submited

FINAL PROJECT
Scaling an educational agent business and
establishing an efficient framework for
universities and agents to work together
Jonah Kadish
Aparna Mallajosyula
INSEAD GEMBA 13A
Project Advisor:
Prof. Sameer Hasija

FINAL PROJECT JONAH KADISH
GEMBA 13A APARNA MALLAJOSYULA
2

Table
of
Contents

Overview
.................................................................................................................................................
3

Initial
Thoughts
....................................................................................................................................
4

Summary
of
Findings
..........................................................................................................................
4

Introduction
to
the
Educational
Industry
....................................................................................
5

Background
on
the
Educational
Industry
....................................................................................
6

Existing
Players
...............................................................................................................................................
7

Categories
of
universities
............................................................................................................................
7

College
Application
Process
.............................................................................................................
8

Marketing
approaches
to
recruit
international
students
....................................................
11

Recruiting
methods
used
by
universities
.............................................................................................
11

Recruiting
methods
used
by
educational
agents
...............................................................................
12

How
agents
and
universities
connect
..........................................................................................
12

Universities
seek
out
agents
.....................................................................................................................
13

Agents
seek
out
universities
.....................................................................................................................
13

Pathways
as
a
way
to
connect
universities
and
agents
....................................................................
13

Recruiting
via
Agents
........................................................................................................................
14

Factors
effecting
why
Universities
work
with
Agents
......................................................................
14

Country
of
Origin
of
the
University
......................................................................................................................
14

Educational
Ranking/Prestige
of
the
University
............................................................................................
15

Strategic
Emphasis
of
the
University
to
Recruit
Foreign
Students
........................................................
16

Nationality
of
the
Foreign
Student
the
University
is
Recruiting
.............................................................
16

Operational
Benefits
for
Universities
Partnering
with
Agents
.....................................................
17

Summary
..........................................................................................................................................................
19

Recommendations
and
Framework
............................................................................................
21

Expansion
Recommendations
for
Educational
Agents
....................................................................
21

Expansion
via
advising
on
Tier
1
and
Tier
2
schools
....................................................................................
21

Expansion
via
a
broader
range
of
services
........................................................................................................
22

Expansion
via
segmentation
...................................................................................................................................
23

Expansion
via
partnerships
with
educational
export
agencies
...............................................................
25

Optimization
framework
for
universities
and
agents
......................................................................
26

Power
and
Control
.......................................................................................................................................................
26

Information
flow
and
accuracy
..............................................................................................................................
27

Financial
and
recruiting
benefits
..........................................................................................................................
28

Accountability
and
trust
............................................................................................................................................
28

Potential
risks
and
drawbacks
.................................................................................................................
29

3

Overview
This project focuses on the education industry, viewing applicants to schools as customers who
have a variety of similar products to choose from. The primary intent of the paper is to create a
framework which highlights optimal ways in which universities and educational agents may work
together to recruit international students and how educational agents can better serve a larger
group of potential students to help place them in the schools that best fit their particular needs
and aspirations. These needs and aspirations may be based on a variety of desired factors,
which include but are not limited to field of study, geographical location and cost.
For the purpose of this paper we will use the following definitions:
● University – A higher education institute where studies that are completed in a
satisfactory manner result in an undergraduate degree
● Potential Student – A person who is exploring which university to attend
● Educational Agent – An individual, company or other organization providing services on
a commercial basis to help students gain places on study programs overseas1
The fields of focus for this project will include:
● Operations – Establishing a basic framework for planning basic operational aspects of
managing the end-to-end process of placing a potential student into a foreign university
● Marketing – Understanding how universities market to international students and
potential educational agent partners alike. The focus is also on understanding how
educational agents market to reach potential students and potential university partners
● Strategy – Developing recommendations to help educational agents understand how
they may scale to serve a larger number of potential students

1
Education UK Campaigns and Strategic Initiatives: Agent Strategy March 2002, Prepared by:
Jean Krasocki

4

Initial Thoughts
When we originally began the project we assumed we would be solving a problem-centric
question focused on a basic “chicken and egg problem.” The chicken and egg problem that we
are referring to is as follows. If an educational agent would like to serve a larger group of
potential students we assumed that they would need to have a larger number of universities as
their partners. This particular Catch-22 causes a problem because building these partnerships
requires a significant investment from agents in the way of site visits, sales training and if the
new partner university is in a new country then they will also need additional training in location
specific topics such as visas, immigration and relocation issues. By the end of the paper we aim
to answer the following three questions:
1. How can educational agents serve a wider number of potential students?
2. How can educational agents efficiently scale to partner with a larger number of
universities?
3. Do educational agents need to partner with a large number of universities in order to
serve a wider number of potential students?
Summary of Findings
Although we originally thought that the key to scaling for an educational agent was centered
around a supply side Catch-22 of needing to increase the number of university partners in order
to increase the number of potential students an agent may be able to assist. We have found that
while this is certainly one way to scale, that it is not necessarily the most efficient, effective or
even one of the necessary ways in which an agent can scale to serve a larger potential
customer base.
Instead we have found that in order to have the ability to serve a larger customer base agents
can look to grow in the following ways:
● Diversify into serving both Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools
● Look into diversifying geographically by partnering with countries with strong educational
export agencies such as the British Council, German Academic Exchange Service
(DAAD) and Australia Education International
● Offering an expanded range of services such as pre-college counseling, aptitude testing
and relocation services

5

● Targeting a specific segment of potential students based on the WES classifications of
international students2
● Operationally optimize the way in which agents work with their university partners along
four main axioms3
to minimize work and ensure optimal customer satisfaction from both
the university as well as the students themselves
Introduction to the Educational Industry
One of the most critical segments that is poised for a change and is undergoing a
transformation is the education space. With rising tuition costs and rapidly increasing population,
there is a significant mismatch between the quality and accessibility of education that is
demanded by students and the options that are currently available. The education space is
poised to undergo a rapid transformation in terms of reaching students, determining an optimal
match and delivering services. It is evolving into a new segment that is attracting attention on
several fronts - from established technology and service companies to entrepreneurs and
private equity firms.
An important dynamic stems from the fact that colleges are increasingly offering courses online
(e.g. Khan academy, Coursera, etc). This trend is expected to continue as online penetration
continues to grow rapidly and reach other inaccessible parts of the world. A growing number of
students are taking distance learning courses. In the future, it will also not be feasible for
colleges and universities to absorb this rising demand of students to be a part of the physical
main campus.
Another key component of the education transformation that is needed is related to the college
admissions process. This process though very streamlined, has seen little change for many
years now. As content, marketing and offerings are increasingly going digital, educational
institutions will need to quickly adapt to keep pace with and excel on a more transparent
competitive playing field.
Marketing of educational institutions and the programs they offer has upheld a very traditional
process. Research, both through literature and individual interviews with admissions officers at
various colleges, suggests that institutions have not adapted their methodology of recruiting
students as significantly as the landscape around their industry has evolved. Most universities
primarily rely on the typical channels to attract potential students – the commonly used channels
are educational fairs, advertising in traditional media, and reliance on alumni to refer interested

2
Not All International Students Are the Same: Understanding Segments, Mapping Behavior,
World Education Services, New York. Retrieved from www.wes.org/RAS
2
3
Ethical considerations in the use of commercial agents in international student recruitment,
Jane Ellen Robinson 2007

