April 19, 2021

Social Media News

If you’re exploring new intl student recruitment markets as part of a diversification plan at your institution, making decisions on what countries make the most sense for your college should be thoughtfully considered. Check out Webcertain’s upcoming webinar on factors to consider.
Why is a recruitment only strategy in China doomed to fail? Unless you institution is already an established brand there, your efforts can be often white noise. Check out this Sinorbis webinar on Thursday for helpful tips.
At the end of Q1 2021, 60% of the world now have internet access, an extra 500 billion people started using social media in the last year, and WhatsApp is now the most popular social media platform globally. Great data from WeAreSocial and Hootsuite.
More than 500 million people now use TikTok, 80% are outside the US. This video platform is changing the way people consume media. Are you exploring the option of including this platform in your social media marketing?
If you’ve ever tried to budget for Facebook ads without a defined goal in mind, it can be a real struggle. Here’s a solid article from Social Media Examiner that provides good guidelines.
A/B testing is useful on a number of different levels in student recruitment communications. Doing so with video posts to test organic reach is an important way to refine your posting.
For those with website responsibilities for your intl unit, take some time to review these SEO tips surrounding the importance of selecting the right keywords.
What are the social media trends to pay particular attention to in 2021? Increased importance of video, AI, instant messaging advertising, and more top the list.

International Education News

Big Picture Issues

Though vaccines are rolling out in the US, apparently the State Dept has deemed that 80% of the rest of the world should now be on the level 4 “Do Not Travel” list for Americans meaning nearly 100 new countries are being added.
It’s nearly “squeaky bum time” as a famous Scottish football manager used to refer to nervous late moments in a match. With just over 50% of US consulates and embassies open for student visa appointments, the clock is ticking.
Clearly, Larry Bacow, president of Harvard, gets it. He’s asked for visa flexibility for intl students seeking visas this summer, asking to “consider, on a permanent basis, providing new flexibility for colleges and universities to offer international students opportunities to engage education programs that are low residency or hybrid.”
Some Chinese students are so desperate to get to the US this fall that they’re pursuing 3rd country options for visa interviews. Singapore, apparently, is quite the popular destination.
In the world of rankings, there are few in my opinion that are radically different in a good way. TimesHigherEd’s Impact Rankings that uses UN sustainable development goals to assess institutions. Only 1 US uni in the top 10: ASU.
And then there’s this perspective that makes the intriguing (and accurate) claim that if THE’s World University Rankings adjusted for academic freedom, Chinese and Singaporean unis would rank at the bottom.
Always a good bell-weather of how the recruitment cycle is going for most institutions, the NACAC list of colleges still accepting applications shows 195 hoping to attract more students after May 1.
So few US colleges (let alone the rest of the world) do international student career preparation well. Outcomes matter to overseas students (and their parents) when consider uni options. How prepared are you to talk about it?
Kudos to Alan Preece and Louise Nicol for providing an excellent overview of the growing “agent aggregator” phenomenon and what it means for universities.
We all know quite a few in our profession who have lost their jobs during this pandemic. Reading this Chronicle piece certainly puts a face on the more than half a million in the US who have been forced out.
A useful breakdown of why plans for internationalization fail on campus. It’s a vision thing, but also a challenge for SIO to know their intended role. Quite a multifaceted conundrum.
Always keen to hear from key markets on their perspective on the current challenges students face in the application process. This article in the Hindu attempts provide some guidance to current and future applicants.

Solutions Central

We are not meant to do intl ed alone. It’s literally impossible to recruit a diverse class of overseas students without help, both on and off-campus. Check out my latest piece for IDP Connect on the essential need for partnerships.
Are you seeking some insight to future intl student interest in studying in the U.S.? If so, check out Wednesday’s PIE webinar for some useful tips on the intl school pipeline as a recruitment source.
Excellent piece discussing an approach to working with agent aggregators that is based on transparency from the aggregator and active engagement on the part of the college/university.
Solid perspective: “This sharp rise in students attending online admission’s fairs and events is here to stay, prospective students can now with ease access first-hand information from the source which tackles the problem of information asymmetry that existed in certain geographies by democratizing access to accurate and quality information, which helps students make a well-educated and informed decision.”
QS presents an interesting report on the importance of virtual events moving forward in 2021, and an assessment of whether online recruitment fairs will continue to enjoy success when physical events return.
Refreshing to hear these thoughts from former President George W. Bush, on the importance of immigration in defining the truly best of what the United States can and should be.
Smart institutions are making the most of a bad situation recruitment-wise by offering tuition discounts recognizing study remotely is clearly not worth the same as in-person education. Is your college sensitive to this need?
Two new partnerships in the last two weeks for AIRC, last week TABS this time with CCID (Community Colleges for International Development) joining forces with the agent certification organization.

On-Campus Happenings

On campus there is a growing list (now 84) which will have some combination of vaccination requirements for employees, all students, and/or just residential students.
At Lehigh, though requiring US-approved vaccines of all students to attend, the college will consider medical exemptions for intl students who have already received a non-US approved inoculation in their home countries.
Other colleges, like Smith, while requiring US vaccines, are a little more vague saying they “will help international students or others who cannot get a U.S.-approved vaccination meet the requirement.”
In general, how do intl students feel about vaccines and quarantines this fall? This Rice U student newspaper article shares the struggles they have endured to return from abroad.
Test-optional boundaries are being pushed out at U of Arizona with a commitment for applicants for the 2022-23 academic year that tests won’t be required for admissions, scholarship consideration, or Honors College.

Global Roundup

How did the U of Sydney go from an expected quarter billion (Australian) dollar budget deficit due to the pandemic to only a $2.2 million loss in 2020? Through “cost-cutting and enrolling more international students than expected.”
We’ve seen these kinds of pieces critical of US institutions’ ties to China in the past few years. Apparently, Australian universities are also suffering from a similar dilemma.
British Columbia K-12 schools saw international enrollments drop off a cliff during 2020. In the most recent pre-pandemic year, several Vancouver area districts received between $10-25 million (Canadian) from international students.
After receiving protection from its creditors in 2020 to avoid closing, Laurentian University in Ontario has undergone massive cuts including over 200 jobs and 58 educational programs.
The reaction from Laurentian students, faculty, and staff to the financial insolvency of their institution is predictably sanguine. Most of the humanities and many French language programs got the ax.
Is the Canadian intl education model sustainable? Will their bubble burst? Interesting analysis of the obstacles our northern neighbors face in the years to come.
This story about New Zealand’s intl ed sector is a crying shame. Experts predict that Kiwi Nation will not reach pre-Covid international student numbers until 2030.
Curious to see that Taiwan is beginning to expand their university course offerings to include more English language courses in a bid to replace declining interest from mainland Chinese students with international ones.
One of the hot topics in UK international offices these days is how to bring back EU students which are deserting British unis in droves this year (down 40%).
It will be interesting to see how this new government-university tie up between Singapore and the UK will manifest itself in terms of increased research and development and TNE opportunities no doubt for British unis.

April 19, 2021

SMIE Consulting Midweek Roundup