A recent article in the Times Higher Education predicts that US institutions will increasingly begin to use recruitment agencies in coming years.
In the past US institutions have generally made less use of agents than their counterparts in key competitor markets, including the UK and Australia. Part of the explanation is that the practice of using agents is widely viewed as unethical in America.
Predictions of increasing use of agents will be music to the ears of agents in key offshore markets. Institutions in the UK, Australia and elsewhere who are already using agents will need to consider the implications of more competition for the attention of their education agents.
Sunday 28 September 2008
Saturday 27 September 2008
Education Agents - your reputation in their hands
Most institutions seeking to recruit international students look to education agents to assist them.
The strategy can work very well, particularly when institutions are able to build strong relationships with professional agents.
But there are significant risks too. Reputational risk, and what we'll call "turn over risk" are probably the two biggest concerns.
It only takes one bad agent acting unethically or dishonestly to seriously damage an institution's reputation. A serious incident in a key offshore market could have a very serious impact on future student enrolments.
Turn over risk is the risk that a student recruited to your institution by false or misleading claims will find that the reality is much different from the marketing spin the agent gave them. They may choose to go elsewhere.
In a highly competitive market, institutions must be proactive in managing their agent relationships. The common approach of requesting references at the outset of the relationship is insufficient on its own. Institutions should implement a system of regular agent review in order to protect their reputation in their key foreign markets.
The other important point to note is that for Australian institutions agent monitoring is a legal requirement under Standard 4 of the National Code.
A 2007 paper by Ms Virginia Pattingale of Flinders University explains the risks involved in the relationship with education agents and relates some real life incidents involving rogue agents. It is worth reading if you use agents to recruit students.
The strategy can work very well, particularly when institutions are able to build strong relationships with professional agents.
But there are significant risks too. Reputational risk, and what we'll call "turn over risk" are probably the two biggest concerns.
It only takes one bad agent acting unethically or dishonestly to seriously damage an institution's reputation. A serious incident in a key offshore market could have a very serious impact on future student enrolments.
Turn over risk is the risk that a student recruited to your institution by false or misleading claims will find that the reality is much different from the marketing spin the agent gave them. They may choose to go elsewhere.
In a highly competitive market, institutions must be proactive in managing their agent relationships. The common approach of requesting references at the outset of the relationship is insufficient on its own. Institutions should implement a system of regular agent review in order to protect their reputation in their key foreign markets.
The other important point to note is that for Australian institutions agent monitoring is a legal requirement under Standard 4 of the National Code.
A 2007 paper by Ms Virginia Pattingale of Flinders University explains the risks involved in the relationship with education agents and relates some real life incidents involving rogue agents. It is worth reading if you use agents to recruit students.
Thursday 11 September 2008
ESOS compliance - don't get caught out
Between 2001 and 2007 the Department of Education, Science and Training conducted 405 compliance monitoring visits and issued 252 notices. See full report.
The breaches that were of most concern to DEST were:
Most common breaches found by DEST:
Failure to meet your ESOS obligations is likley to cost you significant time and money. Don't get caught out. Use ecomply to meet your compliance obligations.
The breaches that were of most concern to DEST were:
- Misleading information provided on duration or cost of courses, or nature of facilities.
- Provider unable to deliver course or pay refunds to students.
- Delays in processing requests for refund of fees, and/or not informing students of their entitlements.
- Advertising courses not registered on CRICOS.
Most common breaches found by DEST:
- Delay or failure to report students whose attendance or academic progress is unsatisfactory.
Failure to meet your ESOS obligations is likley to cost you significant time and money. Don't get caught out. Use ecomply to meet your compliance obligations.
Sunday 7 September 2008
Weaker Aussie dollar good for business
Just a few months ago many market pundits were predicting that the Australian dollar would reach parity with the US dollar in the very near future. That was until the Aussie currency fell off the proverbial cliff against the green back in July. On 5 September the Australian dollar hit US81.5 cents, its lowest level in a year. This represents a slide of over 17% from its July peak of US98.4 cents.
The steady rise of the Aussie dollar prior to July had many in the Australian international education sector very concerned. A key attraction for international students considering Australia as a study option has traditionally been its lower cost when compared to the US and the UK. This selling point is obviously diminished by a strong Aussie dollar.
So the rapid weakening of the local currency against the US dollar is great news for Australian education providers. Once again Australia can market itself as offering the very high quality education at a lower cost than its key international competitors - the US, UK and Canada.
Devaluation of the Australian dollar against the green back is not the end of the story either. Importantly, the Aussie dollar has also weakened significantly against the majority of the currencies of the top 10 source markets for international students coming to Australia, including, China, India, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Brazil.
Education providers should be jumping for joy. It will be interesting to see what impact these currency moves will have on international enrolments in Australia in the coming months.
The steady rise of the Aussie dollar prior to July had many in the Australian international education sector very concerned. A key attraction for international students considering Australia as a study option has traditionally been its lower cost when compared to the US and the UK. This selling point is obviously diminished by a strong Aussie dollar.
So the rapid weakening of the local currency against the US dollar is great news for Australian education providers. Once again Australia can market itself as offering the very high quality education at a lower cost than its key international competitors - the US, UK and Canada.
Devaluation of the Australian dollar against the green back is not the end of the story either. Importantly, the Aussie dollar has also weakened significantly against the majority of the currencies of the top 10 source markets for international students coming to Australia, including, China, India, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Brazil.
Education providers should be jumping for joy. It will be interesting to see what impact these currency moves will have on international enrolments in Australia in the coming months.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