6

prospects. The use of agents is a fairly recent development - the role and scope of their
involvement in the recruiting process will be discussed in detail in the later sections.
Background on the Educational Industry
The mobility of students globally has undergone a significant transformation over the last two
decades. Students are now considering varied options in their choice of education institutes and
locations; likewise, educational institutes have opened their doors to increase the intake of
students globally instead of recruiting students internally within the country where they are
physically located. We consider international students as anyone that moves away from the
country of their primary residence, to pursue studies. Apart from undergraduate degrees, this
may also include graduate and exchange programs; however, this papers is focused on
students who have adequate language skills to begin their degree curriculum.
The trend of students’ mobility globally shows a shift in the countries that are the “largest”
contributors of sending students abroad. There are several factors that have had a significant
impact on the surge in internationally mobile students. Globalization and widespread access to
the Internet across the globe has led to an increased awareness to the plethora of choices that
are available to prospective students. Even in the workplace, there is greater appreciation of,
and a focus to introduce a global perspective. As there is increased perceived value associated
with international education, more students are likely to consider the opportunity to study
outside their home country.
The United States and United Kingdom are primary destinations for a significant volume of
students globally for degree programs. At least 3.6 million students in 20104
were enrolled in
tertiary education in the United States, up from 2 million in 2000 – a 78% increase in a decade.
Asia is the largest source of international students, with China and India contributing to the
highest volume of sending students abroad. For students in Asia, the United States is the
obvious consideration for international study, however the physical proximity and the rising
prominence of universities in Australia and Japan make these comparative choices as well.
A recent trend in student mobility over the last decade is also noticeable in the Middle East as
well. Saudi Arabia has seen a significant increase in the number of students applying to
universities abroad. The United States, United Kingdom and France are the top destinations for
students from the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates is gaining popularity as a study
destination with a rise in American universities that have set up campuses in the prosperous
nation. As an extreme, there are nations with limited education options internally, where
enrollment of students within the nation is lower than the numbers that are enrolled abroad – for
example, in São Tomé and Principe only 4% of the tertiary-age population was enrolled in
higher education institutions in the state, but 14% of the same eligible population was enrolled in
universities abroad.

4
International Student Mobility Trends 2013, WES Research and Advisory Services

7

A large number of universities offer competitive scholarships and other financial incentives to
prospective students – this varies significantly between Tier 1 and Tier 2 educational institutions,
as the aid they receive from the government and national organizations promoting international
education varies.
Several countries have unique policies crafted to make it easier for incoming students – from
financial benefits eligibility, easing work permits to facilitate entry and residence in the host
country to other extended benefits such as providing housing and health insurance. A wide
range of overall incentives makes it increasingly attractive and competitive for prospective
students to consider destinations outside their countries of residence to further their education.
Existing Players
With the growing eminence of higher education in most parts of the world, there is a recent
interest in the education space as an “industry”. The theme to admit international students has
been prevalent in the United States for many years now, however, a concerted effort into
recruiting these students has risen in recent years primarily due to the budget cuts in public
higher education institutions as a result of the 2007 global financial crisis. This trend is also
seen outside the United States, including many countries in Asia and western Europe where
there is two-way flux (inbound and outbound) of students. As universities opened up their
classrooms to enrollment from international students, it created an opportunity for a wide variety
of associated services to cater to these students. In most cases, these students came from
countries with no physical proximity to their destination of study. This created a greater
dependence on local players for everything from information to onboarding students on arrival.
A complete ecosystem has developed which accounts for various facets of a student’s
educational journey. There are a variety of players in this space - most tend to focus on a
specific area of expertise rather than being generalists. Organizations such as Pearson, Kaplan
and ETS offer test preparation services, which are a prerequisite to apply for colleges in many
countries. International students from non-native English speaking countries also have to
complete a screening test that assesses them for English preparedness. Several other
organizations offer local consulting services to assist students with the college application
process, aiding in the process of building and communicating the student profile to universities.
A section of these consultants also act as “travel agents”, providing students with the relevant
information on the destination of their choice, including visa requirements and checklists for
seamless onboarding.
Categories of universities
At the aggregate level, there are over four thousand educational institutions that are included in
the classification of universities and degree-offering programs in the United States alone.
Universities are classified according to the type of program they offer, and the inclusion and
type of research facilities. There are multiple systems of ranking colleges that are published
annually - each of these considers a different set of factors and associated weights to establish
a rank to each college. The most commonly used broad categories used to define universities
are based on “tiers”. Though no formal definition exists for Tier 1 universities, they are

8

considered as premium research institutes, which enjoy significant research funding and
incentives from government, as well as other public and private sources. They also produce a
large number of high-quality graduates annually. In contrast, Tier 2 are usually primarily
teaching institutes where significant research is not as much of a focus area - many liberal arts
colleges are included in this tier. From a student’s perspective, tiers directly dictate how
competitive the entrance into a particular college or university will be.
College Application Process
The process of applying to international educational institutions is somewhat similar across
geographies, following the same basic steps. For the purpose of this section, the process is
described for US universities, which is the most complex compared to the process for applying
to other countries. Universities in Europe, Australia and Asia follow a similar but shorter version
of the application process.
According to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education5
, there are nearly
4,600 institutions of higher education in the United States (including research universities, liberal
arts colleges, associates colleges, special focus schools, etc.), and these can be narrowed
down to nearly 2,675 four-year non-profit undergraduate programs, which we will henceforth
refer to as universities, schools or colleges. Gaining admission into such US universities, at both
undergraduate and graduate levels, involves several steps, which is commonly referred to as
the “college applications or college admissions process”. We will solely focus on undergraduate
admissions, as this follows a more rigorous and complicated procedure, while noting that the
graduate admissions process follows a similar (and simpler) pattern but the parameters of
selection are very different between the two segments.
Typically, for a student, the process of applying to a university is a two-year effort beginning in
the junior year of high school. The first step in this process begins with a student taking the SAT
(while the acronym does not stand for anything, it is still referred to by its obsolete name, the
Scholastic Aptitude Test), which is a standardized test that is required by nearly all universities.
The SAT is offered several times a year, and is developed by a non-profit organization called
the College Board6
, and conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS)7
all over the world.
(Some students also take the Preliminary SAT or PSAT, usually in their sophomore year as a
precursor to the main SAT.) Following the SAT, the next step in the process would be to take
the SAT-II or SAT subject tests, usually for 2-3 subjects. For example, a student aiming to study
engineering would write the SAT subject tests for Math Levels 1-2 and Physics/Chemistry. An
equally reputed substitute for the SAT is the American College Testing (ACT) test, which is also
widely accepted by all US universities and colleges.

