AIRC In The News

State Dept. Draws Criticism [from AIRC] Over Policy on Paid Recruiters of Foreign Students

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 21:45:00 GMT

Mitch Leventhal, founder of AIRC, announces at NAFSA that the State Department has overstepped its authority by issuing a policy against paid recruiters of overseas students. Federal law says that government agencies should defer to industry-based standards. Read more in an article by Karin Fischer in the June 2 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/article/State-Dept-Draws-Criticism/132099/

News Reports from the NACAC Commission First Public Hearing

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:55:00 GMT

The US National Association of College Admission Counseling convened its public hearing on the use of recruitment agencies on Monday, March 5, 2012. These two articles summarize comments made to the Commission. AIRC was also able to make comments to the Commission.http://chronicle.com/article/NACAC-Group-Hears-Pros-and/131080/

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/03/06/commission-considers-arguments-about-international-recruiting-agents

Leventhal New York Times Letter to Editor Re Article on Agent Use

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:04:00 GMT

Rather than focusing on agents, we need to recognize that higher education represents a huge untapped export opportunity for the United States. The time has come to develop a coordinated national strategy, much like our competitors in Britain and Australia, so that we can maximize our potential. America’s global competitiveness is dependent on its leadership in higher education and research, as well as our successful competition for the world’s best brains.

MITCH LEVENTHAL
New York, Feb. 7, 2012

Read the full letter to the editor and original article here. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/opinion/when-colleges-recruit-abroad.html?_r=2

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/education/smaller-colleges-rely-on-paid-student-recruiters-overseas.html

Council That Certified Overseas Student-Recruiting Agents Proposes Tighter Standards

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:54:00 GMT

The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights key points of AIRC Standards revision and compliance policies. Read the article and comment here. http://chronicle.com/article/Council-That-Certifies/129946/#top

The China Conundrum

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:58:00 GMT

In this article published in the New York Times and The Chronicle, the authors describe some challenges created by the sudden and startling uptick in applicants from China that has caused a stir at universities — many of them big, public institutions with special English-language programs — that are particularly welcoming toward international students. Read the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/the-china-conundrum.html?pagewanted=all

International Recruitment Coverage from the NACAC Conference

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:02:00 GMT

Articles covering the NACAC conference held on September 22-24, 2011.

"Admissions Group Wants to Hear All Views on the Ethics of Paying International-Student Recruiting," by Karin Fischer and Eric Hoover, The Chronicle: http://chronicle.com/article/Admissions-Groups-Wants-to-Hear/129163/

"Agents Aren't Going Away," blog entry by Eric Hoover in The Chronicle:http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/agents-arent-going-away/28909

"Ambivalent on Agents," by Scott Jaschik and Kevin Kiley, Inside Higher Ed,http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/09/26/admissions_officers_discuss_use_of_agents_paid_on_commission

Green River Community College Draws Foreign Students by Serving as a Gateway to Universities

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:05:00 GMT

Green River Community College, outside Seattle, has built up its foreign enrollments from just 200 in 1993 to more than 1,200 two decades later, 10 percent of the student body. The students come from 40 different countries, including Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Green River has succeeded overseas by positioning itself as a gateway to highly competitive programs in top universities across the United States. http://chronicle.com/article/Community-College-Draws/128927/

Agent/Recruiter Arrested: Shenanigans Continue, Inside Higher Ed Blog Post by Phillip G. Altbach, August 9, 2011

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:50:00 GMT

"An alarming story from India illustrates the continuing and unending problems monitoring the activities of agents and recruiters working in developing countries for colleges and universities in the United States and elsewhere." Use this link to read the story and post your own comments.

SUNY Bets Big on Agents

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:14:00 GMT

July 26, 2011

NEW YORK CITY – Amid continuing questions about the ethics of using agents to recruit international students, the State University of New York System is moving ahead with an ambitious agency-based recruitment strategy, with the goal of increasing its total foreign student enrollment by more than 13,000 over five years. A portion of new tuition revenue would be used for funding internationalization initiatives – including 3,400 scholarships for study abroad and 125 grants for faculty. Read the full article here.

Agents Unknown, by Scott Jaschik, Insider Higher Ed, July 14, 2011

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:31:00 GMT

One of the heated debates in admissions circles these days is whether American colleges should use agents -- whom the institutions pay in part on commission -- to recruit foreign students. A new study suggests that most Chinese undergraduates in the U.S. used agents in the admissions process , , , The study may give some ammunition to both sides of the debate over using agents. It found that most of the undergraduates who used them were satisfied with the experience

Read the full article and comment here.

Student Recruiting: The Pitfalls of Moral Absolutism, Worldwise Blog, Chronicle of Higher Education, July 1, 2011

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:21:00 GMT

Mr. Ben Wildavsky writes in part, "I don’t mean to trivialize concerns about agents. But I stand by my view that a “mend it, don’t end it” approach makes sense. Intense admissions marketing and recruiting, with both the character of the student body and big dollars at stake, is a reality, whether or not paid agents are involved. It would be a mistake for NACAC to take an absolutist approach when more nuanced alternatives are available. For instance, there’s the voluntary code of conduct proposed by the American International Recruitment Council, a group of 100-plus U.S. institutions and 32 student recruitment agencies. Read the full article and post comments here.

U.S. Colleges' Appeal Fading for Foreign Students," USA Today, June 23, 2011

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:10:00 GMT

"The United States used to be the destination of choice for young Indonesians and other foreign students seeking a college degree outside their home country. During the past decade, however, the USA has become a harder sell.
Cost, distance and lingering fears about visa denials in the post-9/11 era have helped make the USA less attractive to foreign students, threatening a lucrative market that is a source of brain power and diversity for U.S. colleges." The article also highlights the use of paid agents and quotes AIRC Members Foothill and De Anza Colleges and the University of Cincinnati. Read the full article here.

Engaging With Agents

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:14:00 GMT

By Mitch Leventhal. A commentary in Inside Higher Ed
June 23, 2011

"In their article “The Futility of Pretending to Certify Virtue,” Liz Reisberg and Philip G. Altbach dangerously advocate for the abandonment of the very individuals they are so eager to protect. The growing number of students outside the U.S. seeking an American education must navigate a policy and protocol wilderness filled with obstacles and potentially treacherous paths. And yes, there are wolves lying in wait, intent on profiting from these students’ vulnerability.

However, the course of action being endorsed — the abandonment of commission-based compensation for third-party recruitment or any effort to bring ethical reform and accountability to the practice — is reckless. Neither the existence of recruitment agents nor students’ dependency on them outside the U.S. will end simply by having universities curtail what are legitimate activities. Rather, it will force recruitment underground, leaving students and their families even more vulnerable to exploitation."
Read the full article here.

College Recruiting Goes Overseas, an American Public Media, Marketplace Report

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:53:00 GMT

Foreign students pay higher tuition, though some educators see risks if recruiters are paid by commission. Read the transcript or listen to the story here.

International-Student Recruitment Debate: 6 Views on Agents

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:31:00 GMT

To help shed light on the controversy over using commission-based agents, The Chronicle asked six education experts for their views. Agents play a much needed role in higher education, and bad practices can be weeded out, argues John Deupree of the American International Recruitment Council. Read the essays here.