International Student Recruitment Research Articles

Pathway Colleges: A New Institutional Form in Canada

Canada’s public universities seeking to increase their international student recruitment are building pathways that allow students who lack the academic or language credentials needed for direct entry to the university to upgrade their skills and eventually matriculate to the larger institution. These pathway collegesare a new institutional form in Canada, but as yet they have received almost no attention from scholars. This paper offers a brief typology of these emerging institutions and offers some suggestions for future research.

Pathway Colleges: A New Institutional Form in Canada

Canada’s public universities seeking to increase their international student recruitment are building pathways that allow students who lack the academic or language credentials needed for direct entry to the university to upgrade their skills and eventually matriculate to the larger institution. These pathway collegesare a new institutional form in Canada, but as yet they have received almost no attention from scholars. This paper offers a brief typology of these emerging institutions and offers some suggestions for future research.

High on emotion! perceived value: influencing decision-making processes at international student recruitment trade shows

ABSTRACTTransnational education students are an increasingly important source of income for higher education institutes. Student recruitment trade shows as a marketing communication tool are being used by the majority of higher education institutes and despite multi-million-dollar investments, little is known about the impact they have on the decision-making processes of transnational education students and the student recruitment efforts of the exhibiting higher education institutes. This research project discusses how international student recruitment trade shows can positively influence the perceived value students obtain from visiting these trade shows. The findings of this qualitative study show the positive effect higher levels of social emotions have on students’ perceptions of international study options from pre-purchase to post-consumption and on the effectiveness of student recruitment trade shows.

A comparative study of international recruitment – tensions and opportunities in institutional recruitment practice

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this research is to explore international student recruitment at higher education institutions (HEIs) by examining the development and implementation of international recruitment activities. There is little research regarding the internal operations of HEIs, how HEIs conduct international recruitment efforts, and the challenges that international recruiters encounter. This study finds that although national policy frameworks vary by country, the practice of international recruitment remains remarkably similar amongst the case study institutions. It further suggests that regardless of rankings, HEIs are facing commodification within the international student recruitment market. Furthermore, it suggests that institutions may improve their recruitment activity by addressing role clarity, improving coordination, differentiating their offerings, and ensuring flexibility to respond to market forces.

The impact of social media on international student recruitment: the case of Lebanon

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand and accentuate the value of social media in international student recruitment in Lebanese higher education institutions (HEIs). This study analyses the significance of social media and the changes occurring in the means of communicating with the potential international students, with an aim to understand how the HEIs could adapt with the changes to implement a model of engagement to include social media as a fundamental constituent of the Lebanese HEIs’ international student recruitment strategy.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers carried out a study through quantitative descriptive approach by using a probabilistic simple random sample and a self-administered questionnaire on 230 international students from several universities and colleges in Lebanon as a data collection method.FindingsThe findings demonstrated a certain level of engagement in social media networks from the part of the students during their search for college or university and course information. Research showed that international students still prefer the traditional sources, apart from social media, during their search. Among traditional media sources, friend, family and university website were the highest in ranking. Among social media sources, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube showed the highest ranks. Most students have, indeed, contacted a friend or a university staff for university course information by using social media sites.Practical implicationsFor managerial practice, this is an incentive for institutions of higher education to re-evaluate and assess the effective impact of social media on the recruitment of international students and to regulate their social media marketing strategies. For research in international education, the insights of this study are useful to explore further research avenues in the area of capacity building for business innovation, marketing and quality assurance in higher education in the cross-cultural context.Originality/valueThis study offers insights on the implications of social media for international student recruitment strategies in a particular Lebanese context of HEIs.

Are We Facing a Fundamental Challenge to Higher Education Internationalization?

The global landscape for higher education internationalization is changing dramatically. What one might call “the era of higher education internationalization” might either be finished or, at least, be on life support. In addition to nationalist-populist factors, issues of academic freedom, ethics, the role of English, shifting patterns in student mobility, and concerns about transnational education, are challenging the future of internationalization. The current criticism about the unlimited growth of teaching in English, recruitment of international students and development of branch campuses, is coming from two completely opposite sources. On the one hand, there is the nationalist–populist argument of anti-international and anti-immigration. More relevant is the concern about quality, academic freedom, and ethics in the higher education community itself.