5
http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/ (retrieved on 7-Nov-2013)
6
http://www.collegeboard.org/ (retrieved on 7-Nov-2013)
7
http://www.ets.org/ (retrieved on 7-Nov-2013)
7

9

With the hurdle of the standardized tests out of the way, the next step in the application process
would be to compile a list of colleges/universities that would be a “best fit” for the student. Here,
the potential list of colleges is often decided based on a student’s academic record,
standardized test scores, and extracurricular profile. This is often the most subjective and
unclear part of the process, as the number of possible choices can be prohibitively large. To
make this decision easier, apart from considering university rankings, students get advice from
their high school counselors and visit universities for campus tours. Having gathered this
information, students typically apply to a range of universities, with the distribution amongst
these colleges following the well-known so-called “dream” (defined as colleges that are slightly
beyond what the student’s profile suggests, but would be a great fit) - reach (defined as colleges
that are in the ballpark of the student’s profile with a high probability of acceptance) - safe
(defined as colleges that have a high probability of accepting the student) - methodology.
With selecting a shortlist of universities comes the part of completing the actual college
application, which mainly comprises the “essay writing” component. The Common Application8
(informally referred to as the “Common App”), which is accepted by nearly 520 colleges in the
United States, is an integral part of the undergraduate college application process. Along with
taking inputs from students on their academic grades and standardized test scores, the
Common App requires students to write two essays: the Common App long essay (~ 500-600
words, chosen from a list of essay topics that vary year by year) and the Common App short
essay (~250 words, on any topic of the student’s choice, which reveals something new about
the student that is not captured in the rest of the application packet). Apart from the Common
App essays, several colleges also require “supplemental essays”, which can be up to six essays
for certain liberal arts colleges. So, for a student applying to say ten universities, completing the
entire application would require writing around 30 essays of varying length on a diverse set of
topics! This is truly where having a strong overall profile (built on good academic grades and
outside the classroom experiences) is exceptionally helpful, as it gives the student plenty of
material to include in all of these essays, thereby potentially creating a very favorable
impression on (the evaluating team of) admissions officers.
Another critical choice that students face as part of the college application process is the “Early
Decision (ED) or Early Action (EA)” component. The EA/ED deadline for application submission
is typically end of October, whereas the Regular Decision (RD) deadlines are earliest by end of
December and can be as late of end of March. A student can only apply to one university in the
ED/EA framework, and a decision to this single application is reached by mid-December (before
the student typically applies to any other university). Simply stated, an ED college (e.g. Cornell,
U-Penn, etc.) makes it binding on a student to enroll if accepted, whereas with an EA college
(e.g. Harvard, MIT, etc.) acceptance is nonbinding. If a student decides to apply for ED/EA, it is
easy to understand that strategically this would be a college in the “dream” category. Another
advantage to applying in the ED/EA cycle is that the acceptance rates are much higher for this
category of applications as compared to the regular decision (RD) applicants. For example, in

8
https://www.commonapp.org/ (retrieved on 7-Nov-2013)
8

10

the 2012 application cycle (for admission to the Fall 2013 semester), Harvard University had an
18.43% acceptance rate for EA applications and a mere 4.2% for Regular Decision (RD)
applications, leading to an overall (aggregated) acceptance rate of 5.79%. A smaller, yet
noteworthy, advantage is that a student accepted through ED/EA might save on application
costs of other universities, provided the student waits for the decision to come through before
submitting the remaining applications.
With rising costs of tuition and other related college expenses, applying for “financial aid” can
also be a crucial factor in a student’s application. It is commonly accepted (and mostly true) that
if a student requests for financial aid in the application packet, it reduces the chances for
acceptance. There are several exceptions to this rule, notably from schools that follow the
“Need Blind” policy, where the financial documentation provided by a student is not a part of the
selection process. In need blind schools, once a student has been accepted (purely based on
credentials and essays provided), then the school reviews financial documentation and decides
the level of financial aid to be offered to the student. “Full Need” schools offer enough financial
aid to cover the entire cost of college tuition that the student cannot afford. For example, if a
student can afford only 20% of college tuition, then a full need school would cover the remaining
80% of the costs. This is often a critical factor in getting a college degree, and for international
students, there are only six schools that are both need blind and full need. From an application
standpoint, applying for financial aid would entail writing additional essays justifying the need for
financial support and providing the required documentation. While summarizing the other
various types of available financial aid is beyond the scope of this report, it is sufficient to note
that there are a plethora of scholarships, loans, federal aid programs, etc. that can help students
sustain the cost of a college education.
Another aspect of college admissions is the growing number of international students applying
to US universities. International students follow the aforementioned steps related to college
applications with a few additional requirements. For students from non-English speaking
countries, an English proficiency test such as TOEFL is required. Moreover, as campus visits
and tours are usually not feasible (due to cost/distance constraints), international students rely
significantly on the international student offices or local educational agents to provide them with
information on campus life, general advice on applying, and to gain a network of contacts that
would be useful during their undergraduate study. All of this additional work requires time and
planning, and so, international students must in general be better prepared for the college
application process. Evaluating international applications also poses significant challenges for
admissions officers as academic grades are not standardized, vetting of transcripts can be
difficult, and there is scope for miscommunication due to language constraints. To circumvent
these difficulties, universities may have admissions officers dedicated to specific geographic
regions (thereby increasing their understanding of applications from that part of the world) and
invest in developing contacts in local markets to assist in evaluations and improve the
evaluation process as a whole. The use of local agents who have a good understanding of local
dynamics and expectations, may also serve a similar objective.

11

Marketing approaches to recruit international students
While there has been substantial research on how and why regular students choose universities
there is not nearly as much information on how and why international students decide where
they would ultimately like to study. Of the research that does exist some of it is based on
modifying frameworks of domestic school choice to apply to international students. Many of
these models ultimately arrive at a push/pull theory. The gist of the push/pull theory is:
“that there are basically two forces at play: push factors and pull factors. The push
factors “operate within the source country and initiate a student’s decision to undertake
international study”, while the pull factors “operate within a host country to make that
country relatively attractive to international students.9
”
While there is also a decent amount of work, which started to be published in the 1980’s on the
subject of how higher education institutes market themselves, not much of it applies specifically
to the subject of marketing to international students. Instead the actual phenomenon of
international education grew at a significantly higher rate10
[Appendix 1] than the amount of
academic research that was being conducted on the subject itself. In the absence of this
academic research there was however a fair amount of industrial research and activity around
the specific sector of international education. As a result many international organizations grew
and national educational export agencies developed to capitalize on the trend of international
education. In specific Australia, America, Germany, France and the UK developed strong
governmental organizations and in some cases governmental policies aimed at making
educational export a priority.
Recruiting methods used by universities11
Universities employ a number of methods to recruit international students. These methods can
range from educational fairs in foreign countries to on-location open houses in foreign countries
where potential students are invited to hear sample lectures by professors of the university, to
the more prevalent use of digital marketing via websites, e-mail and social media. Another
popular tactic used by large universities or schools with strong brands is to leverage in-country
alumni to act as liaisons and recruiters of international students.
In addition to these methods, there are also countries with strong educational export entities
which work on a macro level to recruit students to the country by offering them information on
not only schools but also in-depth information on topics such as cost of living and immigration.
Last but not least, many universities partner with educational agents to assist in recruiting and
facilitating the relocation of foreign students.

