger.
Happy to see this The Hill piece that shines a light on the often counter-productive government policy with regards to international education. Solid global perspective on how the US has fallen behind, and needs a reset.
In Latin America, economies have been reshaped by the pandemic. As a result, students are becoming much more discerning. This article suggests universities must focus more on conversions that driving interest.
Swag is one of those necessary items admissions offices has used for decades to reward/encourage key audiences to remember their colleges. What do students today value in the post-pandemic swag game? Good piece from Intead.
An important reminder that international student recruitment is not all down to ed tech bells and whistles. Great article from Louise Nicol and Alan Preece highlighting the lessons learned from the Wizard of Oz apply today in intl education.

Testing Debates

Fascinating take on how the testing debates regarding SAT/ACT have risen (or fallen) to the levels of the culture wars in the US. Can’t help to think how differently these exams are viewed by parents abroad.
Are there realistic alternatives to SAT/ACT in terms of making admissions decisions? According to this piece from the Wall Street Journal, three options exist including an admissions lottery. Oh my.
One of the many fallouts from the pandemic on admissions in the US is how now fully 2/3 of 4-year institutions have gone test-optional (minimally) for this next recruitment cycle.

On-Campus Happenings

Public health is more important that individual liberties when it comes to vaccine requirements on college campuses. So says the US Supreme Court that refused to hear an appeal against IU’s requirement for in-person studies.
Mandatory vaccines and indoor mask requirements are become the way many US colleges are going these days, with some holding off on requiring vaccines until after the FDA approves regular use for the 3 emergency-use ones.
Another way to go on the vaccine issue is the one taken by West Virginia Wesleyan: charge a $750 fee for students who do not get vaccinated. Curious to see what the reaction will be.
A bold choice at Cornell is requiring all faculty to do in-person instruction this year with no allowance for disability exemptions.

Global Roundup

With plans to bring back international students en masse failing to earn national government approval, Australian unis are in dire need of a reset to prevent losing overseas interest to other destination markets.
Down Under, there are pushes to change post-study work policies to focus on streamlining processes to combat persistent skill shortages in certain professions.
Top institutions in Canada are now requiring vaccines of all students, faculty and staff with IRCC saying proof of vaccination will soon be required of all in order to travel internationally. Potential challenges for unvaccinated intl students arriving.
If you’re looking for motivations behind the various US-China issues we’ve seen of late, take a moment to read this Brookings analysis. Powerful and worrying for the West.
Where do Chinese students prefer to study abroad these days (as of a June survey)? Top 5 destinations: US, UK, Japan, Canada, and Germany.
Glad to see the UGC in India taking action on illegitimate universities in the world’s largest democracy. Twenty-four institutions have been labeled as fake.
Despite being locked out of Australia for over 18 months, Indian students still want to make the journey for in-person studies. Why? The higher ed sector is “the most significant point of engagement between the two countries.”
Early concerns over the lack of quarantine space seem to have disappeared among UK universities with many now feeling cautiously optimistic about the coming deluge of intl students.
While incoming intl students to the UK face a brighter fall, British students hoping to study at first choice destination countries (like Australia and China) as part of the new Turing scheme are finding pandemic-sized restrictions.

SMIE Consulting Midweek Roundup

August 16, 2021 edition

Testing Debates

On-Campus Happenings

SMIE Consulting Midweek Roundup