AIRC In The News

in Inside Higher Ed, June 1, 2010

In higher education, change rarely happens quickly. Not so when it comes to hiring overseas agencies -- paid by the college in the form of per-student commissions -- to recruit international students. Two years ago the topic was taboo, and few colleges would publicly admit to the practice, which is illegal under U.S. law when it comes to recruiting American students.

Today, while ethical qualms persist, and the debate over the payment of per-student commissions still simmers, it’s nonetheless remarkable the number of colleges that have embraced the recruitment strategy -- and also those that are now willing to at least consider it.

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The Rise of the Agent Model

Notice the terminology – the right, i.e. good agent, versus the bad agent. The ability to distinguish the good agents from the bad is the premise of a standards-setting organization like AIRC, which certifies agencies that have successfully completed a process akin to accreditation, complete with self-study and site visit. “This was the missing link,” says John Deupree, AIRC’s executive director. “Before there was no standards process or quality assurance process. In our view, the biggest barrier to the use of agents has been removed.”

To read the rest of the article, go here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/01/agents

in The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 30th, 2010

Mitch Leventhal, chair and president of the American International Recruitment Council, says U.S. colleges' slow start may eventually benefit them as they adopt and adapt strategies for overseas-student recruitment. They have the opportunity to learn from other countries' mistakes.

"We may go from being a laggard to an innovator in the space," says Mr. Leventhal, who is also vice chancellor for global affairs for the State University of New York. "We may end up leapfrogging everyone else."

To read the rest of the article, go here: http://chronicle.com/article/American-Colleges-Look-to/65717/

in Times Higher Education, by John Morgan, May 27, 2010

The growth of an organisation set up to help US institutions compete in the global market could be a sign of the nation's growing interest in overseas students.

The American International Recruitment Council (AIRC) this month reached the milestone of 100 institutional members, two years after it was established. It is seeking to "develop standards of ethical practice pertaining to recruitment of international students", and provide "best practices and training to assist overseas student recruitment agents and institutions themselves to better serve students seeking admission".

According to official figures, the US had 623,800 overseas students in 2007-08, compared with 389,330 in the UK. However, a report published last year by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education warns that while the US remains the most popular destination globally, "other countries with more aggressive recruitment strategies have steadily cut into the US market share in the past decade".

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To read the rest of the article, go here: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=411725

The Use of Recruiting Agents in the United States

in World Education New & Reviews, March 2010

"Higher education in the United States has long been attractive to international students, and universities have historically been able to attract those students on little more than name and reputation alone. However, as smaller, less well-known institutions seek to increase their recruiting efforts abroad the name-brand approach has become less viable, especially in the face of increased competition from a growing crop of education-destination countries around the world. As a result, a steadily increasing number of U.S. colleges and universities are employing — or looking to employ — the services of commission-based, in-country recruiting agents, a practice that has, until now, been viewed with considerable skepticism."

To read the rest of the article, go here: http://www.wes.org/ewenr/10mar/index.asp

US and Australia Usher in New Agent Guidelines

The ICEF Bulletin, Issue #14, March 2010

"In moves that are sure to be closely watched throughout the industry, two of the world's top destinations for international students are in the midst of shaking up how their education providers work with international recruitment agents."

Read more about new agent certification programmes in the US and Australia...

by Zeeshan Aleem

from AACRAO Transcript: http://www.aacrao.org/transcript/index.cfm?fuseaction=show_view&doc_id=4518

The Changing World of International Recruitment

IDP Education, the world's largest student placement firm, has released a list of ten universities that pay for its international recruitment services, reports Inside Higher Ed. The release is considered by many as an indicator that outsourcing international recruitment services to private agents may be gaining acceptance in the higher education community.   

"As the number of traditional college students drops and overseas institutions advance their recruiting efforts, U.S. universities face unprecedented competition that, if left unchecked, could lead to another iconic American industry succumbing to foreign competition," Mark Shay, North American director of IDP Education, said in a news release. "Our charter partners are being proactive in working to compete for students worldwide."