9
International student recruitment: policies and developments in selected countries, Rosa
Becker and Renze Kolster January 2012
10
Project Atlas ®: Trends and Global Data 2012, Center for Mobility Research, IIE
11
We conducted interviews with 3 different school administrators. One from INSEAD, The New
School and University of London

12

Recruiting methods used by educational agents
There is no single profile for educational agents; in fact, they can range from large international
listed organizations such as IDP12
to small companies to single individuals who may act as sole
agents. While there is a wide variance in the organizational structure of educational agents and
despite their size or level of sophistication, the common factor is that agents are experts on the
local markets in which they reside. Like any other channel model built on distributors,
educational agents leverage their local understanding of push/pull factors to determine how they
can be most successful in placing a potential student in a foreign university. Educational agents
are able to use more sophisticated and targeted approaches to reach students that a foreign
university might not have access to or the operational know how to execute.
Educational agents will, for instance, understand the correct local media channels (print, web,
TV or radio) to advertise through and which high schools to work closely with to ensure that
when a student seeks to go abroad, the student will go to the agent for advice on how to do so.
Universities, however, will typically be in charge of deciding the message of their brand and how
it is delivered. The agents will be the on-the-ground resource for ensuring it is placed in front of
the correct audience via the correct channels.
How agents and universities connect
In our research we discovered a wide range of ways in which universities work with educational
agents. While the specifics of why and how will be covered in the next section of the paper, in
this section we will discuss the mechanism by which relationships between universities and
agents are developed.
The act of developing an integrated, trustworthy and successful agent network for a university is
no easy task. In fact, the topic of channel sales, distributor networks and foreign partners
remains an important topic of study for anyone pursuing a business degree of any level. In an
educational setting, all the common advantages and disadvantages exist when developing the
agent network. One subtle difference in this case, however, is that the products of the agents
are a blend of services and a final good which is the students themselves.
In our research we uncovered three main mechanisms for developing the agent-university
relationship:
1. Universities seek out agents
2. Agents seek out universities
3. Pathways as a way to connect universities and agents

12

http://www.idp.com/

13

Universities seek out agents
Typically when recruiting international students becomes a priority, universities will set out to
develop an agency network. If universities are working independently from a pathway
organization or national education export organization, they will most likely connect with agents
via educational roadshows or by networking through common organizations. In an interview with
Seher Neoez from the German office of the ICEF, she mentioned that Universities who are part
of the same organizations but do not necessarily recruit the same type of students will
sometimes share the agents they work with in order grow their agent networks. We were also
told by one business development administrator that exhibiting at educational fairs aimed at
potential students often leads to agents introducing themselves in an effort to connect and
partner with the university.
Agents seek out universities
It can be said that agents may take a more opportunistic approach to partnering with universities.
The reasons for this may because agents do not necessarily have the same concerns when
finding partners that universities may have or perhaps because agents have less of a concern in
the type of school and more of a concern with the ability to place a student into the school. With
that being said agents might partner with a large number of universities but only send students
to a small subset of their partners.
In an interview with the Michael Day, the Partner Manager of Hands on Consulting in Thailand,
he mentioned that they participate in educational fairs and represent themselves as opposed to
a specific university. He also mentioned that during these educational fairs universities will
sometimes introduce themselves with the hope of partnering with them. Another interesting
comment from the interview is that at Hands on Consulting they will help any student with their
application to any school regardless of the partnership status of the school the student is
applying too. Michael went on to say that they have used this as a foot-in-the-door strategy to
discuss partnering with the university albeit with mixed results.
Pathways as a way to connect universities and agents
Universities and agents will often participate in events hosted by organizations who help
universities and agents connect. These events may be hosted by for-profit entities such ICEF or
governmental educational export agencies such as the British Council. The benefits of these
types of events is that agents and universities are promised to be vetted in order to save time
and effort which ultimately results in a better match of organizations with the same aspirations,
standards and ethics. In interviews with both universities and agents, they all mentioned
participating in these kind of events but did not comment if they found them more beneficial than
merely connecting directly with the prospective partner themselves.

14

Recruiting via Agents
The purpose of this section is to outline the manner in which Universities use agents to recruit
students from foreign countries. In our research we have uncovered four primary methods in
which Universities recruit foreign students. Of the four primary methods uncovered we have
found that three of them employ the use of Agents to recruit students.
In addition to Universities partnering with agents there is also a large segment of agents who
have no connection or affiliation to a specific University. These type of agents are typically hired
directly by students and their families as opposed to receiving leads from a University. These
specific agents tend to be more focused on helping the student be admitted to the school of
their choice as opposed to recommending a specific University. This segment of agents tends to
earn revenue via the student as opposed to a commission from the University the student
ultimately attends. There are however instances where agents are known to “double dip.”
Double dipping is the act of “agents collecting fees from both the student and the institution.”
Factors effecting why Universities work with Agents
Based on our research, the actual recruiting strategy employed by a university depends on a
number of factors. For the purpose of our research, we focus on the following four key reasons
(these key factors have not been tested for statistical significance) :
1. Country of Origin of the University
2. Educational Ranking/Prestige of the University
3. Strategic Emphasis of the University to Recruit Foreign Students
4. Nationality of the Foreign Student the University is Recruiting
Country of Origin of the University
Country of origin of the University is probably the single most important factor when it comes to
the perception and use of agents. This is in part due to the fact that some countries have long

15

established norms and regulatory structures in place in reference to the use of agents. For
instance it is illegal for agents within the United States to receive a commission for placing
students in schools within the United States. This is far different from countries such as the UK,
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, China and Malaysia where it is not only
the norm but also a well established part of the recruiting mix employed by Universities in these
countries.
In fact, shortly prior to the writing of this paper a major shift in the way agents are perceived by
organizations within the United States took place. After a year long investigation and debate on
the use of agents by schools belonging to the National Association for College Admission
Counseling a motion to change the association’s ethical standards to have a neutral stance on
the use of commissioned agents in international recruitment was passed with a vote of 152-47.
This is quite contrary to long standing regulatory frameworks in Australia, for example, where
the use of agents has been encouraged for an extended time but under strict guidelines with
certain rules, regulations and laws that ultimately hold the Australian University responsible for
any wrong doings.
As it stands now it seems as though the trend of American universities working with agents is
one that will continue to grow. However, it is our belief that this will not happen without its share
of growing pains, which will in no doubt lead to further debate from the U.S. Educational
community. Looking at this in contrast to other countries, which have long established histories
of using agents, and add into the mix the ever-expanding need for international education, it
looks as though the entire size of the educational agent market is set to grow for the
foreseeable future.
Educational Ranking/Prestige of the University
The next factor that plays a role in the use of agents by a University is the educational ranking
or prestige level of the school. In our research it was fairly evident that top tier schools and
schools with strong brands did not need to partner with agents to recruit foreign students. In fact,
the use of agents by top tier schools could even be seen as damaging to their brand. This is in
part because the reputation of top tier schools is built on the perception that they are highly
selective and hard to be admitted too. In the case of top tier schools students tend to directly
hire agents who charge students for assistance with applying to schools regardless of the
outcome of their application.
This is far different to second tier schools, which tend to rely on the use of agents to recruit
foreign students. One of the reasons that second tier schools rely so heavily on agents is
because they are often faced with far greater resource limitations then their top tier counterparts.
These resource limitations - be it financial, brand recognition, marketing ability, manpower or
knowledge of foreign markets - places them in a position where they are heavily reliant on the
use of agents. In these situations, agents are generally compensated on a commission or
finder’s fee model which can see them earning anywhere from 10%-25% of the first year’s
tuition and in some special situations they may even earn residual commission of around 5% of
the following years’ tuition if the student remains enrolled. Some people believe that this kind of

16

reliance on agents can lead to unethical behavior and practices that do not always lead to the
students’ best interests when it comes to finding the best school for their specific needs.

