This week's top #socialmedia and #intled news include stories on US college social media campaigns missing the mark, trouble with China policies on campus and in research, where the growth markets are, and implications of government policy changes in Australia, Canada, and the UK.
- Is WhatsApp a part of your social outreach to future international students? If so, check out this Sinorbis guide to learn about the different types, how to get a business API account and strategies for connecting with Asian students.
- International schools abroad represent a market primed to connect with colleges seeking their students. Are you prepared for how to recruit in these supercharged environments? This BMI eBook may be worth a read.
- By now, you’ve likely heard of the recent survey of US international professionals about their priorities for a US national strategy for our profession. This upcoming IDP webinar goes in depth into those results.
- The Sunrise team is hosting a webinar on April 9th that will examine strategies and tools for recruiting future graduate students from China, along with case studies from three top US institutions.
- Are US colleges sending the right messages with their social media branding campaigns? Based on recent social listening surveys of responses to university branding posts, the answer is no. A Good Inside Higher Ed piece looks at alternatives.
- Protests on Florida public college campuses over the impact of a recent state law banning associations or agreements with Chinese institutions or organizations are exposing the short-sightedness of this political act.
- This report on US scientific research efforts and the impact of Congressional action in recent years in stifling advances in key areas. A big hole has appeared between the US and China as a result.
- Interesting to see a UK university building a custom study abroad program for US HBCU students. This effort from London Met works with four HBCU institutions to help provide students with a new perspective on life.
- When it comes to providing consistent solutions in international student recruitment, our friends at Intead are at or near the top of the list. Here’s last week’s blog post highlighting their top content from Q1.
- The recent British Council report on the next six years in international student mobility indicates that Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam will remain strong growth markets through the decade's end.
- This summary of the recent IIE predictions of international student flows globally is spot on: “There is far greater capacity for growth in the USA than in the major competitor nations. Overseas students constituted only six per cent of all higher education students in the USA in 2022/23, compared with 22 per cent in the UK, 24 per cent in Australia and 30 per cent in Canada.”
- Australia - The government Down Under is serious about cracking down on dodgy providers. Already, visa approvals have dropped 35% year over year, and the goal is to halve net migration figures by 2025.
- Australia - Where are the new students coming from to Australian institutions lately? Increasingly, they are not only coming from China and India but also from the Philippines.
- Australia - What are the increased vetting international students face to enter Australia? “Closing unrestricted working hours for international students…increasing English language requirements…Genuine Student Test.”
- Canada - In an interesting game of cat and mouse, the IRCC in Canada has moved up the deadline for future PGWP from September 1 to May 15, foiling an attempt by public-private partnerships to have an August intake to circumvent the deadline.
- Canada - While there has been much talk about the ending of public-private PGWP after May 15, what hasn’t gotten as much press is the exemption from the study permit reductions (35% over 2 years) of master’s and doctoral students.
- Canada - Career colleges in Ontario, particularly in the private sector, will be headed for devastating financial times in the coming years with no study permits to be allocated to any career colleges as part of the study permit reduction plan of the IRCC.
- New Zealand—After an excruciatingly slow recovery from the pandemic, New Zealand’s higher ed sector is finally seeing a rebounding of international student numbers in the first eight months of 2023, a 43% increase year over year.
- Saudi Arabia - Interestingly, the Kingdom had seen a 5-year drop in international student numbers (2017-21). Still, a modest increase in 2022 is not a sign of a return to sustained growth. Why? Domestic student increases are crowding out new internationals.
- UK - Is it panic stations at some UK unis that became too dependent on international student revenue in light of recent government crackdowns? Yes. At least 15 institutions have announced layoffs and/or removing courses.
- UK - Despite the very bad news with significant drops in applicants from India and Nigeria, there are some bright undergrad spots coming from Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Taiwan, China, and UAE.
- UK - International student mobility changes happen. For UK unis, the Agent Quality Framework has really become an essential element of ensuring that quality students can access their institutions with reduced worries about fraud and corruption.
- UK - Recent concerns over overseas government scholarships that require students to pass ideological tests are potentially coming under a future ban in the UK that would cause the cancellation of some institutional partnerships.
- UK - The question about whether Trans National Education is profitable is one with which we in the US seem to struggle. In the UK it is a multi-billion pound industry that actually results in more UK degrees given outside the UK than in country to international students. This piece on how it can work in China is interesting.
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 1pm ET on the SMIE Consulting Facebook page, YouTube channel, Twitter feed, and LinkedIn. A podcast version is also available on all major podcast provider platforms.
