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International Student Recruitment: 2+2 Equals Success

09/03/2013

For those with an interest in international student recruitment and the 2+2 formula that has become so popular in recent years (2 years at a US community college + 2 years at a four-year college or university equals a bachelor’s degree), you might want to follow this blog and participate in the on- and offline discussion.  It’s related to a general session entitled International Student Recruitment: 2+2 Equals Success (session abstract below) that will be offered at the 2013 annual conference of NAFSA:  Association of International Educators in late May in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.  Join me and my distinguished colleagues and co-presenters:  Judy Irwin, Connect Globally, (chair), Maria Hesse, Arizona State University, and Ross Jennings, Green River Community College (WA).   

2+2

Because the goal of most international students enrolled at U.S. community colleges is a bachelor’s degree, it has become imperative that two-year and four-year institutions engage in joint recruiting and marketing activities. This session focuses on the advantages and benefits, from institutional, student, and field perspectives, to promoting such a package.

Note:  The above image is one that my company uses to promote the 2+2 concept in Vietnam.  2 years at a community college + 2 years at a university (or four-year college) = a diploma.

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SEVIS by the Numbers

28/01/2013

SEVIS by the Numbers is a statistical breakdown of the (SEVIS) system’s performance and trends in foreign student representation in US academic and exchange programs.  Below is the “latest” SEVIS by the Numbers update.  (Note:  The PPT file has since been removed from the SEVIS website.)  What used to be quarterly updates appear to have changed to biannual updates, if the September report is any indication.   Many of us who follow these trends actually prefer the quarterly updates to the annual Open Doors reports on international academic mobility, which use data that are already a year old. 

On 1 October 2012, SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) contained records for 1,275,285 active nonimmigrant students, exchange visitors, and their dependents. The total number of records for all F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa holders has increased to approximately 10.1 million. There are 44,203 international students enrolled in secondary schools, including a sizable number from Vietnam. 

Vietnam enrollment increased from 18,537 in March 2012 to 19,312, a 4% increase.  Vietnam continues to lead the third tier of “top ten” schools (8th) with more students in the US than Mexico (9th) or Brazil (10th). My guess is that will surpass Taiwan and Japan in the next five (5) years.

Top Ten Country of Citizenship (9-12)

Other Highlights

  • China continues to have the highest number of active students (248,760), a 23% increase in two quarters.  South Korea remains a distant second with 104,948, a slight decrease over March 2012.  India is not far behind with 97,883, also a slight decrease. 
  • Business continues to be the leading major for international students (192,628).
  • 70% of active students are enrolled in bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs.
  • California (159,407), New York (113,043), Texas (68,492), Massachusetts (57,275), Florida (43,090), Illinois (42,026), Ohio (30,465) and Pennsylvania (39,761) host 58% of all active students, a 3% increase over March 2012.  California, Texas, and Washington enroll over 50% of all Vietnamese students. 
  • 36% of all SEVP-approved schools are in California, New York, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania. (Note: “An approved school may offer several levels of education from pre-school, elementary, high school, to post-secondary education level.”)
  • Of SEVIS-approved schools with active students, the visa distribution is as follows: 83%/F, 11% F/M and 6%/M. Of the top five F-1 and M-1 approved schools three are community colleges: Cornell University (5,046), Santa Monica College (3,572), Houston Community College System (3,443), the University of Iowa (3,073) and Northern Virginia Community College (2,198).
  • The top five F-1 approved schools are CUNY (9,885), Purdue University (9,517), USC (9,397), University of Illinois (8,901) and Columbia University (8,579).
  • The top five schools with active students on a M-1 visa are: Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (683), TransPac Aviation Academy (378), Orlando Flight Training (288), U.S. Aviation Academy (211) and the IASCO Flight Crew Training Center (204).

Students by State (9-12)

As I mentioned in my last two SEVIS updates, the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, whose slogan is Your kingdom come… on earth as in heaven, and which doesn’t appear to be accredited (dear reader, please correct me if I’m wrong; only God is perfect), ”is committed to the truth that God loves people, gave Himself for them and has given His Church supernatural power to bring individuals and nations into wholeness. God is in a good mood! Inaugurated in 1998 with 36 students, the school emphasizes that believers need to return to the ministry of signs and wonders—to minister in love, truth and the power of God. The mission of BSSM is to equip and deploy followers of Jesus Christ who passionately pursue transformation in their God-given spheres of influence. In the 2011/2012 school year, more than 1500 students were trained to continue in the ministry style of Jesus: to enjoy the presence of God, say what He is saying, and do what He is doing,” according to its website. 