Strategic Emphasis of the University to Recruit Foreign Students
The strategic importance of recruiting foreign students from both a financial and
prestige/diversity standpoint is one that cannot be overlooked. Specifically in the United States,
foreign students tend to pay much higher tuitions than those of their local counterparts.
Unfortunately, it is this potential revenue boost that leads to the recruitment of foreign students
as a strategic financial emphasis for a University as opposed to the non-financial benefit of
diversity that these students may bring to the campus. At the end of the day foreign students
remain an important way to boost not only student body numbers but also fatten the bottom line.
If one looks toward the EU; the trend of foreign education is growing as well. One of the factors
behind this is due in part to the Bologna Process, which has made it easier for students from
different countries to attend schools in foreign countries across the greater EU region. The
combination of the Bologna process with an acceptance of agents as recruiting partners and the
close proximity of European countries means that agents and the recruitment of Foreign
Students is a trend that is here to stay across most of the EU as well.

Nationality of the Foreign Student the University is Recruiting
The last factor that plays a large role in determining if a University chooses to enlist the help of
agents is the nationality of the potential foreign student. In a report titled “Why students Use
agents - Demand and Supply” it was found that students from the following regions answered
yes to having contacted or will contact an educational agent:
● East Asia - 48%
● Africa - 41%
● South Asia - 39%
● Latin America - 30%
● Europe - 23%

17

Research also states that the predominant reasons agents are used in these regions is as
follows:
It is of special interest to note that for the more collectivist cultural regions i.e. Asia, Africa and
Latin America the emphasis is on gaining advice on which University to apply to as a secondary
focus whereas in a more individualist region like Europe the first focus is assistance and
reassurance as opposed to advise on choosing a University.
Based on this research and as long as countries with a large numbers of outward looking
students such as China, India, and Vietnam continue to look abroad for education the use of
agents as a way of facilitating their journey will continue.
Operational Benefits for Universities Partnering with Agents
Now that we’ve discussed some of the main reasons why Universities may choose to partner
with agents; lets now look into the tangible benefits the Universities receive by partnering with
agents.
The relationship between a University and an Agent has many of the same aspects as any other
industry built around agent distributorship models. It is for this reason that we see many of the
same advantages as well as disadvantages that one would see in any other sector.

18

We view some of the pros and cons of using agents are as follows:
Pros Cons
Extension of Reach Loss of Brand Control
Outsourcing of work Partnership Management with Little Direct Control
Commissioned Based Sales Force Possibility of Unethical Sales Techniques
Larger sales force Little Loyalty
In “The Benefits of Working with Education Agents“ authored by Diana Forman, Manager of the
Americas for ICEF GmbH, she outlined that there are many logistical and operational
advantages to working with agents. Logistically local agents can pre-arrange local events and
provide local office space when the university is on location. On the operational side there are
advantages to be gained by agents representing universities locally on a year-round basis by
handing out literature, advertising in local media and attending educational fairs on their behalf.
Last but not least agents play another important strategic role in their ability to provide reliable
market information back to universities which when used may help the school improve their
marketing capabilities, this may be perceived as the Quaker method of forecasting demand.
In a more academic exploration of the relationship between schools, agents and students Jane
Ellen Robinson (2007) outlined the following benefits and issues arising from using agents for all
actors involved.

19

In her research Robinson states that “four distinct themes emerged: power and control,
information flow and accuracy, financial and recruiting benefits, and accountability and trust.”
when exploring the relationships between agents, schools and students. Later in the paper we
will focus on these four axioms to make suggestions on improvements for this industry.
Summary
To summarize this section we will close with a recap of the 5 W’s:
● Who uses agents
Universities with limited reach due to an unknown brand or reputation. Agents are also
typically used when a University has a limited amount of resources - financial, manpower
or know-how that would make it difficult to dedicate resources to international
recruitment.
Agents are used by potential students in countries where it is viewed as the normal
practice for the sake of simplicity. In addition to this, agents are also used by potential
students in countries where information about Universities might be a scarce resource
due to language gaps, insufficient access to Internet access or little knowledge of foreign
countries and education system and related processes.

20

● What circumstances agents are used under
Agents are typically used by Universities on a commission basis that only results in
payment to the agent once the foreign student is enrolled and has completed a portion of
studies which makes a refund of any tuition or fees impossible.
Agents with no affiliation to a University may be hired directly by potential students for a
fee which they pay directly to the agents themselves. Most times these arrangements
are focused on services geared to helping the student apply to the top tier school of their
choice as opposed to applying to one of the agents partner universities. In some
circumstances, agents will “double dip” by charging a fee to the student as well as
earning a commission from the school.
● Where agents are typically used
Universities typically use agents as a way to streamline communication and connect with
a population that they otherwise would have found it difficult to communicate with. This
difficulty might arise from language issues or simply time zone or distances that are far
too different to support. Agents are also used in parts of the world where the use of
agents is viewed as the norm because potential students view applying by themselves
as too difficult.
● When are agents typically used
Universities typically use agents when recruiting more international students becomes a
strategic emphasis from a financial perspective. This can be driven at the micro level by
the goals set for the university, or driven at a macro level by government objectives to
increase the volume of both inbound and outbound students.
● Why are agents typically used
Agents are typically used by Tier 2 schools to increase foreign student head count for
profitability reasons. This is not to say that the schools do not see benefit in a more
diverse student body but the ones who recruit heavily and partner with many different
agents tend to do so more for financial as opposed to altruistic reasons. For Tier 1
schools, the decision is driven by the need to introduce operational efficiency as well as
to get a wider reach of students across geographies.

21

Recommendations and Framework
In the final part of the paper, we will first make recommendations on what we view as the most
operationally efficient ways in which educational agents can expand their customer reach in
order to serve more students. We will then move on to propose a framework, which aims to help
both the university and educational agent work together in a more streamlined manner, which
should result in a better experience for both the agent and school but most importantly the
student as well. While we admit that these recommendations may viewed as strategic in nature
we have come to these conclusions by focusing on opportunities that easily lend themselves to
operational optimization which result in strategic gains.
Expansion Recommendations for Educational Agents
In our original hypothesis we assumed that the only way for an agent to serve more students
was to have a larger number of university partners. While this might be true in certain
circumstances we feel we have discovered four different ways we believe to be far easier and
more efficient way to expand.
Expansion via advising on Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools
The first recommendation for expansion is for agents to look at expanding to serve students
who wish to attend both Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools. As mentioned earlier in our paper Tier 1
schools such as Harvard or Oxford do not need to use agents to recruit students13
. Agents that
tend to work with students applying to this caliber of school will typically charge premium
consulting fees to help students prepare essays, practice for interviews and craft the right
application “package” for the student to have the best chance of acceptance to a Tier 1 school.
In our research we also found agents who solely help students who are looking to attend Tier 2
schools. Our advice to agents is to diversify to serve both types of students.
With that being said, we recognize that from an operations point of view that this cannot
necessarily be done using the same agents to serve both Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools. What we
mean by this is that some care must be given in how to execute this. To draw parallels back to
other prominent case studies you can draw analogies between Shouldice Hospitals and agents
providing services for Tier 2 schools. Just as Shouldice would never move into more
complicated surgeries neither should counselors of Tier 2 schools aim to perform services for
Tier 1 schools. Instead an agent company for Tier 2 schools should look to hire in counselors
who can serve the needs of students looking to apply to Tier 1 schools. The operational benefit
that can be gained from this is that both the counselors of Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools can
leverage the internal services such as visa/immigration and relocation services to better service
the students. By combining this type of administrative work into one functional unit that both
type of counselors can leverage should result in counselors having more time to focus on
individual students or perhaps have an increased bandwidth to serve more students than before.

