Intead Agent Management E-book
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Student Counselors and Agents: Building and Managing Your International Network. Recruiting students from around the world is complicated stuff. Cultural differences aside, simple barriers to technology can keep your outreach efforts from reaching your target audience. Copyright: Intead
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- 2. Table of Academic Industry Contributors The following industry professionals shared their experience for all of our benefit. The interviews conducted with each of them added valuable insight and we thank each them for their generosity of wisdom and time. We want to be clear: none of the individuals listed below or mentioned in this e‐book endorsed any particular recruiting approach on behalf of their affiliated institution. We apologize for any inadvertent omissions of conversations. (Alphabetically by last name) Ahmed, Angel, Full Sail University Arredondo, David, Lorain County Community College Badde, Markus, ICEF Bahan, Rebecca, Fontbonne University Behnke, Andrew, EMC Boyd, Steven, University of Bridgeport Brown, Rebecca, Humboldt State University, CA Burke, George, retired (previously Cleveland State University) Brunner, Dan, Davis College Chan, Sonia, Swinburne University of Technology Chaulk, Elizabeth, Northern Kentucky University Cullen, Tony, Navitas Cushing, Ron, University of Cincinnati DiMaria, David, Kent State University, OH John Deupree, AIRC Joseph DeCrosta, Duquesne University Eisenhardt, Andrew, Drexel University Gerdeman, Penny University of Findlay Greenfield, Shawn, University of Idaho Griffith, Ryan, Upper Iowa University Grover, Colleen, Husson University, Maine Hallett, Mark Hallett, Colorado State University Hansen, Mandy, Northern Arizona University Heriza, May, Montana University Hilpipre‐Frischman, Christina, University Of Saint Thomas Hofmann, Paul, California State University, Fresno Leventhal, Mitch, SUNY Littlefield, Tony, Washington College Lokken, Jay, University Of Wisconsin‐La Crosse McGinnis, John, Birmingham Southern College McGrenra, Shamus, St. Francis University Morales, Rachel, University Of Southern Maine Moreno, Georgina Herrera, Bridge‐Linguatec Morris, Fiona, The University of Sydney Nelligan, Anthony, University of Melbourne Northup, Krista, SUNY Price, Chris, Adventus Education Provoost, Greet, University of Mississippi Schellenberger, Christie, Wilfid Laurier University Schwartz, Charlie, University of Cincinnati Skinner, Sam, University Of Hartford Spellman, Joseph, University Of New Haven Stremba, David, INTO University Partnerships Swan, Sonia, University of Swinburne Thorne, Debbie, Texas State University Trecartin, Ralph, SUNY Brockport Tully, Sara, University of Wisconsin‐Milwaukee Van Rooyen, Patrick, Navitas Weinberg, Amy, Bridge‐Linguatec Wilkerson, Charles, Tennessee Tech University Wood, John, Navitas
- 3. 1 Once again, Intead has produced a thoughtful analysis of an important development in international education. This monograph will be useful to any institution considering an agency‐based recruitment strategy, as well as institutions which are already on this path. ~ Mitch Leventhal, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs, The State University of New York System Student Counselors and Agents: Building and Managing Your International Network, Published by International Education Advantage, © November 2013, All Rights Reserved.
- 4. 2 Acknowledgments We would like to thank all contributors for their helpful collaboration on this e‐book. We relied on all the insights from our colleagues at universities, colleges, language and boarding schools as well as non‐for‐profit and for‐profit company partners (see our list of Academic Industry Contributors on the inside front cover). We appreciate Christopher Clark’s and DJ Burgess’ creative design concepts. Elizabeth Prouty contributed her editing skills, in particular, modifying Michael’s German sentence structure. Ben Waxman provided valuable clarifications throughout the process. It takes a team; we’ve got a great one. Contents Table of Academic Industry Contributors Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... 2 About the Authors ...................................................................................................................... 4 To Our Readers ............................................................................................................................ 6 1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 7 2. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 8 Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 8 What is an Agent? ....................................................................................................................... 8 The Agent Debate ....................................................................................................................... 8 Research Methodology ............................................................................................................ 10 Agency recruitment is just another recruitment channel ................................................ 11 Can this recruitment channel work for all types of schools? .......................................... 11 B2B versus B2C .......................................................................................................................... 11 What motivates and drives agents? ...................................................................................... 13 3. Getting Started ..................................................................................................................... 16 Seven Steps to Building an Agent Network ....................................................................... 16 Marketing Channels and Systems ........................................................................................ 19 Big Picture: Marketing Strategy and the Role of Agents ................................................. 20 What Do Agents Do? ............................................................................................................... 21 Building Consensus .................................................................................................................. 23
- 5. 3 4. Finding the Right Agents for Your Institution ..................................................... 25 Identifying Agents .................................................................................................................... 25 Who manages the largest agent networks? ........................................................................ 31 Agent Qualities and Qualifications ....................................................................................... 33 The Cincinnati Principles—Guidelines for Success in Recruiting ................................. 33 5. Onboarding, Training and Communication ......................................................... 36 Signing the Contractual Agreement ..................................................................................... 38 Follow up .................................................................................................................................... 39 Agent visit programs ............................................................................................................... 39 ICEF FAM tours ........................................................................................................................ 40 Agent management tools ........................................................................................................ 40 Business plan .............................................................................................................................. 41 Promoting agent activities on your university website ................................................... 41 Contract renewal ....................................................................................................................... 42 6. Support Organizations ..................................................................................................... 44 Department of Commerce Commercial Service ................................................................ 44 NAFSA ........................................................................................................................................ 44 AIRC ............................................................................................................................................ 44 7. International Comparison .............................................................................................. 46 The Australian Experience ...................................................................................................... 46 The UK experience .................................................................................................................... 52 8. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 53 9. Appendix ................................................................................................................................. 55 Valuable Information Sources, Media Coverage and Training Material ..................... 55 Various authors and sources .................................................................................................. 55 Support Svcs for Campus Internationalization & Agent Network Management ..... 56 Australia Specific Resources ................................................................................................... 57 10. Give Feedback ................................................................................................................... 58
