AIRC In The News

From Taboo to Hot Topic

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:15:00 GMT

in Inside Higher Ed, June 1, 2010

In higher education, change rarely happens quickly. Not so when it comes to hiring overseas agencies -- paid by the college in the form of per-student commissions -- to recruit international students. Two years ago the topic was taboo, and few colleges would publicly admit to the practice, which is illegal under U.S. law when it comes to recruiting American students.

Today, while ethical qualms persist, and the debate over the payment of per-student commissions still simmers, it’s nonetheless remarkable the number of colleges that have embraced the recruitment strategy -- and also those that are now willing to at least consider it.

...

The Rise of the Agent Model

Notice the terminology – the right, i.e. good agent, versus the bad agent. The ability to distinguish the good agents from the bad is the premise of a standards-setting organization like AIRC, which certifies agencies that have successfully completed a process akin to accreditation, complete with self-study and site visit. “This was the missing link,” says John Deupree, AIRC’s executive director. “Before there was no standards process or quality assurance process. In our view, the biggest barrier to the use of agents has been removed.”

To read the rest of the article, go here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/01/agents

From Taboo to Hot Topic

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:14:00 GMT

Global market hots up as US gets its act together

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:09:00 GMT

in Times Higher Education, by John Morgan, May 27, 2010

The growth of an organisation set up to help US institutions compete in the global market could be a sign of the nation's growing interest in overseas students.

The American International Recruitment Council (AIRC) this month reached the milestone of 100 institutional members, two years after it was established. It is seeking to "develop standards of ethical practice pertaining to recruitment of international students", and provide "best practices and training to assist overseas student recruitment agents and institutions themselves to better serve students seeking admission".

According to official figures, the US had 623,800 overseas students in 2007-08, compared with 389,330 in the UK. However, a report published last year by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education warns that while the US remains the most popular destination globally, "other countries with more aggressive recruitment strategies have steadily cut into the US market share in the past decade".

....

To read the rest of the article, go here: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=411725

American Colleges Look to Private Sector for Global Recruiting

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 03:03:00 GMT

in The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 30th, 2010

Mitch Leventhal, chair and president of the American International Recruitment Council, says U.S. colleges' slow start may eventually benefit them as they adopt and adapt strategies for overseas-student recruitment. They have the opportunity to learn from other countries' mistakes.

"We may go from being a laggard to an innovator in the space," says Mr. Leventhal, who is also vice chancellor for global affairs for the State University of New York. "We may end up leapfrogging everyone else."

To read the rest of the article, go here: http://chronicle.com/article/American-Colleges-Look-to/65717/

American Colleges Look to Private Sector for Global Recruiting

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:03:00 GMT

Global market hots up as US gets its act together

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:08:00 GMT

Lynne Rosansky Joins AIRC Advisory Council

Thu, 27 May 2010 03:09:00 GMT

New York City, May 26, 2010 - Dr. Lynne Rosansky, Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and Provost at SIT/World Learning, has agreed to serve on the AIRC Advisory Council.

Dr. Rosansky joins a council that currently includes SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, Chairman and former President of the Japan Association of Overseas Study (JAOS) Masaru Yamada, who is also the co-founder of the Federation of Education and Language Consultant Associations (FELCA), and renowned Washington, DC, immigration attorney Roberta Freedman of the law firm Clark Hill.

SIT/World Learning delivers education, training, and exchange programs to help people develop the tools to creatively engage in global problem solving and solution building. In addition to offering Masters degree programs in International Education, Intercultural Management and TESOL, SIT is among the oldest leaders in study abroad programming at both the high school and university level.

A specialist in international business strategy, organizational behavior and human resource management, Dr. Rosansky has served as President and Dean of Hult International Business School, formerly the Arthur D. Little School of Management, and as a member of the faculties of Brandeis University Graduate School for International Economics & Finance, Simmons Graduate School of Management, and Babson College. She has been a Visiting Professor at the International University of Japan, and has designed and delivered the management curriculum for the Intensive International Executive Education Program, a training program for international (Japanese and Chinese) executives being prepared for overseas assignments.

Prior to joining SIT/World Learning, Dr. Rosansky was the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost for the SUNY Levin Institute, where she was responsible for academic program design, development and delivery, selection and coaching of faculty, strategic relationship building with international partner schools and business development.

