In our day-to-day professional work in international education, we all struggle to manage information flow, identify opportunities, synthesize possible solutions, and act appropriately to better ourselves, our audiences, and our world. To help in this often overwhelming task, Social Media & International Education (SMIE) Consulting offers this free weekly e-news brief to share our perspectives and to provide some wisdom along the way. Happy reading!
- We’ve all got an opinion on ChatGPT’s potential impact on higher ed in the classroom. But how will this generative AI tool (and others like it) change what we do in admissions and marketing? Tune into this Thursday webinar for answers.
- It’s looking like everyone (and their brothers) in the tech industry are now rolling out their versions of ChatGPT, with Google’s Bard, a renewed Bing, Baidu (China’s largest search engine), and now Alibaba joining the fray.
- Content creation is not always easy. Sometimes we all need a little inspiration. This Social Media Examiner piece shares some useful tools to find YouTube content ideas.
International Education News
- What should guide institutions in their attempts to improve their yield in the face of the upcoming enrollment cliff? One Ohio public institution believes a focus on its mission and values should drive enrollment priorities and decisions.
- Are you returning to China in this calendar year to recruit students? If so, knowing how the landscape has changed is critical. This article from an international admissions director shares key trends and concerns.
- In IIE’s release of its annual census of international scholars in the US, trends on the student side are also reflected with overseas faculty and researchers: India up, China down with overall 6% growth in 2021-22.
- Following on from our conversation last week on the growth of direct admission at the undergraduate level in the US, this piece shares the student side of how much of a game changer this path to a college education can be.
- Where does your institution come down on the “inclusion” of international students in a campus-wide commitment to increasing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access? This NAFSA International Educator article shares interesting intersections.
- Agents have increasingly been accepted as a normal recruitment tool for US institutions to bring in international students. This review of a recent Chronicle webinar highlights the continuing conversation on the challenges and opportunities.
- Are you tapping into your college’s “diaspora advantage” for international recruitment? “Realising that their international faculty and students reside in complex systems of transnational relations, they have begun to consider the potential uses of these relations to advance their interests.”
- Recent analysis of Chinese students’ search habits by Sinorbis shows huge growth in study abroad options, with Australia, UK, and Canada leading the way. Sadly, US search volume in this same sampling shows a 16% drop.
- The US Department of State is going all-in to find ways to meet the voracious appetite of Indians hoping to study, work, visit, and more in the United States. Now, Indian citizens are being encouraged to make visa appointments in other countries.
- Australia - Available international student housing in Australia’s biggest cities is at an absurd premium. Some institutions have exacerbated this situation during the pandemic by selling off apartment properties, now leaving them short of spaces.
- Australia - Adding fuel to the fire that is the incoming international student housing situation in Australia, 5000 are without housing, some of which fall victim to scammers.
- Australia & Canada - Another complicating factor for international students trying to find appropriate housing in key destination markets is that rents are continuing to climb, up 8% in Canada and Australia.
- China - Universities are eagerly awaiting the return of Chinese students that had been studying online, but some students are facing difficulties in making the transition.
- Germany - Indian students have become increasingly attracted to Germany as a destination for their higher education. Why is that? Scholarships from the German government certainly have helped.
- Nepal - There is a lot to love about Nepal as a country, but at the top of the list (or even in the top 5 things) being a destination market or hub for international students would not necessarily be what comes to mind.
- Taiwan - A shrinking local workforce means Taiwan needs to import workers. To that end, there is now an ambitious international student recruitment plan to triple numbers in seven years to bring up to 200,000 to this island nation.
- United Kingdom - The reality is for British universities, they are selling not only their quality degrees but also their post-study graduate work visa. If one of those goes away or is limited in any way, those institutions will face a mountain to climb.
- United Kingdom - What does the precipitous decline in EU students studying at UK universities mean? The decline of international undergrads, reduced diversification, and higher annual turnover and recruitment will test institutional commitments.
- United Kingdom - British unis know that East Asia will be one of the main drivers for continued recruitment success but they are also being warned that they will face stiff competition from multiple countries. Perspective.
If you’d like a more in-depth analysis of the main news stories each week, check out our Midweek Roundup international education live chat on Wednesday at 1pm ET on the SMIE Consulting Facebook page, YouTube channel, Twitter feed, and LinkedIn. A podcast version is available as well on all major podcast provider platforms.