- 6. 4 About the Authors Michael Waxman‐Lenz and Lisa Cynamon Mayers are the authors of the popular compendium 88 Ways to Recruit International Students, which has been downloaded several thousand times on the Intead website and through the Kindle store. World travelers and education industry professionals with experience in the classroom and the admissions office, the authors are pleased to share their insights with you. Thank you for taking an interest. Michael Waxman-Lenz Co-founder and CEO of International Education Advantage, LLC Michael arrived in the United States as an international graduate student from Germany, which gives him a personal understanding of the needs and challenges of students studying outside their home countries. His twenty‐five‐year career spans activities in technology, academia and doing business around the world. Michael provides a deep understanding of international markets and how to deploy digital technology creatively and effectively for the international marketing and student enrollment process. Prior to co‐founding Intead, Michael spent ten years in various senior executive functions at the Digital Media Division of a consumer products company, rising to General Manager. As VP of Business Development for an internet start‐up company, he was responsible for strategic partnerships and digital content. Prior to that position, Michael lived in Central Asia for five years and
- 7. 5 managed a venture capital fund. His previous work experience includes his position as a manager in Ernst & Young’s International Finance Group. Michael has taught as an adjunct professor at Baldwin‐Wallace University and John Carroll University. His academic credentials include a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter, a Masters from Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), and studies at the University of Konstanz in Germany and Kingston University in London. His executive education includes courses at Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School and Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Business. Lisa Cynamon Mayers Academic Advisor, International Education Advantage, LLC Lisa has spent more than twelve years working in undergraduate admissions and college counseling and now provides guidance on the application and admissions processes for Intead’s clients. Lisa worked at Washington University as a Senior Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions. She was responsible for the Northeast region, led the admissions committee for the School of Architecture, and coordinated the Student Admission Committee (including the tour guide program). Throughout Lisa’s years of graduate study at Case Western Reserve University, she worked with the admissions office on projects including interviewing prospective students and revamping the campus tour program. Recently she served as an international application reviewer for Case. For the past ten years, Lisa has worked as an independent college counselor, guiding American and international high school students and their parents through the college admissions process. Lisa was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Inside Ivy Conference in Seoul, South Korea, organized by the Princeton Review Korea and Road to College. As a speaker and published writer on the subject of college admissions, Lisa has been able to advise countless students and parents. Lisa is a featured writer for the book Getting to the Quad. She earned a BA from Washington University in St. Louis and an MA from Case Western Reserve University. Feedback is welcome and encouraged Please share your feedback on this book and your own experience with agents: Michael Waxman‐Lenz: michaelwl@intead.com Lisa Cynamon Mayers: lcynamonmayers@intead.com
- 9. 7 1. Executive Summary Agent recruitment has an air of picking the easy and cheap way to find students as opposed to the typical US domestic student recruiting process of visiting high schools and attending college fairs. Our research shows that successful recruiting via agents is neither easy nor inexpensive. Building, supporting and managing an agent network requires initial investment and ongoing commitment and resources. In interviewing more than 50 professionals in this field, we found those adding this recruiting channel had deliberate strategic and practical reasons to do so. Here we highlight the advantages and value of agent recruiting: Consistent presence in the country with local representatives and offices versus fly‐in/fly‐outadmissions officers Local cultural understanding of the education tradition and an ability to convey the complex US admissions process Language facility and ability to communicate with students and parents A successful, well‐designed and managed agent recruiting channel requires: o Ongoing support internally and externally o Thoughtful selection, evaluation and monitoring of the partner agencies o Consistent and repeated training of agents o Direct personal interaction and communication via as many channels as possible (visits in‐country, visits by agents to the institution, email, phone, video conferencing) o Consistent evaluation of results o Fair and prompt compensation to agents
- 10. 8 2. Introduction Overview We are going to cover the practical implementation issues of managing an agent‐ based recruitment network for most types of educational institutions. We talked to people affiliated with over 50 colleges and universities about their recruitment needs. We also surveyed ESL programs, language schools and boarding schools. The issues we address will be similar for language schools and boarding schools, but we focus on the college market due to the greater complexity of programs, admissions requirements, accreditations, state requirements, etc. What is an Agent? Before we can discuss how to develop an agent network, good qualities to seek in an agent, and other tips of the trade, it’s worthwhile to first unpack the definition of an agent. Agent, noun, ˈā‐jənt, a person who does business for another person: a person who acts on behalf of another. (Source: Merriam Webster Online Dictionary) We want to focus on the latter half of the definition—“a person who acts on behalf of another.” In every business arena, agents serve a critical role—real estate, sports, law, travel, to name a few. In education, the agent—also known as international education agent, educational counselor, or independent counselor—acts on behalf of the student and his/her parents and the college or university to ease the process of learning about the institution, applying, and enrolling. The agent serves the needs of both the student and the university. It is a triangular partnership: everyone could coordinate individually, but the agent provides the conduit for easier interaction for the other two parties. The Agent Debate Though we are certainly aware of it, we will disregard the question and debate in the United States as to whether it is appropriate to use agents. The purpose of this e‐book is not to focus on the debate around agents, but rather to provide a roadmap for those institutions that have already made the decision to work with agents. The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), which “strives to support and advance the work of The world is full of agents – when you buy a house, book a holiday, prepare documents. Athletes use sports agents. Writers use literary agents. ~ Markus Badde, CEO, ICEF Agents can help institutions better understand the local education market. They often are effective inroads to the region. ~ Joseph DeCrosta, Director of International Programs, Duquesne University
- 11. 9 both secondary school and college admission counselors,” has been vocal in the great agent debate. Over the last two years, a NACAC Commission was tasked to review the use of agents in member organizations. At the 2013 NACAC Toronto conference, the commission issued a recommendation for member organizations that allowed for the use of agents. The recent NACAC decision will, in our view, broaden the number of schools that admit using agents and encourage others to enter this recruiting channel. It is your professional judgment whether or not to use agents. It is your decision to admit students qualified and capable of completing your programs. We believe that the use of agents is an appropriate marketing channel, if managed professionally. We are most familiar with the US higher education market, yet we know that the principles will apply to all other markets as well. We researched and talked with a number of Australian and UK institutions; both are markets with much longer and stronger traditions of using commission‐based agents to recruit international students. Commission‐based agents are not a panacea. They require significant support and management. You will also find varying levels of quality among these professionals. Agents are used widely around the world. The majority of Australian, British and Canadian universities use them as part of their extended marketing reach. In Australia, the majority of international students are recruited with agent support. We haven’t seen any official estimates of the percentage of universities in the United States working with agents. Our own research among 100 NAFSA members indicates 40 percent were using commission‐based agents. The American International Recruitment Council (AIRC ‐ http://airc‐education.org) has more than 200 academic members that in principle will at least consider, if not actively use, agents. These data show widespread use of commission‐based recruiters. Anecdotally, we believe that many more US colleges and universities use agents than will admit to their use. Parents want reassurance that their decision for their children is correct. They want somebody who speaks their language and is local. Agents are facilitators in today’s market where lots of information is available. ~ Tony Cullen, Executive General Manager – Marketing, Navitas University Partnerships Imagine you are a Chinese university interested in recruiting US students and you had a modest budget. What would be more effective: (a) coming to the US for one week each year to promote your institution; or (b) having a 24/7 on‐the‐ground recruitment network working on your behalf? When the shoe is on the other foot, why is it that most US colleges gravitate to (a) rather than (b)? ~ Larry Green, Managing Director / EVP Higher Education North America, Study Group