Top Ten Majors

60% of all international students in the US are studying business management, marketing and related subjects (28%), engineering (19%) and basic skills and developmental/remedial education (13%). 

Top Ten Majors (9-12)

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Over 100,000 Vietnamese Studied Overseas in 2012

16/01/2013

Last year around this time, I wrote a post about about the 100,000+ Vietnamese students who studied in 49 countries and territories in 2011, according to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET).  90% of them were self-financing.    I conservatively estimated the investment in overseas study to be in the $1+ billion range. 

billions of dollarsThis year’s report, released early this month, revealed that the number of Vietnamese studying overseas had increased to 106, 104 in the 2011/12 academic year.  The top host countries included the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore and China - not necessarily in that order.  About 35,900, 34%, studied in Asian countries, while nearly 40% were in Australia and the US.   The Ministry of Finance estimates that Vietnamese spend $10,000-$15,000 a year on average for each student, which adds up to between $1-1.6 billion. 

As Nguyen Truong Giang, a senior Ministry of Finance official, mentioned, and as those who know the Vietnamese higher education and overseas study scene can confirm, one of the driving forces behind this phenomenon is quality, or a lack thereof ,at Vietnamese high schools and universities.  This places more pressure on Vietnamese institutions to improve quality.  It also creates opportunities for new ventures, including international standard K-12 schools and foreign degree programs, often in partnership with Vietnamese universities.  This trend is evident, especially in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). 

Follow these links to read the article on which this post is based: 

Billions of dollars outflows to fund Vietnamese students’ studies overseas

Hàng tỷ USD học phí đang chảy đi hàng năm

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“Internationalizing the Community College Campus”

08/11/2012

Here’s an informative article by Nick Clark, Editor, World Education News & Reviews, that touches on source country trends, receiving institution trends, community colleges as an international model, internationalization challenges, and successful recruiting models.  Vietnam is, of course, an important part of this story.

Students at community colleges come from a diverse range of countries, and while the top source countries align to a degree with the broader overall tertiary enrollment picture, there are clearly countries where the U.S. community college model is better understood and appreciated than in others.

Among Chinese students, for example, community colleges tend to be a far less popular option than the traditional university route. Community college enrollments accounted for less than 6 percent of the total Chinese tertiary body in the United States in 2010/11, while as a percentage of the total international body, Chinese students in the two-year sector represented just one in 10 students – versus more than one in five of all international higher education enrollments.

Even more telling is the distribution of Indian students across academic levels. Of the 103,895 Indian students in U.S. institutions of higher education in 2010/11, just 2.6 percent, or 2,336, were studying at the community college level. And among the 28,145 Canadian students, the fourth biggest cohort of international students in the U.S., just 1,438 were attending community colleges in 2011.

On the flip side of the coin, students from countries and territories such as Vietnam, Mexico, Hong Kong, Nepal, and Indonesia enroll at the community college level at a disproportionally higher level than students from other countries. In the case of Vietnam, almost 60 percent of students in U.S. higher education were attending a community college in 2010/11. This compares to 12.4 percent at the community college level among all international students. Meanwhile, 40 percent of students from Hong Kong were studying at the two-year level in 2011, along with 31 percent of Mexicans and Indonesians, and 28 percent of Nepalese students.

Source:  Institute of  International Education; image courtesy of WES

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Mapping international student segments with recruitment channels

31/08/2012

Reposted from DrEducation, a blog by Dr. Rahul Choudaha, Director of Research and Advisory Services at World Education Services (WES), New York—a non-profit with more than 35 years of experience in international education and research.  While Vietnam was not included in this study (i.e., the main focus was on China and India), it does have relevance for Vietnam.  I’ll discuss this in a future post. 

MAA 

International students seeking to attend an American higher education institution differ by academic preparedness and financial resources, and these differences impact their preferences and information-seeking behavior during college search, according to a new report from World Education Services (WES)–a New York-based non-profit with over 35 years of experience in international education research and credential evaluation.