13
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9378773/Foreign-recruitment-agents-paid-60m-
by-universities.html

22

Another added benefit is that students who are on the border of being able to be accepted to a
top tier school no longer need to be viewed as a risk to serve because the student can be
served by both Tier 1 and Tier 2 counselors at the same agency thus ensuring serving the
student becomes a revenue earning activity regardless of where the student is accepted.
Recommended Operational Model to Serve Tier 1 and Tier 2 Schools
Finally, tying it back to the “Matching the Operations with the Product” matrix from Operations
Management class, you will want to achieve the following.
Note: the discussion of if and how you can get a Tier 1 counselor to serve a Tier 2 student
is out of the scope of this paper as it lends itself more to an OB discussion.
Expansion via a broader range of services
Based on our research, we found that most agents tend to focus primarily on acquisitions, and
acting as sales agents. There are several other independent private organizations that focus on
helping students with various other aspects of the college admissions process. As highlighted in
an earlier section of the paper, there are several local and global players that have functional

23

expertise in specific student services. Another recommendation to expand would be through
expansion of services offered, covering a larger section of the student’s application journey.
Through an extended relationship with the student over the lifecycle of the application process,
agents can also convey greater confidence to universities in the accuracy of the profile
information and recommendation of the fit being suggested.
Pre-college counseling is currently offered at most international schools where there is a
significant proportion of students going abroad to pursue higher studies. In schools where such
a facility is not offered, independent consultants either hired by schools or by students often fill
the gap. Educational consultants primarily act as an information repository on universities and
programs offered, as well as render advice on the potential fit of students.
With the requirement for students to undertake the standard tests as a prerequisite for the
application process, there is a huge market for training related services. These are currently
conducted by the large educational organizations (e.g. Pearson, ETS, Kaplan) as well as
several local players (e.g. SAT Zone, Ivy Prep in Singapore). Given the knowledge agents have
of the overall applications and admissions process, they can extend their range of services to
stretch into pre-college counseling and aptitude testing. Another key component is the
onboarding of students who accept admission into an international university. Agents can form
key partnerships with relocation companies to extend their relationship with students - this can
cover assistance with paperwork, immigration requirements, and with physical relocation. Finally,
for students that require financial assistance in the form of student loans, agents can advise
students on the financial institutions that would best serve their needs.
Expansion via segmentation
As with most industries when serving a large base of customers, market segmentation helps in
identifying targetable bases with specific objectives. Typically segmentation of the potential
customer base (students looking to get into higher education institutes) is based on geography,
demographics and focus area of education. Such segmentation schemes do not facilitate the
breakdown into actionable targets.
Instead, the WES classification of international students is based on proxies for students’ ability
or aspirations and socioeconomic status. Though the segmentation is based on profiles of US-
bound international students, we extend these to all international students for the purpose of our
recommendations. Broadly, the segments are classified as:
o Strivers: High academic preparedness; low financial resources
o Strugglers: Low academic preparedness; low financial resources
o Explorers: Low academic preparedness; high financial resources
o Highfliers: High academic preparedness; high financial resources
Targeting students based on the above segments introduces efficiency, both operationally and
strategically. Agents can layer on additional information within each segment to find a fit of
students to the appropriate Tier 1 or 2 institutions. Expansion opportunities can arise either by

24

focusing within a segment and achieving operational efficiency, or through volume expansion by
serving all segments with functional expertise. Pricing strategy would be different depending on
the segment that the student falls in. Students with a good academic record would be less likely
to pay a heavy fee and would expect entry to be based primarily on their profile. For students
with limited financial resources, agents would target linking them to appropriate universities that
are likely to provide some sort of financial subsidy. Though the pricing of different segments is
based on the willingness to pay (both from students and universities), there are also intangible
benefits to servicing the Strivers. There are potential brand image gains from catering to the
less financially eligible segment - this can also be viewed as a CSR activity. These students in
turn could become brand ambassadors and endorse their service. On the other hand, the
Strugglers can be viewed as operational bottlenecks, requiring significantly more resources to
provide a similar service to other segments. This will have to be incorporated into the pricing
structure, so as to charge students for services and resource allocation that accurately
represent their needs.
Recommended Operational and Revenue Model for Student Segments

STRUGGLERS
EXPLORERS
STRIVERS
HIGHFLIERS
TIER
2
TIER1/
TIER
2
TIER
1
TIER
1
$:
Student
$:
Student

$:
University
$:
University/Student
STUDENT
SEGMENT
APPROPRIATE
UNIVERSITY
CATEGORY
$:
Source
of
Revenue

25

Expansion via partnerships with educational export agencies
Much the way agents could expand horizontally by serving both Tier 1 and Tiers 2 students they
may also have the option to expand by diversifying geographically by partnering with countries
with strong educational export agencies such as the British Council, German Academic
Exchange Service (DAAD) and Australia Education International. It is our belief that countries
that tend to have strong educational export agencies also have systems in place which ease the
bottleneck of serving these countries. For example, an agent should be able to make an
educated guess based on demand, supply and cost to serve by contacting several of these
educational export agencies to obtain answers to questions such as:
● Number of inbound students from source country to the host country (demand side
question)
● Number of potential partner universities (supply side question)
● Ease of obtaining a visa and ease of relocation after graduation (logistical question)
By plotting these three variables an agent may minimize the uncertainty of which market to
serve next. To accomplish this we would recommend an agent reads “International student
recruitment: policies and developments in selected countries” authored by Rosa Becker and
Renze Kolster (January 2012), and combine this with secondary data from other sources to
produce a map of possible countries to investigate further.
Example diagram for illustrative purposes only