- 13. 11 Agency recruitment is just another recruitment channel During our conversations, we heard frequently that agency recruitment is just another channel in addition to direct recruitment, digital marketing, and so forth. While we completely agree that universities should build and support a portfolio of recruiting methods, you will also hear from us that agency recruitment can only be successful if there is adequate support and emphasis on this channel. Signing agent agreements without sufficient support, follow‐up, and dedication is unlikely to lead to consistent enrollment success. Can this recruitment channel work for all types of schools? Our answer is yes. Understand, with few exceptions, unless this marketing channel is accepted as a legitimate recruitment channel, supported by the institution and resourced appropriately, the channel will not yield results. Now let’s add a few more refinements and caveats to that answer. We can think of several scenarios in which you don’t need or want agencies. Some universities don’t need agents since they have the brand, location and/or ranking to be highly successful with international student recruitment without such a channel. Congratulations. Certain universities are seeking to find a very small number of international students to add diversity; they choose to recruit directly. Other universities want and can invest in other direct and indirect recruitment channels. So here’s the thing: for the vast majority of institutions, working with agents will open an untapped channel for international student recruitment. As with most of life, the more an institution can put into the agent relationship, the more benefits and successes the institution will reap. B2B versus B2C In the business world and, in particular, the Internet, we talk about two distinct business models. Business to Business (B2B) sales channels Business to Consumer (B2C) sales channels You have to know your strength. The agent cannot sell a school alone, the university has to develop a statement where international students can enter [the programs] and be successful. ~ George Burke, retired Director Center for International Students, Cleveland State University
- 14. 12 In the end, services and products are sold to an end consumer. Let’s use an example with which you may be very familiar: Apple computers. Historically Apple computers were sold only in electronic and department stores. So Apple had a whole organization supporting stores such as Best Buy. The support ranged from the logistics of how to deliver product, manage inventory, support to co‐ marketing, pricing and, of course, finance administration. In recent years Apple established a highly successful chain of their own company stores. Sales staff employed by Apple, technical staff, the wonderful Genius bar, are located in their own stores. Interestingly enough, Dell computers went exactly the opposite direction. Dell started with a highly successful online direct sales process. The company cut out the “middleman” retailers, and consumers would buy directly from Dell. Yet at some point, Dell added an indirect B2B sales channel via third‐party retail stores. So, think of the general advertising, marketing and logistics of these companies. They support the direct sales channel as well as the B2B channel. Your university marketing is no different. While it is sometimes uncomfortable to make these commercial comparisons to education, from our perspective, these are marketing and sales channels with advantages and disadvantages that need to be explored, managed, and optimized in order to bring students and educational institutions together. For which programs do you recruit? 7.5% 17.7% 26.1% 36.0% 39.1% 46.6% 50.1% 64.4% 67.1% 71.1% .0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% Work & Travel Programmes MBA Programmes Work & Study Programmes Vocational Diploma/Further Education Secondary and High School University: Foundation University: Distance education/Online learning University: Graduate/Postgraduate University: Undergraduate Language Courses Source: ICEF –i‐Graduate Agent Barometer 2013 Base = 1,042
- 15. 13 What motivates and drives agents? While in the US we are quick to distinguish between agents and independent college counselors, many international agents don’t distinguish between the two. Good international agents are good student counselors. While the discussion in the US is largely focused on the compensation an agent receives for placing a student, we hear from agents a great deal about finding the appropriate university for the student. Parents frequently have unrealistic expectations that their son or daughter can be placed in a well‐known or highly ranked institution. Agents advise, coach and coax parents to expand the group of universities they consider in order to achieve their objectives. Ultimately, agents need to be concerned about the success of their placed students since word of mouth is a critical part of building their business. Smaller agencies may feel this connection between good advice and more business success more strongly than larger agencies. Agents are facilitators in the current environment. Parents and students have access to a great deal of information via the media, digital channels and word of mouth. Yet families need reassurance, additional advice and guidance on the application and selection process, visa application in their own language, and local accessibility. Our recent podcast [LINK] with Gabriel Monteros, Director and Senior Consultant at Xueer, an education agency in China, gives the Chinese perspective on the US college application process. To gain a better understanding of the insights of someone on the ground in China working as an agent, we encourage you to listen to this podcast. Before you engage the services of agents, you must be able to effectively articulate, in conversation and marketing materials, the strengths of your institution. An agent cannot be expected to sell a
- 17. 15 How’s this as a comparison? When you want to buy a new appliance, say a TV, do you look at some kind of consumer ratings to make a decision? Most people do. With so many varieties of TVs now on the market, most of us look for guidance to limit the field of options as we make our choice. A Chinese family looks at the field of 4,000 US colleges and universities and asks, “Can someone help us narrow our choices to a reasonable number of options to evaluate?” And so, the online rankings come to their rescue…for better or worse. But it makes sense that we need to limit the pool of options when the options are so many. 16 187 215 117 76 75 68 29 29 18 27 14 210 37 0 50 100 150 200 250 Base = 1,118 Approximately how many institutions does your agency represent? Source: ICEF –i‐Graduate Agent Barometer 2013
- 18. 16 3. Getting Started Seven Steps to Building an Agent Network 1. Get Senior Leadership onboard: Provost and President need to be fully knowledgeable on the decision so that they can speak to the decision of using agents. 2. Selection of agents: What is their track record? What credentials do they hold? Who are their references and colleagues? 3. Onboarding: Once you bring an agent on board, do you have staff to establish a communication stream? Do you have a manual that effectively describes your institution? How do you train agents initially and on an on- going basis? 4. Communication: You must establish the criteria of communication: agree upon when you or your staff are available to engage, how that communication will occur, the appropriate period of time to respond to information requests from the agents. 5. Visits: In an ideal world, your staff would visit every agent you have engaged. It is important to the agency’s staff to assess their level of understanding of your institution. 6. Set expectations: From Day 1 all agents should know that they have 2 to 3 years to prove success. 7. Ongoing monitoring: You must establish the process for evaluating success. Agents must be aware of the evaluation system and all parties should agree to the terms. Three factors are mentioned consistently by those who have built agent networks: consensus, permission and senior leadership. This isn’t a program that one person on staff can decide to implement— ultimately, it takes a team‐based approach to find success. We heard repeatedly that building a (sufficient) consensus to use commission‐based recruiters was challenging and time‐consuming but critical for many schools. We noted several levels of political and legal consensus and permissions required within each institution. Source: A special thank you to George Burke for providing us with this succinct set of steps for building an agent network.
