The US is the largest market for international students and yet it has not had a particularly commercial approach – until now. The use of education agents is not common with many institutions believing until recently that it was illegal to recruit international students via agents. All of that is set to change:
- American universities are developing and implementing marketing international student recruitment strategies
- The American International Recruitment Council has been established to help universities navigate the market for international students.
- An increasing number of universities are developing agency relations and appointing agents.
This is likely to have an effect on UK recruitment of international students. To what degree and how are some of the questions answered by the largest ever poll of international education agents, conducted for ICEF by international insight experts - i-graduate. The questionnaire was distributed to 20,000+ agents worldwide in 2008. Results from the study reveal which countries receive the highest ratings from agents across various categories, including: language courses, foundation, vocational and university education. Also, what makes a great study destination this year and agents' views on what institutions can do to develop a successful working relationship. The insights will be interpreted in the light of America’s new agent revolution, as US institutions begin to market themselves more fiercely in a bid to attract more international students.