Dr. Rosansky was President and founder of LHR International, Inc, a consulting firm specializing in the strategic alignment of people, processes and strategy. Her clients included Mainspring (now part of IBM Global Services), Sapient Corporation, State Street Bank, Haywood Hospital, Verizon, and Ford Motor Company.

Lynne Rosansky earned her Ph.D. and M.A. from Boston University and holds an MBA from Babson College. Her BA is from Carnegie-Mellon University.

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AIRC Certification Board Takes 18 Actions – Certified Agencies Now in 35 Countries

Wed, 26 May 2010 03:34:00 GMT

New York City, May 25, 2010 - The AIRC Certification Board met for the second time from May 10-12, in Washington DC. This was the first sitting of the Certification Board following the completion of the AIRC pilot phase in December 2009. The AIRC Certification Board is composed of 13 members drawn from U.S. institutions of higher education and related interest organizations.

At its second meeting, the AIRC Certification Board took 18 actions:

14 recruitment agencies received AIRC Certification for the period May, 2010 to February, 2013, with interim reports required from 4 agencies
2 recruitment agencies received AIRC Conditional Certification with interim reports required
1 recruitment agency was Denied Certification
1 Interim Report was Approved from a previously Certified recruitment agency

Newly AIRC Certified agencies include:

Edwise Foundation (Nepal)
Keyword International Corporation Ltd. (China)
Universal Language and Computer Institute (Nepal)
Oceanic Consultants Pty Ltd (India, Australia, United Kingdom)
PAC Asia (Australia, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka)
Winny Immigration & Education Services Pvt Ltd (India)
iae GLOBAL (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom)
Canam Consultants Limited (India, Kuwait)
Impel Overseas Education (India)
Kanan International Pvt Ltd (India)
Intelligent Partners (United Arab Emirates, Qatar)
SIEC (Australia, India, Singapore)
Disha Consultants (India)
Kangaroo Studies (India)
Viv's International Education Center - VIEC (Australia, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka)
China Education International – CEI (China)

In all, twenty-four (24) student recruitment agencies are now AIRC Certified, representing 366 offices in 35 countries.

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AACRAO Modifies Principles of Professional Ethics and Practice Relative to International Recruitment

Thu, 20 May 2010 21:08:00 GMT

I am pleased to report that AACRAO has amended its Statement Of Professional Ethics And Practice in academic and enrollment services to reflect the changing realities of international student recruitment.

According to the draft Statement proposed in December 2009, members were asked to “Avoid practices in the recruitment and enrollment of international students that would not be ethical or legal in the recruitment or enrollment of domestic students.” This mandate contradicted Title IV of the U.S. Higher Education Act, which explicitly permits commission-based recruitment in the case of international students who are ineligible for federal funds, while prohibiting this practice domestically.

Recognizing the confusion that this contradiction was causing among U.S. institutions, the AACRAO Board of Directors amended the principles on March 31, 2010, and the association’s members ratified this decision on April 23. According to the new language, members are to “Avoid practices in the recruitment and enrollment of international students that would not be ethical in the recruitment or enrollment of domestic students.” The complete document may be found at:

http://www.aacrao.org/about/ethics.cfm

AACRAO Vice President for International Education Robert Watkins (University of Texas at Austin) has further stated that "AIRC is striving laudably to inject standards of best practice into the recruitment of international students by institutions in the USA.”

AIRC applauds AACRAO and its membership for recognizing the changing circumstances of international student recruitment, and for its willingness to engage in a productive and positive dialogue with AIRC. We believe the objectives of AIRC and AACRAO are coincident – we both want to ensure the highest level of ethical practice in recruitment and admissions, always with a commitment to keeping the student at the center.

Mitch Leventhal
Chair and President

Two State Universities Systems Make AIRC Certification a Selection Criterion

Wed, 19 May 2010 21:43:00 GMT

Two State Universities Systems Make AIRC Certification a Selection Criterion

New York City, May 18, 2010 - Two major U.S. state university systems have recently incorporated AIRC into their own selection criteria for international student recruitment agencies.

In March 2010, the University of South Carolina, a nine (9) campus system comprised of its Columbia flagship university, four 4-year campuses and four 2-year campuses around the state, issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for International Student Recruitment Services. Section 5.1.3 of the RFP states that “[Certification] by the American International Recruitment Council (AIRC) or similar certification is strongly preferred.”