- 19. 17 Agent Management within a Strategic Framework George Burke, who recently retired from Cleveland State University, described educating and earning the support of the provost and president as a vital step. They need to understand the process and have the ability to respond to questions. Sara Tully from the University of Wisconsin‐Milwaukee (UWM) noted that their state procurement process has an important set of guidelines to help define how to establish university‐agent negotiations and contracts. The State of Wisconsin provides annual permission for the agent contracts. An alternative to a large‐scale embrace of an agent network is to start with a smaller pilot project. We talked to several universities that instituted smaller‐scale projects, some with specific time limits. The advantage is speed: to proceed, test the waters, learn. On the other hand, we heard from some universities about a lack of political and resource commitment to the pilots that appeared to have hindered the likelihood of success. Source: A Best Practice Guide for Agent Management, Department of Education, Training and Employment Queensland Government, Australia
- 21. 19 international enrollment infrastructures, including its own professionally managed travel team and institutional partnerships, but they have not built an agent network as part of their internal recruitment process. In addition, Australian and UK companies such as Navitas, INTO and StudyGroup have entered the US market and established their first set of partnerships with US universities. These companies bring their years of experience, expertise, in‐country support teams and extensive agent networks to new pathway programs in collaboration with established entities. Scale and penetration of these pathway programs are still much smaller. They are really in their infancy compared to their penetration and importance in the UK and Australia. We would not be surprised if such programs gain traction in the US context as well since they enable universities to reduce their risk. In our view, these providers will not be interested in the hundreds of smaller US colleges. Marketing Channels and Systems In the domestic admissions marketing process, we encounter a number of strong influencers and key events that do not exist for most international students. We are thinking in particular of high school counselors and the campus visit. Universities pay a great deal of attention to cultivating relationships with a network of high school counselors. They dedicate efforts and resources to organizing meaningful campus visits and off‐site programs. In the international domain, agents—both those paid by parents and the commission‐based agents—play functionally a similar role to US high school counselors. Only international students who attend American or international schools are likely to have access to American‐style college counselors within the school system. Efficiency can be created via IT support. While it may seem overwhelming at first to engage numerous agents around the world, digital resources exist to make the relationships easier to manage. Tools that allow you to send regular email or newsletter updates, participate in webinars, and control record keeping are some of the ways that technology can help you to manage your agent network. US colleges have long had the demographic curve in their favor. But the curve has shifted and one consequence is that competition for foreign students is now intense. Unless you have the luxury of being a well‐ branded and highly ranked college, tapping into a well‐managed agent network is the most effective means to reach these in‐demand students. ~ Larry Green, Managing Director / EVP Higher Education North America, Study Group
- 22. 20 We found only a limited number of specific systems dedicated to supporting the agency marketing administration process. In most instances, it appears that universities add a dedicated staff member to support the administrative needs of the agency recruitment process. Big Picture: Marketing Strategy and the Role of Agents We’d like to emphasize again that agent recruitment needs to fit into your overall marketing strategy. Considerations include your mix of recruiting in various markets, production and distribution of marketing materials, and internal and external promotion of the use of agents. Certain markets will lend themselves to more high school marketing or partnerships, while other areas, such as China, India, and smaller markets such as Nepal, are strongly influenced by agents. In our experience, one size does not fit all. And most marketing and recruitment marketing efforts will support each other, though you have to be mindful of the channel conflicts and compensation issues. Let’s say you are attending recruitment fairs with your agents. The agents are following up and providing ongoing support to students and will expect compensation even though you may have been the first touch point. Agents are a direct enrollment channel, and they are very valuable in providing local market context and information. Steven Boyd from the University of Bridgeport and many of his colleagues emphasized the local intelligence and insights obtained from agents—what programs are attractive, what issues are encountered during the application process, what visa issues are known and so forth. Lastly, agent marketing can have a longer‐term positive impact on the brand visibility of your university. Agents will provide printed materials in their offices and may include you in their digital, social media and print advertising. We’ll discuss joint business planning with agents shortly. Stay with us. Agents are just a piece of the puzzle. ~ Charlie Schwartz, Associate Director, International Admissions, University of Cincinnati Agent agreements need to be living documents as opposed to papers in a filing cabinet. ~ Paul Hofmann, Assistant Vice President for International Affairs, California State University, Fresno International students are more focused on ranking than domestic students. Programs of distinction are more important than a broad range.” ~ Ralph Trecartin, Assistant Provost for International Education, The College at Brockport, State University of New York
- 23. 21 What Do Agents Do? Services Most Often Provided by Education Agents Source: Hobsons 2007 Since they are on the ground in a given territory agents are best at handling student inquiries or leads...because they are able to follow up swiftly in the local language. ~ Markus Badde, CEO, ICEF Agents offer brick and mortar offices and they build a bridge to demystify the US application process. ~ David DiMaria, Vice President of Enrollment, Kent State University
- 25. 23 Building Consensus You work in academic institutions, so we know the importance of research to you. We went deep into the academic research, and we actually found an Australian academician who wrote her PhD thesis on how Australian universities manage their relationships with agents. Voila—we can provide you with empirical research. In all seriousness, there is an empirical body of knowledge about how Australian universities have built a strong competitive position in the world without many of the assets other English speaking countries bring to bear, and on a broad scale. Source: A Best Practice Guide for Agent Management, Department of Education, Training and Employment Queensland Government, Australia Core International Educational Agents’ Services The market has changed so that agents have the business; now schools have to market themselves to agents. ~ Angel Ahmed, Director of International Business Development, Full Sail University Source: A Best Practice Guide for Agent Management, Department of Education, Training and Employment Queensland Government, Australia
- 26. 24 Below we provide a diagram displaying the different phases of your work. This chart may help to demonstrate to internal colleagues how thoughtful you are about the agent recruitment process. These summaries give you an idea of the breadth of agent activities. Now let’s move on to identifying agents that might work well for your institution. A broken line indicates possible actions that could be undertaken, but were not always necessarily Process flow of contracting and managing education agents – empirical findings Source: A Best Practice Guide for Agent Management, Department of Education, Training and Employment Queensland Government, Australia
