Internationalising Higher Education

The USA 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 uncommon in Northern America 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 gearing up to develop and implement marketing strategies for the recruitment of
international students. As part of this process, Dr Mitch Leventhal, the Vice-Provost for International Affairs at
the University of Cincinnati, has set up the American International Recruitment Council to help universities
navigate the market for international students. An increasing number of universities are developing agency
relations and appointing education agents. This is likely to have an effect on UK recruitment. The largest ever
poll of international education agents, conducted for ICEF by i-graduate, may help reveal how this may affect
UK institutions. The questionnaire was distributed to over 20,000 agents worldwide in 2008, and results from
the study reveal which countries receive the highest ratings from agents across various categories. The
session will include agents' own views on what institutions can do to make a successful working relationship