US Universities Pay Foreign Recruiters to Attract More International Students

Public universities in the US state of South Dakota have started looking into paying foreign recruiting companies and agents in order to help draw international students to their campuses.

According to the chief academic officer for the state Board of Regents, Sam Gingerich, there are a number of reasons for the state’s desire to attract a growing population of international students and why going through foreign or international recruiting companies is a great way to do so.

Why is South Dakota Paying to Recruit International Students?

Sociocultural Benefit

The Midwestern US tends to be more culturally homogeneous than life on the east or west coasts and, as such, integrating students from other cultures and bringing a global perspective to student life provides a much needed exposure to global society.

Financial Benefit

In recent years, both graduating class size and the rate of graduation in South Dakota high schools has decreased. Therefore, an increased number of students from other areas (students paying the out-of-state tuition costs, no less) presents a financial boon to both the institutions at which the international students will study, as well as the cities in which they will live and spend while present.

Why Use International Recruiters? 

• US colleges and universities are allowed to use foreign student recruitment agencies
• There are a number of steps an organization must go through in order to be verified as a legitimate entity with which to do business—and it is this somewhat costly step that has traditionally limited the use of foreign recruiters as a means to attract undergraduates.

What Does it Mean for International Students?

International students in countries like China and India stand to benefit tremendously from the shift to utilizing foreign recruiters. In those countries, student recruitment agencies are the norm—helping parents navigate through thousands of universities (many in other countries) and their relative merits, application procedures, costs, etc.

With universities in the US tapping into this resource, international students in countries where recruitment agencies are the norm ought to begin to see some very competitive incentives from American institutions that were previously either unavailable or unknown to them!

Posted in International Education, Study in the USA