- 27. 25 4. Finding the Right Agents for Your Institution Identifying Agents If you are a somewhat visible college or university, you receive emails and cold calls from various agencies. You can choose to respond, verify credentials and references, and build your network. Chances are that if you use only this approach, you will miss excellent, suitable agencies. Word of mouth In our experience, this is a widely used method. Admissions officers from different institutions trust each other and they may choose to share agents with others— probably institutions that are not direct competitors. Hire admissions staff with relationships We heard many examples of admissions officers who had prior experience with agents and took those relationships to a new institution. This path of talent acquisition ‐‐ so common in the commercial world ‐‐ is somewhat overlooked in our view. You can shorten your learning and building cycle by many years with an experienced admissions officer bringing his/her relationships to the right institution. The more you believe that relationships are the key for agent recruitment, the more attractive are admissions and marketing staff with extensive relationships. Search the Internet There are plenty of agencies available. Australian universities are required by law to list their agency relationships on their websites, as you can see from the example below. If you need a list of Australian Universities we’ve provided a few valuable links in the appendix to this e‐book. Some of the US institutions, such as the University of Cincinnati and SUNY do the same and publish their overseas representatives. They provide you with a vetted list. http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/info/international http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/info/overseas‐representatives (registration required) If you want a diverse population, look for smaller agencies that can demonstrate that they find the right fit of students and don’t make unrealistic promises about your university. ~ Colleen Grover, Director of International Initiatives, Husson University
- 29. 27 Post Information on Your Website Canadian universities have a much longer history of using agents than their American counterparts. Within their websites there is often information for agents who are interested in representing the institution or who already do so. Having a convenient format to facilitate agent inquiries and applications will make your job easier. Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, has a nice portal on its website for agents. Source: https://www.wlu.ca/forms_detail.php?grp_id=1928&frm_id=2644
- 30. 28 Buy lists of agent brokers We have seen offers to buy lists of agents by country or region. We don’t know the quality and source of these lists, and we have not heard of any schools using them. If you have any experience, please give feedback on our site www.inteadreviews.com. Travel around the world If you are traveling, you’ll be able to find and visit recruiters directly. Depending on your university’s travel budget, you could meet several recruiters at fairs in the US or choose to travel to each country to select your agents. In the big cities in China and India, you can find areas with lots of education consultancies. This would certainly be more of a hit or miss approach. The Commercial Service of the Department of Commerce can be a helpful independent group arranging meetings for you with educational agents and other relevant entities. We discuss this option in more detail section 6 of this e‐book. National associations of professional agents FELCA [LINK], the Federation of Education and Language Consultant Associations, is the international association of national agency associations. Felca is the forum of national language and education travel associations from all over the world. Its members include the national associations of Brazil, Italy, Europe, France, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. The members of the national associations are individual businesses whose role it is to advise and counsel students who want to travel overseas to study at a language school, high school or university. Associations such as, BELTA in Brazil, TIAC in Thailand, or JAOS in Japan, are examples of associations that can help you to identify agents in various regions. In most cases, these agents agree to abide by the ethical practice
- 32. 30 AIRC (American International Recruitment Council) In the United States, AIRC is a standard‐setting organization that qualifies and audits commission‐based agents. According to John Deupree, Executive Director of AIRC, the organization was founded to “safeguard the interests of students and institutions through promotion of best practice strategies of international recruitment.” AIRC was founded by US accredited institutions who believed that the industry would benefit from having a certification process for agents that was modeled on US higher education accreditation, with comparable rigor. Other countries rely upon government regulation to assure institutional compliance. But no other country has any mechanism that can sanction an agent. AIRC is capable of doing that. Laws do not cross‐borders. Accreditation regimes do. In that respect, AIRC is stricter and more rigorous as far as agents are concerned. As an institutional member, you can examine their membership list and receive a list of approved agencies. AIRC is a relatively young organization and has a limited list of audited agencies. Again, for full disclosure, Intead has a working relationship and sponsorship activity with AIRC.
- 33. 31 Who manages the largest agent networks? This publication focuses on agency agreements for college‐ and university‐level education in the United States. In practice, many other levels of education use agent networks very extensively. In language schools around the world, agency recruiting is the predominant method of recruitment. The large language and education companies such as ELS, StudyGroup, Navitas, and Kaplan have networks with hundreds of agency agreements and thousands of recruiting agents. They maintain a professionally managed operation, often with in‐country local representatives to support the marketing activities, orientation of agents, and advice to parents and students. This extensive pre‐existing network is one of the key assets small and large third‐party English as a Second Language (ESL) providers bring to universities and colleges when they partner. The second group of companies deeply involved in agency recruiting networks are the pathway providers. Companies such as Navitas, INTO, Kaplan and StudyGroup again manage these networks as one of their core competencies. You notice that there is some overlap between the service providers as they offer language and pathway programs as well as their own education programs to various degrees. IDP is a joint venture between Australian universities and an online recruiting company called SEEK. IDP was established by Australian universities in 1969 to provide development assistance to universities in Asia. The organization started to develop its global network of student placement offices in 1987 when Australia began accepting full‐fee‐paying international students. IDP also owns the English Language Testing System (IELTS), the TOEFL competitor. IDP has a network of over eighty offices. Smaller but still sizable language school providers such as the Language Company have built their own networks as well as country‐specific recruiting organizations such as IEC in China. We strongly believe that these scale recruiting networks, with their sophisticated digital marketing operations, in‐country support teams, scaled back‐end software and extensive distribution relationships will have a growing role in the increasingly competitive international education market.