The publication, Not All International Students Are the Same: Understanding Segments, Mapping Behavior, presents findings from a survey of international students in the process of applying to U.S. colleges and universities. The survey, which was administered from October 2011 to March 2012, received responses from nearly 1,600 prospective international students from 115 countries.

The report identified four distinct international student segments based on academic preparedness and financial resources:  Strivers, Strugglers, Explorers and Highfliers.

Strivers form the traditional segment of students coming to the U.S. They are highly prepared for academic work and expect to receive financial aid from their host institution. In contrast, Explorers form an emerging segment of students who can cover tuition fees but are not fully prepared for college-level coursework, indicating their need for academic support, particularly in English language training.

Highfliers are the most sought after as they are academically prepared and financially able. However, their attraction to a narrow circle of top-ranked institutions makes it difficult for lower ranked institutions to compete for them. Strugglers are less selective about their college choice, but they require additional pre- and post-enrollment assistance and have less access to financial resources.

The study found that just one-sixth of the survey respondents reported that they had used an recruitment agent during their college search. Student segments with lower academic preparedness—Explorers and Strugglers—were found to be more likely to use agent services.

Source: World Education Services

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“Patent Pending: How Immigrants Are Reinventing The American Economy”

04/07/2012

While this is not exactly breaking news, I am pleased to see how this trend is being documented in order to build an even stronger case for visa policy reform.  It’s an issue that unites key business and political leaders, including President Obama, as well as professional associations such as NAFSA:  Association of International Educators. 

This report, issued by The Partnership for a New American Economy, a nonprofit organization that “brings together a bipartisan group of mayors from across the country and business leaders from all sectors of the economy and all 50 states to raise awareness of the economic benefits of sensible immigration reform,” examines the contribution of foreign-born inventors to the American economy. From more efficient ways to purify seawater to metals that can be molded like plastic, the report highlights several immigrant inventors behind some of the most cutting-edge technologies. These foreign-born inventors are fueling patent awards at the top patent-producing universities, and their new innovations and new companies are advancing American industries and creating American jobs.  (Two co-chairs of The Partnership are Steven A. Ballmer, CEO,  Microsoft Corporation and Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor, New York City.)  
 
Key findings of the report include:

  • More than three out of every four patents at the top 10 patent-producing US universities (76%) had at least one foreign-born inventor.
  • More than half of all patents (54%) were awarded to the group of foreign inventors most likely to face visa hurdles: students, postdoctoral fellows, or staff researchers.
  • Foreign-born inventors played especially large roles in cutting-edge fields like semiconductor device manufacturing (87%), information technology (84%), pulse or digital communications (83%), pharmaceutical drugs or drug compounds (79%), and optics (77%).
  • The almost 1,500 patents awarded to these universities boasted inventors from 88 different countries.

The Times They Are a-Changin’

Support for student visa policy reform also comes from the most unlikely of places, namely, The White House.  In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama made two references to international students.  The first is that the US is “home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any place on Earth.”  The second is about international students who end up competing against the US (my italics).

One last point about education.  Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens…  Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities.  But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us.  It makes no sense. 

One change, which appears to be a direct result of the President’s remarks, is a new multi-agency initiative called Study in the States , launched in September 2011 by the Department of Homeland Security “to enhance our nation’s economic, scientific and technological competitiveness by finding new, innovative ways to encourage the best and brightest international students to study and remain in the United States.”  (I discussed this in a previous post.) 

The fact of the matter is the US population is graying with a median age of 37 (2011).  That, combined with the lack of young Americans studying certain key subjects, means that the US desperately needs a certain percentage of international students to stay, work and emigrate. 

Ultimately, emigration is a personal issue.  Many international students, including those from Vietnam, choose to remain in the US for a whole host of reasons, including a lack of opportunity in their chosen field(s) at home, offers to good to refuse in America, the inability to find their niche, which some discover while doing summer internships, and love, among other reasons. 

The day will come, out of economic and therefore political necessity, when the student visa interview will focus exclusively on 1) the applicant’s status as a “bona fide student;” and 2) her/his ability to pay.  Whether or not students intend to return to their home countries after graduation will no longer enter into the equation.  This happens regardless:  they dutifully play the game of promising to return home, whether or not that is their true intention.  A policy change will simply make it easier for international students, especially those in certain fields, to emigrate, if they so desire, and will represent an official recognition of a longstanding reality. 