26

Given that the investment to serve a new country is extremely high an educted and deliberate
choice must be made on several factors related to supply, demand and cost to serve. It is our
assertion that by examining these three aspects agents can make a better decision on which
markets to enter first.
Optimization framework for universities and agents
While the previous section suggested ways in which educational agents could potentially
expand their business to serve more students, this part of the paper will outline a suggested
framework for how agents and universities should work together in order to ensure the best
outcome for the customer, which in this case happens to be the student.
Borrowing again from the research completed by Robinson (2007) in which she discovered four
recurring themes in interviews she conducted with agents, universities and students we have
decided that these four themes should serve as the foundation for developing a set of
recommendations for how agents and universities can cooperate in a win-win manner that
minimizes each party’s work, risk and effort while maximizing the outcomes for all three parties
involved - i.e. the agent, the university and most importantly the student.
Power and Control
Our first set of recommendations stem from the theme of power and control. It is our assertion
that at the end of the day there needs to be a leveling of the power and control across all three
actors. Limiting the control the agent has over the university or vice versa will ultimately lead to
the university and agent working together to ensure the best outcome for the student, who
usually has the final decision in the process. We believe that this leveling of power needs to
start with common rules of the game which can best be achieved by ensuring that a contract is
always in place between the agent and the university.
For best outcomes for a university, we advise that the university should be the one to draft the
contract and make it legally binding in the jurisdiction in which they reside. By doing so we feel
that universities can quickly and clearly establish the rules by which the agent must abide. We
advise that the contract should be based in the universities’ jurisdiction because the very nature
of why the university is using agents could result in litigation across several different countries
and legal systems. To prevent this from happening and because there may be difficulties if the
university would like to bring a foreign company to court in their jurisdiction we advise there to
be an additional monetary incentive that is more stick then carrot to ensure the agents behave
according to the contract put into place. The recommended solution for this is to reduce the first
year commission in exchange for a larger payout that is spread over the entire time a student
attends the university. This is a win for the agents because they will earn more revenue per
student, and a win for the university because they will be able to hold additional commission
payments if the agent is found to be acting against the terms of the contract.
The next recommendation to ensure a balance of power between the university and agent is to
attempt to minimize power distance by ensuring that both the university and agent are of similar

27

status and ability. Another aspect of this is to ensure that a university or agent do not put “all
their eggs” in one basket by relying too heavily on one partner. If a university relies on the same
agent for the majority of their recruitment the agent can make unrealistic demands if they know
they are the sole channel. Likewise, if an agent only partners with one university this could be a
good indication that the agent is not truly positioned to understand the needs of the students
which could be evidence that the student might not be receiving the best possible service from
this specific agent.
The final recommendation for balancing power and control is to advise universities to develop
their own online inbound lead generation capability which allows them to collect leads and then
distribute them to the agents of their choice. This capability will allow the university to track
conversion and success rates of specific agents while also serving as a way to gain further trust
from the agents by feeding leads directly to them. This will also build in a level of transparency
by ensuring that neither the agent nor the schools are acting as information silos.
Information flow and accuracy
Another key axiom that we base our recommendations on, is ensuring transparency of
processes and outcomes across all parties. Agents can be spread across geographies, or they
could be servicing customers from different cultural backgrounds. In such cases, there is a
fundamental prerequisite to understand the different cultural norms - both in terms of
communication as well as transparency. There should be complete clarity on the expectations of
the service being requested (or provided). Depending on cultural norms, some services (such
as assistance with preparation of essays and other application materials) might be deemed
acceptable in some countries but not in others where there are strict rules regarding plagiarism
and “first-hand” work submission.
Within the scope of all services that agents are offering, there should be complete trust between
all parties - this trust can be established only if there is transparency and complete information
sharing across the various “silos”. In cases where agents are representing students to get
information on their application status, there should be a fair flow of information without any
conflict of interest. A recommendation to ensure fairness is to mandate that all letters
communicating the final decision of admission or rejection should go directly from the university
to the student. To ensure complete transparency, there should also be clarity and complete
understanding by all parties of the terms and conditions that are applicable to students.
Last but not least, a novel idea is to enable universities to communicate directly with potential
students that are currently working with or considering an agent. To protect the identity of the
students and prevent any linkage to a final decision on an application, the contact details of the
student should be protected and not visible to the university.

28

Financial and recruiting benefits
The next principle is the more obvious one, and usually the primary objective for doing business.
These set of recommendations are focused on tangible benefits that can be achieved by all
parties involved. An earlier section of the paper talked about typical commission structures that
are charged by agents. We would advise that additional attributes that represent the agent’s
familiarity of the university be considered while determining commission rates. A recommended
factor is to consider different commission structures for agents who have visited the campus
within a recent period of time. This would ensure that agents have an incentive to stay in
constant contact with the universities they are working with, as well as have updated information
about the school and programs offered. It offers a financial benefit to agents but also aids
universities in assessing agents periodically and mandates a certain level of engagement.
A key criteria while hiring agents, both from the universities’ as well as from students’
perspective, is their credibility. Universities should introduce a certain level of transparency in
their use of agents for recruiting purposes. The current practice and the use of agents by
universities is a “well know but oft hidden fact”. Our recommendation is for universities to house
a portal for agents, wherein they could provide comments and rating for agents’ services. This
would facilitate a feedback loop wherein other universities can benefit from the experience that
a particular university has had with the use of an agent. Though key concerns can be covered
within the contract, the portal would also encourage agents to stay committed and maintain a
fair and professional relationship, both with the university and the students.
Accountability and trust
The fourth and final axiom upon which we make our final recommendation is of accountability
and trust. It goes without saying that the very natural of international recruiting means that there
inevitably needs to be a bridging of cultures and one mistake that is often made when bridging
cultures is to think that everyone involved is coming together on a common ground. Often times
in international business there is little attention paid to how different parties interpret topics such
as ethics, accountability and trust. Looking across cultures it is clear that cultural norms vary
greatly and what one person might view as unethical in a for instance a sales cycle others might
just view as the status quo to get business done. It is because of this large possible variance
that we advise the agent and university to openly discuss and set “global standards” prior to
entering an agreement.
Having trust in your partner implies that they can be held accountable for their actions but if
there is not clear governance around what are acceptable and unacceptable actions then trust
and accountability can not be developed. One operational recommendation we have to
streamline this process is to build an online evaluation system for agents which is used by the
student when they arrive on the campus for the first time. This online evaluation system should
be owned by the university and built in such a manner that the students’ performance and level
of satisfaction can be tracked and tied back to the agent who placed them in the university. If
one is to take the view that an agent is a supplier of human capital, then it only makes

29

operational sense to ensure the product that they are supplying is up to standards and
performing as promised.
By tracking this data universities can discontinue relationships with “bad suppliers” and focus
their efforts to assist the “good suppliers”. By refocusing their efforts they should be able to
serve a greater number of students by offering more assistance to the agents who have an
excellent track record but may be short on resources themselves. If the university is able to tie
in the results from this system to the online lead generation capabilities mentioned in the power
and control section above we feel there are significant gains that can be made for both the
agent and university by showing a testimonial, which speaks to both the agent and universities
services.
Potential risks and drawbacks
Based on the research of the currently used practices by both universities and agents, there are
opportunities for improvement. The suggested framework aims at introducing efficiency in the
current model as well as provides strategies for expansion. There are, however, some potential
risks that we foresee in the practice and implementation of this framework.
At the offset, to expand an agent network geographically requires significant human capital. The
ability to hire, train and maintain a similar level of quality across so many agents is an
operational challenge that will require considerable effort. The response to agents can also be
quite different across geographies - scaling such a business and resource allocation given the
uncertainty of response is also a risk to be considered. In segments where students pay for
services (as opposed to universities paying), cultural acceptability and willingness to pay also
has to be considered, which is not always very obvious.
From an operational point of view, it is an initial challenge for agents to service both Tier 1 and
Tier 2 schools. The recommendation to hire consultants also has the added challenge of
predicting demand, as with most outsourcing decisions. It might also not be feasible to hire
either permanent agents or consultants at short notice to account for fluctuations in demand or a
change in strategy. The resources required for servicing different student segments can be quite
different, creating bottlenecks in the agent commission-based model. For a long term
sustainable model to maintain an efficient relationship between universities, agents and
students, the recommendation was to incorporate a feedback loop for rating agents based on
performance of students. There are potential challenges with such a longer term tracking, once
the decision to admit the student has been made - the future performance can also be due to a
wide range of unrelated factors that might be predictable with the limited profile information that
the agent has of the student.