In May, the State University of New York, the largest comprehensive university system in the world, with 64 campuses and 465,000 students, announced that it, too, will use AIRC certification as a selection criterion. Unlike the University of South Carolina, however, where AIRC certification (or similar) is “strongly preferred,” in the case of SUNY bidders “must submit proof of either i) AIRC Certification, or ii) Candidacy for AIRC Certification in the near future” for consideration. Bidders which cannot offer such proof will be automatically disqualified from the SUNY process.

The SUNY RFP was announced today, and can be found at:

http://www.suny.edu/internationalprograms/SUNYAgentRFP.pdf

“Incorporation of AIRC Certification as a qualification for selection in a state bidding process represents a major breakthrough for our organization,” states John Deupree, Executive Director, “It is now clear that no other quality criteria can provide comparable assurance of agency professionalism.”

AIRC Institutional Membership Hits 100

Mon, 17 May 2010 02:55:00 GMT

New York City, May 17, 2010 - The American International Recruitment Council today announced having reached 100 institutional members in under two years since its formation. AIRC's 100th member is SIT/World Learning, an undisputed leader in cross border educational programs and development, which offers graduate programs in various aspects of international education as well as a wide range of study abroad options.

Dr. Lynne Rosansky, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at World Learning, states, "At World Learning, we have always been at the forefront of development and innovation in international education. We believe that the AIRC Standards represent a significant advance in the practice of international education recruitment, and it is our responsibility as educational leaders to be part of this process."

AIRC now has member institutions in 29 states. All institutional types are represented: public and private, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, doctoral institutions, vocational schools and graduate professional institutions. For a complete list of member institutions, visit:

http://www.airc-education.org/institutionalmembers.htm

According to Dr. Mitch Leventhal, Chair and President of AIRC, "The startling growth of AIRC's institutional membership is testament to the urgent need for professional standards in the field of international student recruitment, as well as the imperative for non-governmental leadership to initiate more effective global marketing practices for American higher education. AIRC clearly has filled this need and we are proud that an institution as esteemed and venerable as SIT/World Learning has joined our movement."

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AIRC welcomes Campus Philly

Fri, 07 May 2010 03:14:00 GMT

AiRC is pleased to welcome Campus Philly to Observer Status. The following is a letter to AIRC from Campus Philly Executive Director Jon Grabelle Hermann. Please visit www.campusphilly.org for more information about Campus Philly.

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WENR, "The Use of Recruiting Agents in the United States"

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:54:00 GMT

The Use of Recruiting Agents in the United States

in World Education New & Reviews, March 2010

"Higher education in the United States has long been attractive to international students, and universities have historically been able to attract those students on little more than name and reputation alone. However, as smaller, less well-known institutions seek to increase their recruiting efforts abroad the name-brand approach has become less viable, especially in the face of increased competition from a growing crop of education-destination countries around the world. As a result, a steadily increasing number of U.S. colleges and universities are employing — or looking to employ — the services of commission-based, in-country recruiting agents, a practice that has, until now, been viewed with considerable skepticism."

To read the rest of the article, go here: http://www.wes.org/ewenr/10mar/index.asp

WENR, "The Use of Recruiting Agents in the United States"

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:55:00 GMT

AACRAO Proposed Standards

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:39:00 GMT

The following is the text of a letter from Dr. Mitch Leventhal, AIRC President and Chairman, to Wanda Simpson Munson, AACRAO President, in response to AACRAO's proposed Professional Practices and Ethical Standards which were released on March 12, 2010.

----------------------------

Hello Wanda and Jerry,

I am writing to you in my capacity as Chair and President of the American International Recruitment Council (AIRC) out of a collegial concern about portions of your recent email regarding the new AACRAO Professional Practice and Ethical Standards (copied below).

AIRC's interests are in increasing professionalism in the use of agents for international student recruitment. AIRC is incorporated as a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation which is officially registered as a Standard Development Organization with both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. As you are probably aware, AIRC has been growing rapidly in both size and influence . We now have nearly 100 institutional members. Our Board of Directors and Certification Board are comprised of several highly respected international educators and admissions officers. We also believe that our membership reflects only a very small proportion of US institutions which are actually working with agents on a commission basis. Based on our market intelligence, we estimate that there are presently between 500 and 1,000 institutions which hold commission-based contracts with agents. In short, this movement is gaining significant momentum, and it is vital that all organizations for whom US admissions standards and recruitment are core have a realistic understanding of developments.