Are We Facing a Fundamental Challenge to Higher Education Internationalization?

The global landscape for higher education internationalization is changing dramatically. What one might call “the era of higher education internationalization” might either be finished or, at least, be on life support. In addition to nationalist-populist factors, issues of academic freedom, ethics, the role of English, shifting patterns in student mobility, and concerns about transnational education, are challenging the future of internationalization. The current criticism about the unlimited growth of teaching in English, recruitment of international students and development of branch campuses, is coming from two completely opposite sources. On the one hand, there is the nationalist–populist argument of anti-international and anti-immigration. More relevant is the concern about quality, academic freedom, and ethics in the higher education community itself.

Three dimensions of China’s “outward-oriented” higher education internationalization

This paper investigates China’s present approach of using “outward-oriented” higher education internationalization for status and image enhancement, and the challenges it faces in the response to this approach. It examines the three major dimensions of China’s present approach including its cultural diplomacy based on Sino-foreign higher education collaboration (i.e., the Confucius Institute program), international development aid in higher education, and international student recruitment at the higher education level. The theoretical framework is developed based on neo-Marxist theories of center-periphery model and world system. The concepts of “soft power” and public diplomacy, Knight’s argument of “knowledge diplomacy,” and Hayhoe’s argument about HE-based civilizational dialogue have been used. The paper reviews and analyzes China’s strategic plans related to its higher education internationalization, as well as relevant academic and non-academic literature about the three major dimensions of its present approach. Findings reveal that tensions still exist between China’s goals and the reality. It suggests that China’s approach should be given a neutral and serious assessment.

China’s international student recruitment as ‘outward-oriented’ higher education internationalisation: an exploratory empirical inquiry

This study investigates China’s international student recruitment strategy and policies as a dimension of its present approach of using higher education internationalisation for soft power and image enhancement. An exploratory survey of international graduate students in English instruction programmes in education-related majors in three Chinese universities has been conducted to analyse their attitudes towards China’s approach. Quantitative analysis has been conducted on the survey data based on Holmes’s four-pattern taxonomy for analysing contextual features, which includes normative patterns, sociological laws, national conditions, and deep cultural roots. Qualitative data have been collected and analysed as a supplement. This study attempts to reveal the relations between international students’ source-country contextual features, identified based on Holmes’s taxonomy, and their attitudes towards China’s approach in international student recruitment. Policy suggestions are provided based on these findings.

Unveiling the College Choice and Adaptation Processes of Academically Talented Chinese Students Selecting Korean Universities Under the New International Student Recruitment Policy

Unveiling the College Choice and Adaptation Processes of Academically Talented Chinese Students Selecting Korean Universities Under the New International Student Recruitment Policy

Russia’s Public Diplomacy in Central Asia and the Caucasus: The Role of the Universities

The article discusses the outreach practices of Russian universities in former Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus as a part of Russia’s public diplomacy effort. Perceiving the competitive environment of international education in the Commonwealth of Independent States in terms of geopolitical rivalry, the Russian government encourages state-owned universities to recruit more students and establish partnerships in this strategic region. As a result, focusing on Central Asia and the Caucasus for international student recruitment, Russian higher educational institutions not only pursue higher reputation and tuition revenues, but also perform as public diplomacy actors, supplementing and sometimes substituting the activities of official institutions.

Problematising strategic internationalisation: tensions and conflicts between international student recruitment and integration policy in Ireland

ABSTRACTInternationalisation of higher education in Ireland has been identified as a pathway to economic recovery through encouraging student mobility and attracting highly skilled human capital. International students constitute one element of recent Irish immigration trends, presenting new challenges for a society in which diversity is a relatively recent phenomenon. In this light, here I explore the contradictions and tensions that arise from the drive to recruit international students with the need to embed policies that enshrine the integration of migrants more broadly. As highly skilled migrants, international students are often perceived as ‘the best and the brightest’, who exhibit high levels of social and human capital. However, they occupy a contradictory position within a hierarchy that values the economic investment they make in Irish education, but categorises them into a fixed identity that does not recognise the diversity of needs to better facilitate their social inclusion. Analysing both government migration policies and university recruitment strategies reveals how policies at different scales shape hierarchies of desirability, wherein students are appraised for revenue generation but subject to surveillance, racialisation, increasing restrictions and divisive rhetoric depending on their status as non-EU students. To address this imbalance requires the implementation of holistic internationalisation strategies and migration policies.