30

APPENDIX:
(1)

31

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Programs, Mark Shay, John Molony, Gaurav Mittal © 2013 QS – Quacquarelli, Symonds,
Ltd. | April 2013
15. Best Practices in International Student Recruitment and Retention in Anglophone
Countries, Hanover Research, 2010
16. Analysis of Comments Submitted to NACAC In Response to Preliminary Board Proposal
on Incentive Compensation and International Recruitment Prepared for NACAC 2011
Assembly Discussion
17. Reframing the Agent Debate, Scott Jaschik,
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/03/06/commission-considers-arguments-
about-international-recruiting-agents

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18. Education UK Campaigns and Strategic Initiatives: Agent Strategy, Jean Krasocki 2002
19. College Application With or Without Assistance of an Education Agent: Experience of
International Chinese Undergraduates in the US, Yi (Leaf) Zhang and Linda Serra
Hagedorn, 2011 JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ADMISSION
20. Factors influencing career location preferences of international graduate students in the
United States, Mark Musumbaa, Yanhong H. Jinb and James W. Mjeldea, 2009, ISSN
0964-5292 print/ISSN 1469-5782 online http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09645290903102902,
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
21. Open Doors 2013 Fast Facts,© 2013 Institute of International Education, Inc. ,
http://www.iie.org/~/media/Files/Corporate/Open-Doors/Fast-Facts/Fast-Facts-
2013.ashx
22. Hemsley-Brown J.V. and Oplatka, I. (2006). ‘Universities in a competitive global
marketplace: a systematic review of the literature on higher education marketing’
International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol 19, No 4, pp 316-338
23. Guide to good practice for education agents, British Council,
http://www.britishcouncil.org/guide_to_good_practice_for_education_agents.pdf
24. ICEF Student Recruitment Solutions, www.icef.com
25. Rethinking Market Orientation of Universities in Morocco an Internal Stakeholders
Orientation Berrada kaoutar, El Abbadi Bouchra, International Journal of Engineering
and Innovative Technology (IJEIT), Volume 2, Issue 10, April 2013
26. Internationalization of the Undergraduate Business Program: Integrating International
Students, Lee Thomas, D'Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University,
Boston, USA, Business Education Innovation Journal Volume 5 Number 1 June 2013
27. Choudaha, R., Chang, L. and Kono, Y. (2013, March) International Student Mobility
Trends 2013: Towards Responsive Recruitment Strategies, World Education Services,
New York. Retrieved from www.wes.org/RAS
28. International student recruitment & the power of agents, Posted on June 26, 2012,
blog.thepienews.com/2012/06/international-student-recruitment-the-power-of-agents/
29. Buyer Beware, Elizabeth Redden,
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/08/28/international-students-recruited-agents-
less-prepared-college
30. International Students Recruited More Heavily At U.S.Colleges: 2012 Open Doors Study,
Justin Pope, www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/international-students-us-
colleges_n_2117062.html
31. International students studying in the UK - Guidance for UK higher education institutions,
Draft for consultation August 2011, ISBN 978 1 84979 357 5
32. Discussion Brief: International Interest in U.S. Higher Education and Institutional
Recruiting Practice, September 2010, NACAC
33. International Recruitment Agents Report, University of Sussex,
http://www.sussexstudent.com/files/minisites/55643/internationalrecruitmentagentsreport
2010-11.doc
34. International-Student Recruitment Debate: 6 Views on Agents,
http://chronicle.com/article/International-Student/127931/

33

35. International students studying in the UK - Guidance for UK higher education providers,
January 2012, ISBN 978 1 84979 454 1
36. International Recruiting Proposal, NACAC, May 2011
37. ISB Scope Information Sheet, www.i-graduate.org
38. Marketing strategy implementation in higher education: A mixed approach for model
development and testing, Vik Naidoo, Enterprise Connect and Deakin University,
Australia, Terry Wu, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada
39. Marketing 101,
http://www.case.org/Documents/Books/28347/Marketing_Colleges_and_Universities_Ch
pt_1.pdf
40. More students coming (and going) overseas for college,
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/11/international-students-and-
study-abroad/3442733/
41. NACAC Group Hears Pros and Cons on Use of Paid Recruiting Agents By Karin Fischer,
http://chronicle.com/article/NACAC-Group-Hears-Pros-and/131080/
42. NACAC panel continues the debate on US agent usage,
http://monitor.icef.com/2012/03/nacac-panel-continues-the-debate-on-us-agent-usage/
43. NACAC removes ban on commissioned agents in international student
recruitment,http://monitor.icef.com/2013/09/nacac-removes-ban-on-commissioned-
agents-in-international-student-recruitment/
44. New Frontiers: U.S. Students Pursuing Degrees Abroad A 2-- year analysis of key
destinations and fields of study Raisa Belyavina, Jing Li and Rajika Bhandari Institute of
International Education (IIE) May 2013
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Are the Same: Understanding Segments, Mapping Behavior, World Education Services,
46. Industry Action Plan, NSW International Education and Resarch, Prepared by the
International Education and Research Industry Taskforce, 25 September 2012
47. Project Atlas ®: Trends and Global Data 2012, Center for Mobility Research, Institute of
International Education
48. Choudaha, R., Chang, L. and Kono, Y. (2013, March) International Student Mobility
Trends 2013: Towards Responsive Recruitment Strategies, World Education Services,
49. Report of the Commission on International Student Recruitment to the National
Association for College Admission Counseling, May 2013
50. Ethical Considerations in the use of Commercial Agents in International Student
Recruitment, Jane Ellen Robinson, BFA, MA, MAY 2007
51. Signs that NACAC will repeal ban on commission-based agents for international student
recruitment, 18 Jun 2013
52. Illegal in U.S., Paid Agents Overseas Help American Colleges Recruit Students By
Tamar Lewin, Published: February 4, 2012
53. Stakeholder marketing: a definition and conceptual framework, G. Tomas M. Hult &
Jeannette A. Mena & O. C. Ferrell & Linda Ferrell

34

54. State universities paying agents to recruit international students, Nell Gluckman, August
28, 2013
55. Secret Agents By Elizabeth Redden,
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/08/survey-finds-lack-transparency-agent-
relationships
56. The ESOS framework – providing quality education and protecting your rights, The
Australian Government
57. Using International Recruitment Agents: Risks and Regulation?, July 2013 ISBN: 978-1-
906627-46-1, Stimulus paper, Richard Brabner University of Hertfordshire, Professor
Graham Galbraith University of Hertfordshire
58. The Use of Recruiting Agents in the United States By Nick Clark, Editor, World
Education New’s & Review’s
59. What they don’t want you to know: The Cambridge Student exclusively reveals the
secret “unethical” commission rates of top UK universities,
http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0023880-what-they-dont-want-you-to-know-the-
cambridge-student-exclusively-reveals-the-secret-unethical-commission-rates-of-top-uk-
universities-2.html
60. Working with commission-based education agents: the real issue,
monitor.icef.com/2013/05/working-with-commission-based-education-agents-the-real-
issue/

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