While international recruitment itself is not a new phenomenon, commission-based recruitment has historically been stigmatized. In the U.S., many officials involved in college admissions are skeptical of the merits of contracting out recruitment, seeing the goal of a private agent as likely to be at odds with the mission of a university – a placement firm is motivated by commission revenue, while a university is most interested in qualified students who are a strong fit for the school.

Yet just a couple of days after IDP Education's release, the American International Recruitment Council, a new standards-setting body, announced that eight independent agencies that recruit college students from abroad have passed a rigorous certification process – another sign of the growing legitimacy of third-party agents in recruiting international students, reports Chronicle of Higher Ed.

"There is a real sense of significant momentum building," Mitch Leventhal, chair and president of the year-old recruitment council, told the Chronicle. "I think we're on the cusp of more institutions working with agents."

Related Links:

Inside Higher Ed
http://www.airc-education.org/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=34568

The Chronicle of Education
http://www.airc-education.org/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=34569

By Karin Fischer

Eight independent agencies that recruit college students from abroad have passed a rigorous certification process, the American International Recruitment Council, a new standards-setting body, announced this weekend. That is the latest indication of the growing legitimacy of the use of such recruiters by American colleges.

The companies took part in a months-long pilot certification process and....

To read the entire article, click here: http://chronicle.com/article/8-Agencies-Are-Certified-to/49365/

by Jack Stripling

...The American International Recruitment Council (AIRC) approved standards to certify recruitment agencies in May, and the group is expected to certify some or all of eight pilot agencies, including IDP, at its meeting in Miami, Fla. this week. Certification requires a number of steps, including external reviews, self studies, and the development of improvement plans.

To read the entire article (and lively online debate), click here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/12/04/international

by Alan Dessoff

International competition for students is heating up world-wide, U.S. colleges and universities are expanding their outreach efforts and some are considering new and sometimes controversial methods.

To download and read the entire article, click here: http://www.nafsa.org/_/File/_/novdec09_recruiting.pdf

Excerpt on AIRC below:

....All that is changing now at Cincinnati and some other universities that have joined AIRC, which will hold its first annual conference December 4–5 in Coconut Grove, Florida. AIRC’s mission is to develop professional standards for international student recruitment and give a certification framework for private agencies that provide advising and application assistance to prospective students for U.S. accredited institutions. Many in the international higher education community are watching it with interest.

As Leventhal, its founding chair and president describes it, AIRC’s agent certification process, which will start officially early next year after a test run underway now with eight agencies, including IDP, will be functionally similar to the quality assurance process that universities go through to gain formal accreditation. “We have modeled this on what we learned about university accreditations,” he says. With intense due diligence, professional development and external site review, it will go “far beyond anything that has been done anywhere else in terms of qualifying agents.”

To download and read the entire article, click here: http://www.nafsa.org/_/File/_/novdec09_recruiting.pdf

By Karin Fischer

The State Department has waded into the contentious issue of international student recruitment, issuing policy guidance that bars its EducationUSA advising centers from forming partnerships with commercial recruiting agents who have contracts to represent specific American universities....

Read rest of article here: http://chronicle.com/article/State-Department-Issues/48276/

Excerpt on AIRC below:

Mitch Leventhal, president of the American International Recruitment Council, a year-old group that has developed standards of ethical practices and a system for certifying overseas recruiters, said the State Department notice unfairly tars all commercial recruiting agencies. For example, said Mr. Leventhal, who is vice provost for international affairs at the University of Cincinnati, reputable agents work hard to match students with the college that will fit their academic and social needs, not just those with which they have recruitment contracts.

Mr. Leventhal praised EducationUSA offices as "vital" to attract overseas students to American universities, but said that, in a heated global market, third-party agents are needed to help supplement those efforts. In the current economy, in-country agencies may become even more critical, as tight budgets limit the number of recruitment trips university administrators can take abroad.

Mr. Leventhal said he expected that the policy statement would have little actual impact on practices, as many EducationUSA offices already prevent outside recruiters from representing American universities at college fairs or other events.

Still, Mr. Leventhal said, he was disappointed in the tone of the guidance. "I don't think the government should be directing students to agents," he said. "But they should support the development of ethical standards and practices for agents."