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To Agent or Not to Agent
Shona Perry-Maidment
To Agent or Not to Agent
• Memorial University in context• Agents as recruitment channel• Agent usage:
• Memorial• Global• Canadian
• Agents: Hiring, Training and Evaluating • Lessons Learned and Best Practices• Moving Forward
• Established as a Memorial
• Special obligation to people of NL
• Comprehensive
• Student composition – strong NL representation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
memorial university numbersby the
Memorial’s Enrolment Context
• Late bloomer in recruitment and enrolment management
• Traditional approach
• Limited resources
NL,11,630,96%
CAN,302,3% INTL,123,1%
NL CAN INTL
Memorial’s Enrolment 2000: Full-time Undergraduate Students
11,630
302 123
9887
1897
485
8982
1290 1564
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
NL Canadian International
2000 2008 2018
Memorial’s Enrolment 2000-2018:Full-time Undergraduate Students
NL,8,982,76%
CAN,1290,11%
INTL,1564,13%
NL CAN INTL
Memorial’s Enrolment 2018: Full-time Undergraduate Students
International Recruitment
Recruitment channels• School visits, fairs,
seminars, social media and on-line, advertising, etc.
• Agents• Sponsored• Independent
Memorial’s Agent Usage: History & Background
• 2004
• ~500 undergraduates students (2018 = 133)
• Initial challenges• Conservative university (no agents, lengthy/legal
contract, availability of funds for payment, etc.)• Percentage vs. flat fee• Application response time• Contract - complex
Agent Payment
• Percentage of full-time tuition ( $516, $550, $700)
• Over two semesters
• Maximum of $1,400
• Only with contract
Agent Payment
• Standardized template
• Payment after course add/drop date (5 weeks after first day of classes)
• Only on full-time students
Agents: Lessons Learned
• Communication (internal/external) is key
• Simplify (contract, payment process)
• Flexibility
• Admissions as key partner
• Review regularly
Agents as a Recruitment Tool –Global Perspective• Australia
• 2019 - 75% of intl enrolments via agents• ~19,400 agents used (ThePieNews.com)• 2016 ~74% of international students had used agents
(Australian Universities International Directors’ Forum)• New Zealand
• 2019 ~50% of international students in NZ used agents (www.studyinnewzealand.govt.nz)
• USA• 2017 ~39% of institutions used agents (directly/indirectly)
• UK• 2015 ~38% international students were recruited via agents
Agents – Canadian Universities
• Survey January 2019
• Purpose
• Respondents
• Findings
What percentage of your undergraduate student population is international?
<5%,0
5%-10%,6
10%- 20%,16
>20%,2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
<5% 5%-10% 10%- 20% >20%
Does your university contract agents?
21,87%
3,13%
Yes No
How many agents do you contract each year?
3
6
5 5
3
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
<10 Between10-25
Between26-50
>50 Chosenottosay
How are your agents compensated?
18,88%
02,9.5%
1,2.502468101214161820
Commissionbasedonregisteredstudents
AnnualRetainingFee
CombinationofCommissionandRetainingFee
Other
Is rate a flat rate or based on percentage of tuition?
FlatRate,8,36%
PercentageofTuition,14,64%
FlatRate PercentageofTuition
Yes,18,75%
No,2,8%
1,4% 3,13%
Yes No Unsure Didnotanswer
Do agents provide a good return on your recruitment investment?
Check all that apply to your school
At my school, agent-recruited students • matriculate faster than the general undergraduate pool
(0)• tend to perform better than the general undergraduate
pool (1 or 5%)• tend to reflect a higher application to registration rate
than the general undergraduate pool (8 or 38%)
• My school does not track the academic performance of agent-recruited students (12 or 57%)
Working with Agents
Pros– Increased enrolments– Increased yield
(applicant/registrant)– Market intelligence– In-market presence
Cons– Fraudulent documents– Misrepresentation– Time consuming if
done properly– Can be costly
Agent Best Practices
• Vet
Agents – Sifting Through the Noise
• Fairs: in person and on line• http://www.webaworld.com/• https://www.icef.com/event-list/• https://studytravel.network/
• https://agentbee.net/agent-fair-3/
• Directories• References
Agent Training & Certification
Professional & Destination Courses
• Education Agent Training Course (IATC) – ICEF• China Education Agent Course (CEAC) ICEF in partnership with
BOSSA, a government-supported industry association • British Council’s Agents Training Certificate• Australia: Education Agent Training Course (EATC)• Canada Course for Education Agents (CCEA) ICEF, DFAIT, + CCIE.
• US Agent Training Course (USATC) - ICEF • Irish Education Agents Course (IEAC) - ICEF
• Education New Zealand Recognized Agencies (ENZRA)
Agent Best Practices
• Vet• Hire
Agent Best Practices
Hire/Vet• Interview and assess
• Visit on site
• References
• Legal contract
Agent Best Practices
• Vet• Hire• Train
Agent Best Practices
Train• On site – Office visits
• On-line (e.g. Skype and webinar sessions)
• Print and on-line tools (e.g. website, manual)
• Familiarization tours
• Team approach
Agent Best Practices
• Vet• Hire• Train• Evaluate
Agent Best Practices
Evaluate• Collect student feedback
• Assess enrolment numbers and market success
• Contract renewals based on this (+) every year
Agent Usage: Agent Barometer (2019)
• Respondents: 2,065 agents in 119 countries
• Placed 352, 975 students. 55% (46% in 2018) placed in Canada = hotspot
• Most popular referred programs: UG (78%), GRAD (74%)
https://www.icef.com/solution/icef-i-graduate-agent-barometer/
Agent Usage: Agent Barometer (2019)
• Canada = country viewed as most problematic re. study visa and tied with US in problematic work visas
• Most effective: fairs, school visits, and Facebook
• Very Important : financial aid, 24 hr response time, fam tours, prompt payment, accessible info, etc.
Use Agents?
• Proven recruitment channel • Growing credibility• Market driven
But• Do your homework• Keep it manageable • Assess on regular basis
Helpful Resources
NAFSA.org
ICEF.com
WENR.WES,orghttps://www.wes.org/press-release-archive/wes-research-working-with-education-agents/
TheBritishCouncil.org
ThePieNews.com
Canadian embassies/consulates
Journal of Studies in International Education
UniversityWorldNews.com
