The strength of an institute lies in the aspiration of the local to study in it as well as in the interest attracted by it from international students. While international students stand to gain exposure to novel teaching methods and new geographies, local students also benefit from them with fresh perspectives and newer cognitive skills. Moreover, institutes also get a chance to increase revenues and reputation if they are solicited by overseas students. Given below are some strategies to maximize interest and enrollment from foreign students.
1) Offer scholarships directed at international students
What usually makes international students balk from studying in institutes based in countries such as the US and the UK is the colossal tuition fee that’s hard to arrange for and even pay off if things do not go as planned. If institutes are keen on attracting international students, they should look to introduce scholarships for them which would neutralize tuition costs and incentivize them to apply to foreign institutes.
2) Provide better career assistance
Most students apply to international universities to gain degrees they believe would give them an edge over others when it comes to getting jobs. Institutes must also link up with organizations in order to provide requisite internships and work-study programs to boost job placements. One also needs to establish deep alumni networks to showcase success stories and also to provide links to quality jobs. Institutes must throw their weight behind outstanding industrial relations in order to benefit students and also enhance their reputation among students, alumni and industries.
3) International Education Agents & Agencies
Education agents have helped recruit almost 40% of our international students in European universities, according to the Observatory on Borderless Education and the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
Some universities don’t like to talk about these agents – perhaps because they are worried that working with them taints the sector, or that paying them is in some way unethical. However, with the rising completion to attract the lucrative foreign student, there isn’t wrong in engaging overseas agents if universities undertake proper, continuous due diligence and only appoint agents who meet minimum standards.
Education institutions should understand that the risk in damaging their reputation is not by working with agents – but by hiding the fact that they do. Having strategic partnerships with education agents across the globe is one the most important initiatives an education institution can take to attract international students.
4) Quality content
Great education remains at the heart of every institute of repute. Delivering the best of education through relevant topics, variations in content presentations and pertinent evaluation will make sure that there is an air of competition and continuous improvement around the campus. At the end of the day, grades given to students against acceptable parameters of evaluation will be a true image of where they stand in terms of their skills and employability. Distant learning and certification courses should also be introduced to give students a trailer of what the institute is capable of offering. Such courses should boost revenues and also spike interest among students.
5) Put an exemplary student information system in place
Automation is the way forward and that applies to academics too. Having a student information system such as Classe365 that takes care of activities right from admissions and enrollment to administrative functions and progress tracking will make things look more seamless at the institute. This will appeal to the international aspirants all the more as they would be absorbed into t