- 34. 32 Who is looking for whom and is the tide turning? We have given you a solid list of ways to identify appropriate agents, and we will further analyze how to vet and build relationships, but we want to share one observation from our research. Many admissions staff members mentioned that they get inundated with requests to sign agent agreements. Some do not respond at all, others respond selectively and opportunistically as time permits, and only a few sign a large number of agreements. The latter would have the motto: Let the agent prove him/herself. Results will be the best way of selection. We’d like to emphasize the following: Experienced, successful agencies around the world have become selective themselves. They are selective in their approach to appropriate partnerships. These agents already have plenty of students to choose from; they want to partner with attractive schools with the right support team, and favorable terms. We have heard of agents actively canceling agreements if they cannot deliver students to a particular type of school or when it is not worth their staff’s time to seek students. In reality, most of these agreements will just expire without any communication. But schools need to understand that they have to work hard to be represented by the strongest, most successful agents. We do feel that some admissions officers are underestimating the need to select the right agents for their types of programs and schools. Further, it will take time to build a relationship. Unless you are a highly attractive school in terms of ranking, location and other attributes, let’s be honest, you will be one of many schools from the US, Canada, Australia, UK and many other international markets vying for the attention of prospective students. On a side note, if you think that agents have a choice of schools, just think of the demands of being the counselor at an international school. The Coincidental Connection Our respondents also mentioned a number of times a local or coincidental connection to the right Chinese or Indian business person who helps solve some of the university’s recruitment challenges. Particularly in smaller regional institutions, we all understand the critical dynamic between local trustees and the community. Yet many of these arrangements do not lead to long‐term success. Most often, with these informal connections, the recruitment partner in the targeted enrollment market is not equipped, nor is the university ready, to lend support without an integral strategy and execution plan. Both agent and college should be made to feel that the other is their most important agent or college, number one. ~ David Arredondo, Director, International Student Services, Lorain County Community College
- 35. 33 Agent Qualities and Qualifications As with all other professional relationships, you need to feel comfortable with the individuals and the companies you hire. They will represent your institution. In developing an agency relationship, you’ll be concerned with: Honesty Expertise Dedication Experience What about scale? It depends on who you are and what you are looking for. As we mentioned, agencies have become very discerning in their selection of schools as well. You have to remember that it’s easy to sign an agreement. The start‐up cost is minimal. The real work starts with the agents learning about and representing your programs. You need to feel that your school profile fits into the activities of the agency. It might sound great if a large‐scale agency (many branch offices with many counselors and prospective students) signs on, but not if they lack the ability to effectively market your institution. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. We have seen and heard of many cases where agencies focus on the more highly branded universities and locations and agreements with lower ranked, lesser known schools result in little, if any, activity. The Cincinnati Principles—Guidelines for Success in Recruiting The Cincinnati Principles were published by Mitch Leventhal, PhD, the pioneer of and a strong advocate for agency‐based recruiting in the United States. Mitch is now Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs for The State University of New York System. The Cincinnati Principles were created as an ad hoc guide; they were ultimately superseded by AIRC. They were created because there were no US standards in Each market has its own niche. You have to be thinking multi‐faceted with your arrangements. You have to be flexible, the environment is constantly changing. And you have to build long‐term relationships. ~ Jay Lokken, Director of International Education Program, University of Wisconsin LaCrosse Have clarity of purpose in terms of regions, number and quality of students, find a champion of international recruitment on campus, and provide fast turnaround. ~ John C. Wood, Chief Executive Officer, University Programs, Navitas
- 36. 34 existence to guide institutions in their work with agents. So, the idea was to inform US institutions that they would be well served to follow the standards that exist in Australia. This was a stop‐gap approach until the development of domestic standards for the US market. According to Mitch Leventhal, “In late 2005, the University of Cincinnati began its journey toward commission‐based recruitment. UC’s first agent agreements were signed in January 2006, and success in the first two years is very apparent. In the course of the work, UC has developed 10 principles which are not written in stone, but which guide all agent‐related actions, and against which assumptions are tested.” If your institution is serious about changing course, consider these principles as you plan your new international recruitment strategy. 1. Work with well‐established commission‐based agents who already work with the Australian universities. 2. Refuse to work with agents who exclusively charge students. 3. Always check the references of agencies under consideration. 4. Demand that agents operate as though the ESOS Act applies to your US institution. (See our discussion of ESOS in section 7 of this e-book). 5. Embrace best practices that are already in place, and do not re‐invent the wheel. 6. Utilize the Australian agency agreement with as few modifications as possible. 7. Work within the established operating framework with which agencies are familiar and comfortable; adapt your admissions and marketing practices to the new reality. 8. Establish a dedicated international admissions office to coordinate agency relationships and support their efforts. 9. Do not appoint more than three agents in any given country, and avoid appointing fewer than two. 10. Collaborate with your local competitors—embrace co‐opetition—the result will be economies of scale in an expanding market with accelerated benefits for all. There is a difference between being well represented versus being well promoted. ~ Greet Provost, Director, Office of International Programs, University of Mississippi
- 38. 36 5. Onboarding, Training and Communication Experienced agents and university recruiters stress the importance of onboarding and the continuous communication flow. Many agencies represent a significant number of programs. The counselors need to be familiar with your programs, standards and the type of student that will succeed and fit in at your institution. Unfortunately, high staff turnover among counselors seems to plague agencies around the world. We could not find any quantifiable data, but anecdotal evidence is very strong. It appears that small agencies, managed by the owners, are less affected by turnover but these agencies offer, by definition, less recruitment scale and smaller marketing reach. Developing a manual for agents will ultimately save you a great deal of time. A one‐ time investment up front, this manual should be easily updatable so that agents throughout the world can access the information you want to convey and understand the system you want to use for ongoing agent communication and management. Agents can find it overwhelming to be inundated with emails from your institution. While it might seem useful to send emails every time a new program is announced or whenever there is exciting news, the effect is quickly lost when agents stop reading the emails. Better to develop a newsletter of sorts or some other regular communication channel so that your agents will be able to keep up with exciting news from your institution without feeling bombarded. You want to establish a communication protocol such as being available weekly, or monthly, for a Skype conversation. You want to agree on a time frame for responding to information requests, to get away from the immediacy and fire drills. George Burke advises “Remember that they are often sales people; they want immediate response.” You need to control the information flow. We suggest that you look at speed and quick customer service to your representative network as a necessity for remaining competitive. You need to develop your processes and manage information in a way that allows you to respond. Otherwise others will, and you will lose the prospective student. If you don’t have a manual, you need to create one. Agents can send you pages of questions. ~ Charles Wilkerson, Director of International Education & Recruitment, Tennessee Tech University