The academic and personal experiences of Mainland Chinese students enrolled in a Canadian Master of Education Program

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to communicate the positive and challenging aspects of a Master of Education program, as perceived by Chinese students at an Atlantic Canadian university.Design/methodology/approachAssuming a qualitative methodology, 21 Mainland Chinese students participated in individual, paired, and focus group semi-structured interviews. Interviews were member checked. Data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings are discussed using Deardorff’s (2006, 2009) concept of intercultural competence.FindingsStudents perceived the best features of their educational experience to be personable instructors, their enhanced English skills, and practical course-based experiences embedded in the program. The main challenges were social isolation, English language requirements and related assignments, and theoretical expectations of the program.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contains a somewhat small qualitative small sample size (i.e. 21 participants), therein, disabling any generalization of results. In other words, the data findings are unique and non-generalizable beyond the particular research case. However, transferability, which refers to the extent in which the results of an original study can be applied to similar people, contexts, or settings (Lincoln and Guba, 1985), may be applied to the findings if the reader deems the context of this study in alignment with his/her situation.Practical implicationsApproximately, 82 percent of Canadian universities rate internationalization as a top priority, supporting the need for research in this area. An implication of the study is that internationalization of higher education must be more than just the recruitment of international students. Universities have direct and fiduciaries responsibilities to support the academic needs, personal needs of their international students, as well as the intercultural competence of all students, instructors and staff.Originality/valueThere is a plethora of research documenting experiences of international students, in general, but such research is not directly transferrable to the Chinese student. The issues and problems encountered by Chinese international students are unique and should be addressed independently from international students. Moreover, a lot of the research that focuses on Chinese students enrolled in North American universities, predominantly, is conducted within the USA, and such research tends to spotlight the challenges only. In turn, the authors’ research addresses a specialized focus of the international Chinese student in Canada.

Professional Development for Teachers Working with International Students

The commercialisation of education and the massive recruitment of international students across different vocational education and training (VET) systems including the US, UK, Canada and Australia have led to significant changes in the VET teaching and learning landscape. This situation compels the VET sector to design and develop new professional development programs to support the immediate and changing needs of teachers working with the diverse international student cohort. However, to date, teacher professional development in response to the growing population of international students has not been an explicit focus of empirical study and theoretical conceptualisation in VET research. This study responds to this paucity. It draws on a broader three-year research project funded by the Australian Research Council (2014–2017) that involves fieldwork, participation in and observation of staff professional development activities and interviews with 102 VET staff in Australia. It uses positioning theory as a conceptual framework to examine how VET teachers position themselves and their professional development needs in response to international students. The results call for a critical need to re-examine the focus of the current professional development programs offered for VET teachers. The current context requires teacher professional development in international VET to focus on developing teachers’ capabilities to re-examine their pedagogical beliefs and practices and to understand international students’ various needs and cultural backgrounds. The study also stresses the importance of ongoing professional learning to equip teachers with the skills and knowledge to appropriate their pedagogical practices in response to the critical need to prepare all students for the intercultural labour market and to use students’ diversity as a resource for teaching and learning.

Hiring Education Agents for International Student Recruitment: Perspectives from Agency Theory

This paper applies agency theory to explore the contractual relationship between higher education institutions (HEI) and HEI-contracted for-profit education agents in international student recruitment, bridging a gap in the existing literature by investigating the underlying issues surrounding these relationships. Building on insights and findings from previous studies related to this topic, our analysis shows that HEI–education agent relationships are often undermined by goal conflicts and information asymmetries that significantly constrain the possibilities for optimal contractual options to monitor and incentivise agents. The present analysis shows that hybrid governance models that include elements from both behaviour- and outcome-based contracts are often most efficient in managing HEI–education agent relationships. The paper critically evaluates how insights from agency theory can help to mitigate these problems and identifies specific inherent frictions that may make government interventions desirable in overseeing the use of education agents.

