This week's top #socialmedia and #intled news include a focus on websites from an international student perspective, the promise of digital tools in student recruitment, top English language instruction markets for the US, the real hurdle to huge international student expansion to the US, and the real impact of international student cuts in Australia, Canada, and the UK.
- How well does your institutional website reflect what you want your international student journey to be? This ICEF Monitor piece shares important considerations to factor in before radical change is attempted.
- Studyportals monthly newsletter provides useful content as ever including a look at student motivations for studying far from or near to home as well as an assessment on top academic programs of interest by city in India.
- Are the latest digital tools overpromising and underdelivering when it comes to providing “revolutionary opportunities to improve efficiency, increase quality, create more transparency, and reduce costs and time”? Find out in this webinar.
- What role does global education play in preparing students for career readiness? This AIEA/Podium webinar seeks to dive deep into the reasons why international experiences better prepare students for the increasingly diverse, modern workplace.
- English language program numbers often reflect where future market growth may be happening. EnglishUSA’s annual report shares the top 5 markets (Japan, France, Brazil, China, and Italy) and an exploding new/old market - Taiwan.
International Education News
- The latest USCIS updates to regulations impacting international students are largely positive and reflect much-needed clarification on grace periods and changing institutions and levels.
- The updated guidance on the 60-day grace period is significant for international students after their EAD card has expired: “They may opt to transfer to a different level of study, such as moving from a bachelor’s to a master’s program, or they might choose to transfer to another SEVP-certified institution at the same educational level. Alternatively, they have the option to apply for a different visa category. This grace period provides much-needed flexibility, allowing students to plan their next steps without the pressure of an immediate departure from the U.S.”
- What’s really holding US colleges back most internationally? “If the US were to become ‘a more ambitious study destination,’ visa applications would ‘overwhelm’ authorities’ capabilities. ‘They’d either have to hire a lot more people to manage it, or adopt systems like the UK and Australia [in]?putting more of the compliance burden on the universities.’”
- The IC3 Institute’s Annual Student Quest Report takes a deep dive into the impact of AI on career counseling in schools, students’ values, purpose, and passion, as well as the ideal application process.
- Seven US institutions will be the recipients of 240 graduate Chinese students coming on government scholarships in the next year including: UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Riverside, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, Temple, and the Tennessee.
- Is there a period of stability coming for international education globally? Maybe so, according to Hans de Wit: “This intensified competition in student recruitment does not imply, however, that a major shift in international student mobility from the Global North to the rest of the world will happen any time soon.”?
- What are the main sub rosa issues that US higher ed needs to be tracking? Marguerite Denis suggests an increased focus on sustainability, lifelong learning, increased collaborations, and Covid-19 legacies.
- Unconscious bias is something we all have. Identifying it and countering it are skills we all need to master in international education (and share with our campus communities). This NAFSA article shares important next steps.
- Reports like this one from the National Academies of Science Engineering Medicine give us hope: “The modern United States research ecosystem relies on international interactions and collaborations and foreign students and professionals. The incorporation of such individuals into the U.S.’s scientific enterprise is essential to research excellence and productivity, innovation-based economic growth, and national security.”
- Why is the addition of an “A” to STEM a much-needed change in approach to education? The creativity inspired by study of and practice of the Arts adds a focus on flexibility and adaptability will only help future STEAM students.
- Australia - Spare a thought for our intl ed colleagues Down Under. “It is already clear Australia has taken a highly bureaucratic approach. Our comparison with similar recent moves in the United Kingdom and Canada suggests it could set a new benchmark in government micromanagement of international education.”
- Australia - Can you imagine the US government purposefully restricting an industry that represented half of all GDP growth in the previous year? No, right? Well, that’s the equivalent of what the Australian government has just done.
- Australia - When diving into the rules of the new cap on international students, there are many layers to this turd bomb currently leveling the international ed sector in Australia. School, post-grad research, and some ELT programs are exempt.
- Canada - Don’t think saying the word “cap” will have negative impact on international student interest? Look what’s happened a year in after Canada proclaimed a coming cap: “‘The drop just within universities will be well beyond that,’ said Gabriel Miller, president of Universities Canada. ‘This is a hit, a national hit to university budgets that we haven't seen in modern memory.’
- Colombia - Understanding the evolving and growing thirst for international education in South America’s second biggest sending country, the key to unlock this market fully seems to be in the English language education sector in Colombia.
- Denmark - What does Denmark see as a long-term objective of encouraging more Africans to do student exchanges there? “contribute to making the EU a stronger and more effective actor in Africa and invest in concrete EU Global Gateway initiatives in a number of countries.”
- South Korea - How have South Korean government initiatives fared in expanding the number of international students at its universities? So far, so good, with a 25% increase in the last two years.
- Russia - Yes, war has many sad knock-on impacts on society. Particularly for a country whose leader has chosen isolation from the majority of the world community, Russian research will feel a 25% cut in funding over the next two years.
- UK - The international education think tanks in Britain are shouting from the rooftops these days with the tolling bells of impending doom for higher ed institutions. HEPI predicts a loss of 60,000 students will result in ?￡1.14 billion lost revenue.
- UK - When it rains, it pours into the UK. For English language testing providers, the cat has been thrown amongst the pigeons as the Home Office is set to require a new test that the current providers can fight to develop. Panic stations.
SMIE Consulting Midweek Roundup
If you’d like a more in-depth analysis of the main 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.