- 40. 38 Signing the Contractual Agreement At the outset both parties, the institution and the agency, must agree to certain terms of engagement. An agreement must be reached that includes: compensation structure a marketing plan training marketing materials The compensation structure will be a critical discussion at the beginning of the relationship. How agents receive compensation is truly the crux of the great agent debate. Some agents/counselors receive compensation exclusively from the student/parents while others seek additional compensation from the institution for placing the student. You will need to determine, along with your administration and colleagues, how you want to approach agent compensation. We have heard the term “double dipping” frequently which refers to agents receiving a payment from the parents and the school. Transparency seems to be the best way to manage this part of the relationship. We find the term “double dipping” pejorative at the outset, as if there is something inappropriate going on. Industry relationships in a wide range of industries have been built on vendors selling their services to a range of customers. Take advertising for instance. When a business (including universities) place ads through their ad agency, the agency gets paid for the creative work and then typically takes 15 percent of the ad placement cost as a fee just for placing the ad in the chosen medium (TV, newsprint, online, etc.). Consider the international education agent who spends time helping a family with their application process, taking the student to the relevant embassies to acquire visas, etc. That they receive payment from the family seems appropriate for these services. That the agency then receives a fee for placing the student in a particular university also seems appropriate. There is nothing out of line or inappropriate in these transactions. Create structure around training—by region, have people who speak the local languages. The local counselor’s English is not that good. Have team members who speak the local language. ~ Angel Ahmed, Director of International Business Development, Full Sail University Agents should be encouraged to visit your campus, at least once, if not regularly. In turn, college staff must try to visit the agent’s offices while traveling abroad. ~ David Arredondo, Director International Student Services, Lorain County Community College
- 41. 39 We must emphasize that it is critically important to building trust that the entire agency fee structure be transparent to everyone involved (family and institution) with no unexpected fees tacked on later in the process once everyone is feeling committed to the process and reversing course would be painful. For those who are brand new to agency contracts, it would be useful to speak with experienced colleagues to understand the appropriate terms of engagement and determine how agency and institution might meet each other’s needs and interests in the most satisfactory way. Follow up Agents mentioned frequently that getting quick responses to questions is critical for them. They need to be responsive to their clients (students and their families), which means that you need to be responsive to them. The better your working relationship, the more motivated the agents will be to present your school. This raises an important point: don’t take on more agents than you can manage. Better to work closely with a few well‐trained agents than to cast a wide net without the ability to effectively engage your agents. This is another example of depth being better than breadth. Your admissions officers have an in‐depth knowledge of your campus. They also have access to the network of in‐house contacts and experts on all facets of your school. Agents do not have that context. So you need to provide as much context as possible. If you have worked with busy high school counselors in the US, you know that they can have hundreds of students to support. The counselors (whether high school counselors in the US or agents abroad) need to get to know the students and the schools. It’s a challenge. You have the ability to make it easier for your agents. And those agents will be more successful for you when you are a strong, responsive partner. Agent visit programs One of the best ways to strengthen your professional relationship with your agent network is to invite your agents to visit campus. Think how useful it is to have high While liberal arts has found some fashion around the globe, we find we have to explain our most popular major, business management, to international counselors because of its liberal arts foundation. Some agents and international students get stuck on this. ~ Tony Littlefield, Senior Associate Director of Admission, Washington College The commission model allows the institution to be in charge of the process. ~ John Deupree, Executive Director, AIRC
- 42. 40 school counselors visit campus to learn, feel, experience and understand your institution. For your agent network this can be just as useful. Successful agents want to understand the ins and outs of the colleges they represent. A visit to campus is the best way to share your unique strengths and attributes. Piggybacking off of other scheduled programs and events can be incredibly successful. When agents visit for the North American ICEF Workshops or for the annual AIRC Conference, you are presented with a terrific opportunity to invite your agents to extend their visits by traveling to your campus. ICEF FAM tours Agent familiarization (FAM) tours and receptions are excellent ways for you to gain exposure and promote your institution and/or association with workshop‐registered agents. FAM tours allow you to take advantage of the large number of agents attending the workshop and attract them to visit your institution, campus and region. Effective FAM tours highlight a region and its various education options (universities, colleges, secondary schools, and language schools), enabling agents to increase their product knowledge and bring back firsthand information to potential students. Agent management tools A range of software tools are available to help institutions manage their agent network and communicate efficiently with this group as well as track the results of their work. Agints.com: offers an online tool to manage your agent networks. Oscar (Internal System for IDP clients) (http://www.idp.com/pdf/IDP_Services.pdf) STOURY: Intead’s tablet presentation tool and content management system to manage a global agent network. See: http://info.intead.com/stoury Parents are the foundation in Asia. The agent needs to be able to say the city is safe, talk about the services on campus such as your health center, housing, food services – all the support services for international students. ~ Jay Lokken, Director of International Education Program, University of Wisconsin LaCrosse You have to be able to manage your agents if youʹre going to do this right. ~ John Deupree, Executive Director, AIRC
