1. FIGHTING THE
GOOD FIGHT:
Prepare for the International Education
Challenges of the Next Four Years

2. A BRAND-NEW DAY: WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RECRUITMENT IN THE U.S.
Marty Bennett, SMIE Consulting, LLC

3. WHAT WE’LL COVER…
•Global perspective on student mobility
•International student recruitment necessities
•Maximize overseas student success on campus

4. PROJECT ATLAS
PROJECT ATLAS® IS A GLOBAL RESEARCH INITIATIVE THAT
DISSEMINATES COMPARABLE STUDENT MOBILITY DATA,
CONDUCTS STUDIES ON ACADEMIC MIGRATION AND THE
INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION, AND
PROVIDES CUSTOMIZED WORKSHOPS AND RESEARCH TO
STRENGTHEN THE COLLECTION OF MOBILITY DATA
AROUND THE WORLD. PROJECT ATLAS ALSO SERVES AS A
CLEARINGHOUSE OF CURATED RESEARCH, EVENTS AND
RESOURCES RELATED TO STUDENT MOBILITY. PROJECT
ATLAS HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY THE FORD FOUNDATION,
THE BUREAU OF EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS
(ECA) OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE, IIE,
AND COUNTRY PARTNERS. IIE SERVES AS THE
SECRETARIAT FOR PROJECT ATLAS AND OUR COUNTRY
PARTNERS INCLUDE SOME OF THE WORLD’S LEADING
GOVERNMENTAL AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL NATIONAL
AGENCIES INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONALIZATION AND
STUDENT MOBILITY ISSUES, AS WELL AS RESEARCH
AFFILIATES OR ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE STUDENT
MOBILITY WORK SPANS MULTIPLE COUNTRIES.
DESCRIPTION COURTESY OF IIE PROJECT ATLAS SITE

5. PROJECT
ATLAS
Where do globally-
mobile students
call home?

6. PROJECT
ATLAS
• Top 5 source countries
for each top destination
market
• China #1 in 5 of top 17
host nations

7. PROJECT ATLAS
How saturated are most leading destinations
with international students?
Where is the greatest capacity/tolerance for
growth in overseas student populations?

8. OTHER COUNTRIES APPROACHES
• UK
• Australia
• Canada
• China
• New Zealand
• Agent networks
• Direct travel for recruitment
• Armchair / digital advertising
• Scholarships
• Institutional/governmental partnerships
• Trans-National Education

9. SEVIS BY THE NUMBERS
• DHS report on real-time SEVIS database
numbers
• Tracks all F and M visa holders in the
U.S. across all categories (i.e. high school,
associates, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral,
ESL, vocational, etc.)
• Irregularly reported – latest: January 2020
(previously March 2019)

10. SEVIS BY THE NUMBERS
Source: SMIE Consulting blog – Jan 2020

11. IIE OPEN DOORS
• Funded by U.S. Department
of State, Bureau of
Educational & Cultural
Affairs
• Produced by Institute of
International Education since
1919.
• 1st overall decrease since 2004
• 5th year with over 1 million
intl students

12. IIE OPEN DOORS
• New International Student numbers Fall
’19 v past years
• 4th year in a row – overall new intl students
decreased

13. IIE OPEN DOORS
• Top places of origin for intl
students in OD 2020
• Only 7 of top 20 saw
increases year on year: China,
Taiwan, Brazil, Nigeria,
Germany, Bangladesh, and
Spain.
• Biggest % drop: Saudi Arabia,
Venezuela, Malaysia

14. IIE OPEN DOORS
• Top fields of study ‘19-’20
• 52% in STEM

15. IIE OPEN DOORS
FALL SNAPSHOT
SURVEY
• 700 institutions surveyed
• New intl enrollments down 43%
• Overall intl enrollments drop 16%
• 90% of institutions reported large
# of intl student deferrals (40,000)
• 20% of enrolled intl students
studying online from abroad

16. IIE OPEN DOORS
FALL SNAPSHOT
SURVEY
• 68% now using current
students
• 56% now using social media
outreach
• 53% using EdUSA

17. NAFSA INTL STUDENT
ECONOMIC VALUE
TOOL
• 1st drop since reporting data
has been kept (20 years)
• Intl student economic impact
for 2019-20 = $38.7 billion
(down from $41 billion)

18. WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT WHAT’S NEXT?

19. WHAT WILL A NEW
ADMINISTRATION
MEAN FOR INTL ED?
• Travel ban revocations
• DREAMers protected
• Reversal of H1B changes
• Protection of OPT/STEM
• Throw out D/S elimination
• Green card for PhD grads
• Welcoming messages

20. WHAT CAN WE
BE DOING TO
HELP?
• Digital First approach
• Collaboration within your
institution
• Collective action with like-
minded institutions (e.g. state
consortia)
• Advocacy
• Welcoming messages

21. STANDARD
MARKETING
INGREDIENTS
• Product – quality education/experience
• Price – comparative low cost
• Place – safe, friendly community
• Promotion – why Millersville?

22. NEW 6PS OF STRATEGIC INTL ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT
2. Planning 3. Platforms
6. Peers5. Personalization
MULTI-
LEVELMULTI-
YEAR
Country-
specific
Profiles, stories
Personae
development
Multi-channel
LIVE WHERE YOUR
STUDENTS LIVE
Develop
relationships
Focus on target
countries
reviewable
Chats, emails,
blogs, videos
Digital first approach,
multi-use content across
channels
WHAT
WOULD YOU
WANT?
1. Perspective
GLOBAL
COMPETITION
Competitive
advantages
Messaging
must reflect
awareness
4. Partnerships
Agencies
EducationUSA
COMMERCE
Consortia
MULTI-
LINGUAL
Service providers

23. TARGET REALISTIC
TOP 10 COUNTRIES
• Different countries for different levels of
study
• Your top 10 may not be the same as the
national list
• Work to your strengths based on:
• current students
• Alumni
• institutional partners abroad

24. FOCUS ON
DOMESTIC
MARKETS
• High schools
• Community colleges
• ESL programs

25. HIGH SCHOOLS

26. IIE STUDY:
INTL
SECONDARY
STUDENTS IN
THE US

27. INTENSIVE ENGLISH
PROGRAMS
• Current challenges in IEP
• ESL only I-20s
• Consulate issues in awarding ESL visas
• Reductions in govt. scholarships

28. COMMUNITY COLLEGES
• 2+2s
• Articulation agreements

29. ON-CAMPUS SUCCESS INFORMS RECRUITMENT
• Make the case to administration
• Collaborate among key offices
• Admissions/ISSS
• Financial Aid
• Residence Life/Housing
• Student Employment
• Professional Development/Career Services
• Alumni
• Coordinate communications
Image courtesy of Inside Higher Ed

30. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

31. IMPORTANCE OF
ADVOCACY ON
CAMPUS AND
BEYOND
• On-campus leadership
• Community partners
• Elected officials

32. THANK YOU /QUESTIONS
Marty Bennett
SMIE Consulting LLC
Marty.Bennett@SMIEConsulting.org
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