This week's top #socialmedia and #intled news fit to share include more stories on AI, the importance of storytelling, the impact of visa denials, USG international ed programs challenges, the growing need to diversify beyond India and China, the top 50 voices in international schools, decreased spending by unis on aggregators and ed tech solutions, and financial challenges for UK universities.
- Studyportals monthly LinkedIn Higher Ed Data into Insights blog never fails to generate significant data. This month’s article is no exception with a teasing article on the growing attractiveness of Asia as a study destination.
- This upcoming Chronicle webinar promised to dive into some juicy admissions-related topics: post-affirmative action, post-FAFSA fail, and the new reality of AI-aided student application content.
- Should international students who break US law by advocating support for terrorist organizations be removed from the country? The Trump administration is set to use AI tools to analyze social platforms and identify such individuals.
- One of the oldest ways of communicating, storytelling, is perhaps the tool most institutions don’t use well enough to convince future students of the value of a college education on their campus. This Webcertain guide is worth a read.
- The worldwide increase in visa denial rates across the big four destinations (including the US) has significant consequences on institutions, students’ preferred countries for study, and agencies where visa denials top 50%.
- “Just prior to Trump's inauguration, staffers at EducationUSA were told to pause all external communications, the State Department source shared. It was a departure from previous periods where their communication has continued despite a transition between administrations.”
- When asked about the Trump administration’s view on Indian students coming to the US, the?president of ASU,?after signing an agreement with an Indian uni, said that Indian students have nothing to fear, as the government is after illegal immigrants.
- Banding together to fight bad decisions by this government is our only hope. “Faced with a funding pause that may have become a full-fledged stoppage, global-education groups are appealing to Congress to push President Trump to restore spending on international education and exchange programs run by the U.S. Department of State.”
- Though this is a paid article for an ed tech firm, the perspective on what we need to be focused on in international student recruitment is on point: greater customization, enhanced AI-driven insights, and seamless compliance tracking.
- A new British Council report confirms what we’ve been advocating for years: “educators will need to extend recruiting efforts across a larger number of sending markets to offset that projected near-term downturn” from India and China.
- To my many friends and colleagues fighting the good fight on the international school side of our profession, kudos to you for being recognized in the Top 50 Voices by The PIE driving change in our industry.
- Australia - IDP is the most significant international education company in the world. A 46% drop in revenue in the first half of the fiscal year 2025 is troubling. A 16% drop in share prices reflects the unease many of us feel.
- Australia - What does an overreliance on international students lead to in troubling times? An opposition government saying Down Under that: “Australian students must come first.”
- Australia, Canada, UK - International edtech companies must be concerned. “Senior figures from the international education sector from Australia, Canada, and the UK?showed ‘much weaker intentions’ to spend on agent aggregators and digital recruitment platforms in 2024 compared to 2022.”
- Canada - Is the IRCC in Canada guilty of pre-judging students from certain countries who demonstrate more than enough funding for denying study permit requests? Do 8 of 10 students getting their denials overturned tell you anything?
- New Zealand - The government in New Zealand recognizes that key relationships with students in certain countries are essential to drive interest in its institutions. Scholarships for Vietnamese students will help.
- UK - What are UK universities facing in their international student recruitment efforts? This opinion piece paints a thorough portrait of the UK higher education landscape's approach given the incredible financial pressures they face.
- UK - UK universities are facing significant challenges. “Universities UK, which represents 141 institutions, says measures to reduce net migration have ‘created significant uncertainty around the UK's post-study work offer.’” Visas down 31% in 2024.
- UK - International students hoping to study in the UK have more loan options, thanks to a new partnership between UAPP and The Student Funding Company which promises to offer up to ￡ 4 million in loans to overseas students.
- UK - It’s good to see that British students who study abroad are also better off than their peers who do not. “40.7% of short-term mobility students were awarded a first-class degree compared to 31.4% of non-mobile students.”
If you’d like a more in-depth analysis of the leading news stories each week, check out our?#MidweekRoundup?#intled?#livechat?on Wednesday at 1 pm ET on the SMIE Consulting?Facebook?page,?YouTube?channel,?Twitter feed, and?LinkedIn. An audio-only version is available on all major podcast provider platforms.