- 43. 41 Business plan Appropriate relationship management requires setting expectations and benchmarks on both sides, the agent and the school. Both will have to agree to deliverables and performance. This is not a one‐way street. Agents have to agree to a realistic number of applicants and enrolled students. Don’t expect miracles and be realistic about the time frame, type of school and the market. Agents will expect support in terms of marketing and information. The quick response to questions is one of the most frequently cited requests. Fast decisions by the school are another critical element, which can be particularly challenging for US universities which often have strict deadlines and application processes without much flexibility. The business plan is your basis for regular evaluation and ultimately contract renewal. We don’t want to ignore compensation and payment, but it is only one element of your successful business plan. Not every agent relationship will warrant the same planning, but the key agency relationships will require care and attention. Promoting agent activities on your university website Within your institution’s website you can create a login‐only microsite so agents can easily find useful information, including your agent manual and other helpful updates, deadlines and information. This has been especially popular in the UK and Australia. Australian and British universities have a longer tradition of using commission‐based agencies as extensions of their marketing functions. They list appointed agents on their websites and direct students to their offices. The University of Sydney’s website allows prospective students to connect with approved agents in their home countries. This university also has an agent portal, providing documents to help manage the relationship with agents. A word of caution. Even with quality agents, it takes a lot more time to manage an agent network than you think. ~ Ron Cushing, Director of International Services, University of Cincinnati “We have somebody on the ground ‐ 6 weeks in the spring, 6 weeks in the fall. He meets with all agents, training them. We add new agents in the second or third tier cities [in China]. Beijing and Shanghai are working with numerous schools and are usually looking to send their students to the highest ranked schools. ~ Penny Gerdeman, Director of International Admissions and Services, University of Findlay
- 45. 43 The Agent Management Process Source: A Best Practice Guide for Agent Management, Department of Education, Training and Employment Queensland Government, Australia
- 46. 44 6. Support Organizations Department of Commerce Commercial Service The Department of Commerce’s (DOC) Commercial Service appears to be underutilized by colleges and universities. We call it the best‐kept secret in international recruitment. Many other US industries use the DOC service as a “door opener” and on‐the‐ground support organization around the world. In contrast to EducationUSA, the Commercial Service specializes in servicing and promoting individual companies and institutions directly. The Department of Commerce “Gold Key Service” is a cost‐efficient paid service, providing support when making your local country arrangements, including meeting with potential partner schools and recruitment agents. DOC considers recruitment agents a legitimate marketing channel for universities. The Commerce Department is even able to arrange local receptions, and the invitation will come from the US embassy or consulate, elevating your local standing immediately. We also strongly recommend DOC research reports that provide information on local education markets. The Commercial Service organizes country missions, which create inroads and facilitate contacts. For more information, see: http://export.gov/salesandmarketing/eg_main_018195.asp NAFSA NAFSA is the Association of International Educators. There are 10,000 members worldwide who work in every area related to international education. NAFSA is a tremendous resource for introductory training, ongoing learning, best practice exchanges, collegial conversations and relationship building. NAFSA hosts an annual conference yearly as well as smaller regional conferences. Through NAFSA you can find institutional members who use agents as part of their recruitment strategies. For more information, see: http://www.nafsa.org/ AIRC As mentioned previously AIRC is the American International Recruitment Council. For those institutions who are just beginning to consider working with agents, AIRC can be a worthwhile starting point. AIRC provides a venue for discussion and learning. It seems to us that AIRC exemplifies the US approach to have a self‐ regulatory membership organization providing ethical standards for universities and agents. If the AIRC rules are implemented by a large number of universities, it will
- 48. 46 7. International Comparison The Australian Experience Australian universities, and to a similar extent British and Canadian universities, have been active users of the agent recruitment channels for decades. International students account for a much larger part of the Australian student body, roughly 25% vs. 3 % in the US. So universities have had, and continue to have, a much greater need to scale their international enrollment operations. Australian universities have a long‐ standing, deep internationalization component as part of their institutional DNA. During the past twenty to thirty years, the Australian universities as a whole, and the government, have gone through an extensive learning process about international recruitment. The Australian government has been a strong supporter and has established a strong regulatory framework that guides and binds the institutions and protects international students. The regulatory framework includes the use of agents. (Australian Government Information on ESOS). We learned from the Australian universities that you don’t want to be overrepresented; identify and develop strong relationships with key partners. ~ Steven Boyd, Director International Admissions, University of Bridgeport ** Includes EU and Non‐EU citizens Sources: IIE, Project Atlas OECD, Wikipedia, HESA
- 50. 48 and four‐year colleges and universities. All 40 Australian universities have a large percentage of international students ranging from 15 to 45 percent of total enrollment. Internationalization is broader than enrollment Few Australian academic leaders look at student enrollment as the sole means of enacting internationalization. Stacey Farraway, Regional Manager for Europe and Americas at The Queensland University of Technology, started our discussion by highlighting a broad framework that looks at all aspects of internationalization of the university on multiple levels: Student services for international students, Industry relationships, Alumni, and Enrollment marketing. Comprehensive internationalization, a phrase that is frequently tossed around in academic circles, is achieved in the Australian universities. Even with the focus on comprehensive internationalization, international student enrollment is treated as a key revenue driver. From our conversations, we learned that US institutions seem to be in the earlier stages of institutional development of broad‐based internationalization plans. It’s certainly part of our industry ethos that all professionals focus appropriate support on international students’ success and well‐being. The Australian university perspectives appeared, at least anecdotally, to be more well‐rounded and to have wider institutional support, than their US counterparts. Commission-based recruitment is part of the recruitment DNA In stark contrast to the US, the agency recruitment channel is a mainstream recruiting method deployed by all Australian universities. The agent recruiting channel did not elicit any defensiveness by Australian university officials; the management of agents seemed a natural part of their work. As specified within the government regulatory framework, universities must document the agents representing their institutions. As a matter of fact, one of the largest commission‐based recruiting companies in the world, IDP, is owned partially by Australian universities themselves. The Australian universities appear to have developed processes to build and manage recruiting networks that are rare in the United States. Due diligence processes are similar on paper but there is a deeper pool of knowledge. Most universities have an extensive network with several hundred agents, or even more when branch offices are