MAA

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Beyond Education Agents

24/05/2012

An Introduction to Diversifying International Student Recruitment Strategy

I’m looking forward to moderating and contributing to this general session at the NAFSA 2012  Annual Conference & Expo during the last week of May in Houston, Texas (USA).  The session is neither a rejection nor a condemnation of the use of education agents, a sometimes problematic approach to international student recruitment, but rather a recognition that schools that are serious about recruitment need to be proactive and take advantage of opportunities to brand and market themselves, especially in highly competitive markets.  They also need to be open to alternative forms of representation. 

Description:  Agency-based international student recruitment has been a hot topic of discussion in recent years. Panelists present effective and proactive alternatives to the use of education agents, including marketing and promotion campaigns and various types of non-agent-based overseas representation in India, Vietnam, and other highly competitive countries.

The session (GS-126) will take place from 2-3:15 p.m. on Thursday, 31 May 2012 in Room 350 DEF of the George R. Brown Convention Center

For more information, including the names and affiliations of the other presenters, check out the description on this conference website.  I’ve also created a session blog that will be used before and, especially, after the conference.  My fellow panelists, who represent a private sector company working in higher education, a community college and a state university, and I are excited about this opportunity to learn from our colleagues and for them to learn from each other. 

MAA

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SEVIS General Summary Quarterly Review: March 2012

13/04/2012

This quarterly report (PDF) is a statistical breakdown of the system’s performance and trends in foreign student representation in U.S. academic and exchange programs. On 2 April 2012, SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) contained records for 1,189,073 active nonimmigrant students, exchange visitors, and their dependents. The total number of records for all F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa holders has increased to approximately 9.5 million.  There are 37,490 international students enrolled in secondary school, including a growing number from Vietnam. 

Vietnam enrollments increased from 18,044 in December 2011 to 18,537.  

Below are some highlights from the latest quarterly snapshot:

  • Vietnam continues to lead the third tier of “top ten” schools (8th) with more students in the US than Mexico (9th) or Brazil (10th).
  • China continues to have the highest number of active students (202,003) with South Korea a distant second (107,054).
  • Business continues to be the leading major for international students (177,730). 69% of active students are enrolled in bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs.
  • California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida and Pennsylvania host 55% of all active students.
  •  36% of all SEVP-approved schools are in California, New York, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania.  (Note:  “An approved school may offer several levels of education from pre-school, elementary, high school, to post-secondary education level.”)
  • Of SEVIS-approved schools with active students, the visa distribution is as follows: 83%/F, 11% F/M and 6%/M. Of the top five F-1 and M-1 approved schools three are community colleges: Cornell University (4,068), Santa Monica College (3,525), Houston Community College System (3,323), the University of Iowa (2,733) and Northern Virginia Community College (2,218).
  • The top five F-1 approved schools are CUNY (10,079), USC (8,505), Purdue University (8,447), University of Illinois (7,648) and Columbia University (7,018).
  • The top five schools with active students on a M-1 visa are: Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (531), TransPac Aviation Academy (353), Orlando Flight Training (280), Florida Institute of Technology (271), and Dean International Flight School (237). 

As I mentioned in my post about the December 2011 update, the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, whose slogan is Your kingdom come… on earth as in heaven, and which doesn’t appear to be accredited (dear reader:  please correct me if I’m wrong; only God is perfect), ”is committed to the truth that God loves people, gave Himself for them and has given His Church supernatural power to bring individuals and nations into wholeness. God is in a good mood! Inaugurated in 1998 with 36 students, the school emphasizes that believers need to return to the ministry of signs and wonders—to minister in love, truth and the power of God. The mission of BSSM is to equip and deploy followers of Jesus Christ who passionately pursue transformation in their God-given spheres of influence. In the 2008/2009 school year, more than 900 students were trained to continue in the ministry style of Jesus: to enjoy the presence of God, say what He is saying, and do what He is doing,” according to its website.

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Should the U.S. State Department Copy the British Council?

