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!
- Is offering online classes for credit via YouTube the next evolution from MOOCs in terms of reaching students where they are? Arizona State is banking on this strategy to expand its reach to democratize access to its programs with low costs.
- Online education, by the way, is booming in the US but more so globally. On Coursera, over 92 million are registered (double pre-pandemic levels), with 81% outside the US: India, Mexico, and Brazil have the 3 largest cohorts.
- Is COIL a key component for internationalizing the curriculum? On recent evidence, assessed by researchers, US students who do not have other international opportunities seemed to benefit most.
- This ICEF podcast on the search for international student scholarships to assist your recruitment efforts is worth a listen, particularly if you’re searching for sponsored students.
- In the most recent WeAreSocial global digital report on digital, social, and mobile trends, nearly 60% of the world’s 8 billion people are on social media, but over half of India’s 1.4 billion people do not yet have access to the internet.
- This Webcertain guide to Instagram marketing is worth a read if you are not yet using this billion person plus platform to reach international students.
International Education News
- According to SEVIS by the Numbers January report, the US has surpassed one million international students again. While India’s growth is strong, China is still #1, but not for long. The top 10 sending countries are the same but shifting in order.
- The top 4 most expensive cities for international students to live in are all in the US. So many other quality destinations at much lower costs are available that still provide quality city life options. Broaden your horizons, young students!
- Would it be fair to say that the US foreign policy toward China is not working? I think so. But who has the answers? When it comes to international education, I am sensing a shift coming in favor of increased engagement.
- Africa remains the big unknown for many US universities seeking to grow international student populations. After the SEC delegation to West Africa last fall, could the continent be opening up to greater flows westward? Maybe so.
- With first law schools and more recently medical schools beginning to turn away from US News rankings, approximately one-third of business schools are also harboring doubts about the rankings’ continued usefulness.
Solutions Central
- Common App data through January 1, 2023, shows international applications up by 45% year-on-year with China, India, Nigeria, Ghana, and Canada leading the way.
- With China’s reopening to the world this month, global travel looks set to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023. Good news for student flows across the world.
- What’s the ideal set of skills you need in an international student recruitment office? Content creators, data nerds, people people: all are important cogs in a well-oiled enrollment management machine. Great Intead resource.
- How are you defining diversification in your international student recruitment? The folks at Studyportals have put together a useful guide to help your institution make data-based decisions as to where you should be spending your time.
- If your institution is seeking to support more refugees on campus, it’s well worth connecting your community to Welcome Corps. Great private resources by endorsed by Secretary of State Blinken.
- Afghanistan - Encouraged to see several US institutions putting resources behind Afghan refugees hoping to enroll for higher education. Along with IIE and groups like Welcome Corps, support exists, but more colleges are needed.
- Australia - Despite Australia’s reopening its doors to international students, Indian students seeking vocational education are being rejected at a 96% rate. Is this sending mixed messages to this huge market?
- Australia - Interesting to see that Australia puts a six-month minimum stay at an institution before students can transfer out to a “cheaper” alternative. And the universities want longer minimum stays. US unis wish they had six-month minimums.
- Canada - For that country north of our border to be so actively promoting study abroad options to its domestic students, is it time for US institutions to more actively recruit Canadians? I’d say so.
- Canada - This story of how M College in Quebec took advantage of countless Indian students seeking vocational studies in Canada is so disheartening but glad the sham college has been shut down.
- Canada - Few destination markets have been spared from significant visa delays in the last two years, but for some aspiring students seeking places in Canada, these delays have been devastating.
- Canada - Not sure I quite understand why some government officials in Canada are complaining about International Experience Canada, (like the US J-1 summer work program) designed for international youth, not being domestic-focused.
- Denmark - There is a disconnect happening between Danish business leaders and government officials there over whether a switch to 1-year master’s programs in humanities and social sciences makes sense. Come together.
- Netherlands - The long-running saga in the Netherlands over the continued recruitment of international students takes another turn with universities opposing the proposed curbs.
- New Zealand - Higher education institutions in New Zealand are getting a much-needed boost with the appointment of Education Minister, Chris Hipkins, as the new Prime Minister. He apparently will be a more sympathetic ear regarding intl ed.
- United Kingdom - Non-EU students up over 85K year-on-year in the UK while EU student starts continued to drop. Overall, the UK has bounced back strong with almost 680K international students now enrolled.
- United Kingdom - Despite these successes, a former International Education Champion (and brother of former PM Boris Johnson) suggests that the political consensus in support of intl ed may be weakening. Hard to imagine.
- United Kingdom - That being said, an All-Party Parliamentary Group in the UK is pushing for a more aggressive international student number target to maximize the country’s educational exports.
- United Kingdom - An International Higher Education Commission has been set up in Britain to push for a new intl ed strategy to drive the movement forward.
- United Kingdom - The question of expanding or eliminating limits on international student work hours in the UK is troubling on many levels. Are they students first, or are they filling holes in the job market?
- United Kingdom - Universities in Britain are beginning to diversify their international student bodies beyond China and India, with South Asia and Nigeria rising in prominence.
SMIE Consulting Midweek Roundup
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.
Driving Global Boarding & Day School Success as Director of International Business Development
2 年Great insight again Marty!!
Aeronautical Engineering student at Imperial College London | Founder of Flyrs Academy
2 年This is extremely interesting and an exciting opportunity as students can access online education from anywhere in the world. This opens up a massive pool of opportunities. The sector of online education will likely keep increasing in the upcoming years.