My concern with one of the points in your proposed Standards is the phrase to “Avoid practices in the recruitment and enrollment of international students that would not be ethical or legal in the recruitment or enrollment of domestic students…” There is a contradiction between this standard and the explicit wording of Title IV. According to Title IV:

“(b) By entering into a program participation agreement, an institution agrees that – (22)(i) It will not provide any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly upon success in securing enrollments or financial aid to any person or entity engaged in any student recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the awarding of title IV, HEA program funds, except that this limitation does not apply to the recruitment of foreign students residing in foreign countries who are not eligible to receive title IV, HEA program funds.” [bold italics added]

The proposed AACRAO standard is essentially saying that institutions should disregard what the law explicitly permits. AIRC believes that this will contribute to further confusion, which would not be desirable to higher education.

I would like to point out to you that AIRC has developed the most comprehensive ethical and practice standards that exist for international student recruitment and that many of our standards reflect those listed in the remainder of your document . A copy of the AIRC Standards is attached (along with a recent presentation made to AIEA). I would also like to draw your attention to AIRC’s Vision Statement and Mission Statement (http://airc-education.org/Vision.htm), both of which address very directly the concerns that we share with AACRAO and related organizations:

AIRC Vision Statement

“AIRC was conceived and created by accredited U.S. colleges and universities as a non-profit Standards Development Organization in order to address known deficiencies in the higher education marketplace through the adoption of ethical standards. Such standards are used successfully by a range of associations concerned with the intersection of business and professional practice.

AIRC believes that international students considering a U.S. education make an investment not only in their future, but in the future of U.S interests when they return home, mature, and build new business and diplomatic partnerships. AIRC believes these students’ investment decisions should be made with the most in-depth knowledge available to ensure the investment is sound and objective.

AIRC also believes that the internationalization of U.S. institutions of higher education is a vital step to their educational missions. This process is best served by attracting students from other countries who are well matched to the institution and whose expectations are met by transparent knowledge of the institution’s strengths and weaknesses. Few institutions have the staff or budget to adequately perform this role and therefore in-country agencies with recognized standards and practices are critical to realizing this mission. Agency compliance with AIRC standards makes it possible for institutions to choose agencies that have adopted these recognized standards, are well trained on all aspects of U.S. higher education, and which have consented to periodic external review as part of a comprehensive certification process. AIRC professional development processes ensure that both agents and institutions can collaborate in ways which enhance the interests of the students while meeting the goals of both institutions and agencies.

Finally, AIRC believes that U.S. strategic and economic interests continue to be served by attracting the best and brightest students into our higher education system. Our colleagues and friends in Australia and the United Kingdom share this belief. They have demonstrated that the creation of recognized and ethical standards in the recruitment agent industry is a highly effective means of ensuring an enduring match between students and institutions and that students are treated honestly and with respect, thereby improving both student mobility and the productivity of the educational process.“

AIRC Mission Statement

“The AIRC is a 501c3 non-profit organization controlled by accredited United States post-secondary educational institutions.

The purposes of the organization are to:

Develop standards of ethical practice pertaining to recruitment of international students to American educational institutions, such standards to address two constituencies: educational institutions and student recruitment agents;
Develop best practices and training to assist overseas student recruitment agents and institutions themselves to better serve both students seeking admission to American educational institutions, and
Establish a framework through which participating agents can have their practices certified. In addition, the organization may undertake other activities as are necessary to accomplish its goals.”

I believe that the time has come for AACRAO and AIRC (as well as NACAC and other related bodies) to share a dialogue on the issue of professionalism in the use of agency based recruitment. AIRC was created to directly address these issues, since no other organization was exclusively focusing on them. Our members are deeply concerned with ethical practice and legal compliance, and are also loyal members of AACRAO and other organizations. AIRC will continue to grow rapidly, and we believe that our work in the area of Standards needs to be understood by any organization which is attempting to influence the industry. I encourage you to review AIRC’s standards and advise us on where they are deficient from the perspective of AACRAO. I also encourage you to consider a revision of the standard proposed, which will surely sow confusion and consequent non-compliance.

I look forward to discussing this at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Mitch Leventhal, PhD
Chair & President, American International Recruitment Council (AIRC)
Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs, State University of New York (SUNY)
116 East 55th Street - New York, NY 10022