31/03/2012

 

The British Council, as an education provider, a research analyst, and a conference convener is an interesting model. At the very least, taking a look at the British Council makes me wonder why the United States government does not pull back and take a big-picture look at what it might do to provide better global support for U.S. universities.

This is the title of a 14 March 2012 piece by David Wheeler of The Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE). I have often asked myself this question, having worked for a quasi-US governmental organization that once had a contract for EducationUSA activities in Vietnam, among other countries.  (Some US diplomats I’ve known over the years have asked themselves the same question.) 

The fact that the ”United States government does not pull back and take a big-picture look at what it might do to provide better global support for U.S. universities” has resulted in the absence of a comprehensive national export strategy for education, a sure-fire recipe for disorganization, conflicting signals and piecemeal policy-making.  The relevant Cabinet-level departments not only do not cooperate but some colleagues in those departments don’t even talk to each other. 

The inability of the US government to present a united front and speak with one voice about all matters related to the promotion of American higher education around the world reflects a lack of vision and leadership at the highest levels.  In a sense, the US is resting on its laurels as the world around it changes, and other countries aggressively and persistently chip away at its international student market share. 

What about EducationUSA, you may ask?  This public affairs activity is constrained by its limited mission, a lack of funding, inadequate staffing, a lack of consistency and coordination, the gaping chasm between rhetoric and reality across countries (i.e., U.S. diplomatic missions) and its steadfast refusal to constructively engage a select group of education consultants.  In a phrase  “it is what it is.” 

The answer to the question posed by the CHE article?  A qualified “yes.”  Not copy but certainly be inspired by and devise ways to adapt this model in a strategic and productive manner. 

MAA

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SEVIS General Summary Quarterly Review: December 2011

17/01/2012

This quarterly report (PDF) is a statistical breakdown of the system’s performance and trends in foreign student representation in U.S. academic and exchange programs. On 31 December 2011, SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) contained records for 1,158,059 active nonimmigrant students, exchange visitors, and their dependents. The total number of records for all F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa holders has increased to approximately 9.2 million.  There are 39,109 international students enrolled in secondary school, including a growing number from Vietnam. 

Vietnam enrollments decreased slightly from 18,548 in September 2011 to 18,044.  

Below are some highlights from the latest quarterly snapshot:

  • Vietnam continues to lead the third tier of “top ten” schools (8th) with more students in the US than Mexico (9th) or Brazil (10th).
  • China continues to have the highest number of active students (196,857) with South Korea distant second (104,908).
  • Business continues to be the leading major for international students (173,778). 70% of active students are enrolled in bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs.
  • California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida and Pennsylvania host 55% of all active students 36% of all SEVP-approved schools are in California, New York, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania.  (Note:  “An approved school may offer several levels of education from pre-school, elementary, high school, to post-secondary education level.”)
  • Of SEVIS-approved schools with active students, the visa distribution is as follows: 83%/F, 11% F/M and 6%/M. Of the top five F-1 and M-1 approved schools three are community colleges: Cornell University (4,238 active students), Santa Monica College (3,243), Houston Community College System (3,214), the University of Iowa (2,681) and Northern Virginia Community College (1,946).
  • The top five F-1 approved schools are CUNY (9,926), Purdue University (8,534), USC (8,458), University of Illinois (7,822) and Columbia University (7,212).
  • The top five schools with active students on a M-1 visa are: Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (539), TransPac Aviation Academy (368), Florida Institute of Technology (284), U.S. Flight Academy (239) and Dean International Flight School (222). 

Interestingly, the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, whose slogan is Your kingdom come… on earth as in heaven, and which doesn’t appear to be accredited (dear reader:  please correct me if I’m wrong; only God is perfect), ”is committed to the truth that God loves people, gave Himself for them and has given His Church supernatural power to bring individuals and nations into wholeness. God is in a good mood! Inaugurated in 1998 with 36 students, the school emphasizes that believers need to return to the ministry of signs and wonders—to minister in love, truth and the power of God. The mission of BSSM is to equip and deploy followers of Jesus Christ who passionately pursue transformation in their God-given spheres of influence. In the 2008/2009 school year, more than 900 students were trained to continue in the ministry style of Jesus: to enjoy the presence of God, say what He is saying, and do what He is doing,” according to its website.

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