This is the second in a series of co-authored articles about commissions-based recruitment of international students. The other co-author is Eddie West, executive director of international programs at UC Berkeley Extension. Previously, he served as director of international initiatives at the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). Eddie blogs at International Education Insights. The first article, … Continue reading International recruitment – Are education agents welcome?
international student recruitment
An ethical approach to commissions-based recruitment
Below is the unabridged version of an article with the above title that Eddie West and I wrote for University World News (UWN). Follow this link to read that version. Incentive-Based Compensation & International Student Recruitment: Is There a Better Way? By Mark A. Ashwill & Eddie West The agent issue in the US is reminiscent … Continue reading An ethical approach to commissions-based recruitment
Working with Education Agents: A View from Vietnam
Below are a couple of excerpts from a blog post I wrote at the invitation of NAFSA's International Enrollment Management (IEM) Knowledge Community. While there are some indications that growing numbers of students, who are better informed and more empowered than ever, are applying directly to foreign educational institutions - a trend that we should all encourage because … Continue reading Working with Education Agents: A View from Vietnam
In Country Representatives: A Tale of Two Models
A growing number of educational institutions are turning to in country, including regional, representatives to assist them with international student recruitment. While this option obviously costs more than other recruitment tools and techniques because it includes the cost of a local salary, benefits (?), and other expenses, including travel and marketing, it can potentially be … Continue reading In Country Representatives: A Tale of Two Models
EducationUSA Fairs: The Importance of In Country Follow-Up
EducationUSA fairs in Viet Nam and other countries can be a cost-effective way to recruit students. The location of the fairs and the network of the local EducationUSA office that organizes the events determine who comes, more or less. As I've written before, sometimes the goals of the US State Department and recruiters diverge. For … Continue reading EducationUSA Fairs: The Importance of In Country Follow-Up
The Art & Science of Creating Good Videos
Vietnamese get most of their information from online sources, including social media, primarily Facebook. They also watch a lot of video, 2 hours, 43 minutes a day, to be precise, according to the results of the annual We Are Social and Hootsuite update. As a result, YouTube ranks 4th among all websites in Viet Nam, … Continue reading The Art & Science of Creating Good Videos
An Ode to International Student Recruiters
One of the privileges and pleasures of my work is watching colleagues connect with young Vietnamese who are interested in overseas study, be it at a fair, coffee talk, info session, or individual meeting at a hotel. Traveling to Viet Nam and other sending countries is still one of the most effective ways to recruit … Continue reading An Ode to International Student Recruiters
How Many Students Will You Send Us?
I occasionally receive inquiries from colleagues asking me how many students will I refer to their institutions by a certain term, i.e., semester or quarter. The assumption behind the question is that the company I work for, Capstone Vietnam, a full-service educational consulting company, follows the traditional agent model of student recruitment. In fact, we … Continue reading How Many Students Will You Send Us?
Of Chickens, Eggs, & International Student Recruitment
Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg? This is the idiom that pops into my head whenever a colleague says to me, "You send us a few students, then we'll join one of your events," as if taking advantage of an institutional service such as a fair or info session were an expression of … Continue reading Of Chickens, Eggs, & International Student Recruitment
Irony
Charlottesville & EducationUSA Defined as: a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. That and surreal are the words that best describe a situation I encountered while reading an online US newspaper article about the white supremacist "rally" in Charlottesville, VA. … Continue reading Irony
An International Educator in Vietnam 
You must be logged in to post a comment.