International student mobility and the new world disorder

I am certain that many readers of this article are international enrollment managers, deans, and recruiters who are responsible for recruiting and enrolling international students. My recommendation to this group of administrators is simple: Future international student recruitment is not isolated from and cannot be separated from world events.

An Exploratory Study of Customer Satisfaction with International Student Recruitment Agencies: A Case Study in New Zealand

This paper explores customer satisfaction in education service industry (international students’ recruitment agents) in New Zealand. To identify the factors that will increase international students’ satisfaction, and find possible methods to retain international students, mixed methods were employed in one international agency in Auckland. A total of 100 questionnaires were completed and semi-structured interviews were conducted with international students and education consultants. The findings indicate that professional knowledge, service, personalities and communication are key factors that will influence international students’ satisfaction. Moreover, the findings also demonstrate that the increase of consultants’ satisfaction results in international students’ satisfaction. Establishing high contact with international students is a possible method to retain them. Results are discussed in relation to international students’ satisfaction in the context of education service industry. This paper enriches the body of literatures on higher education particularly on international student’s satisfaction with third parties (international agents). Recommendation for practice that could enhance the understanding of international students’ satisfaction, is also discussed.

Internationalization at home: time for review and development?

ABSTRACTInternationalization is a key contemporary debate within Higher Education (HE). Many universities worldwide proclaim their ‘international’ status, citing quantitative indicators, particularly international student and staff recruitment and outbound student mobility data to illustrate this. In this paper, we focus on the non-mobile majority of the academic community. We foreground internationalization at home (IaH) and the underlying social, academic and intercultural learning benefits of an internationalized university experience. We explore how IaH is understood and operationalized in two universities in the United Kingdom and Portugal via a multiple case study. Qualitative data from 12 stakeholder interviews are analysed, generating five themes about operational understandings and practices of IaH. Findings identify relevant explanatory factors that may assist other institutions to understand, enact and communicate about IaH. We highlight the need for further empirical research to provide insights into how this key dimension of internationalization is being operationalized across other European HE institutions.

Consumerisation in UK higher education business schools: higher fees, greater stress and debatable outcomes

For many UK higher education business schools, the continued recruitment of UK, EU and international students is crucial for financial stability, viability and independence. Due to increasingly competitive funding models across the sector, many institutional leaders and administrators are making decisions typical of highly marketised consumer environments. Thus, this paper explores academics’ perceptions of the impact of consumerisation in UK higher education business schools. To achieve this, 22 business school academics were interviewed within three UK higher education institutions (HEIs) in the North of England. Participants had a minimum of three years teaching experience. Data was analysed using template analysis taking an interpretive approach. The findings indicate that academics perceived the introduction of tuition fees to have been the catalyst for students increasing demonstration of customer-like behaviour: viewing the education process as transactional, with the HEI providing a ‘paid for’ service. It is argued that these changes in UK higher education have created tensions between university leaders and academics, creating genuine dilemmas for those with decision-making responsibilities who must balance academic integrity and long-term institutional financial viability.

Enhancing the work placement experience of international students: towards a support framework

This article reports the findings from an institutional case study into the work placement experience of undergraduate international students studying at a UK-based university. Given the centrality and importance of the employability and internationalisation agendas in higher education, little published literature considers both and how they impact upon the work placement experience of international students. With past increases in international student recruitment numbers and the drive for students, regardless of their nationality, to gain work experience, there is a need for institutions to better understand work placement from the international students’ perspective. Findings revealed that challenges exist in finding and securing work placement, with critical themes emerging to include placement information, visa rules, culture differences, prior work experience, academic preparation for placement and academic writing ability. A support framework is proposed to assist institutions to consider how they could align their practices to meet international students’ work placement and employability needs.