Over the past few years, it has become more difficult for many students in emerging markets to study in Big Four destinations (i.e., Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US).

In response to greater levels of public concern about immigration, governments in Australia, Canada, and the UK have launched measures such as caps on new enrolments; higher financial requirements and visa application fees; a narrower band of post-study work opportunities; stricter rules around accompanying family members; higher compliance standards for institutions hosting foreign students; and more. In the US, the Trump administration鈥檚 explicit actions towards both illegal and legal immigrants (including arrests, detentions, and deportations) is enough to depress demand from students who might previously have wanted to study there.

Meanwhile, it has become easier 鈥� and more compelling 鈥� for international students to study in a growing list of countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Demographic and economic goals

Emerging 鈥� and some established 鈥� destinations outside the Big Four have their reasons
for encouraging inbound student mobility, from a need to counter the effects of ageing populations to a desire for better economic competitiveness and influence in key regions. Any or all these reasons are reflected in some of the enrolment targets we see in a growing list of countries.

Open doors are encouraging

Many of the fastest-growing destinations are the most affordable in terms of tuition fees and living costs. Some 鈥� especially in Asia 鈥� are both affordable and home to top-ranked universities, a combination that explains why there are eight Asian cities in the top 20 in QS鈥檚 2026 Top Student Cities ranking.

But there is also an emotional aspect underlying the new popularity of of alternative destinations. Students want to feel welcome and wanted in the country in which they choose to study abroad. Over the course of 2025, in conversations with top agents around the world, we have heard that several factors are making Big Four destinations feel less welcoming than in the past. These include:

• Visa application processes
• Visa requirements (e.g., around finances, dependants, language, etc.)
• Application fee increases
• Delays in visa decisions
• Visa rejection rates
• Unpredictable visa outcomes
• Frequently changing immigration rules

Visa-related challenges can feel very personal. Imagine you are a student in West Africa. You know that approval rates in Big Four destinations are relatively low but it鈥檚 been your dream since childhood, and so you persevere. With your good grades, sufficient finances, strong language proficiency, and impressive extra-curricular activities, you apply. So does your friend. You wait three months for a decision, then get rejected. Your friend, with virtually the same strengths as you, hears in six weeks that she has been approved. You are given no reason 鈥� or a weak reason 鈥� for your rejection, and you cannot see why you weren鈥檛 approved given that your profile is almost identical to your friend鈥檚. You cannot help but feel hurt.

This sort of case is also upsetting for agents. Agents take pride in knowing which students are best fits for certain institutions and which destinations are the best match for particular students. If agents encounter persistently high levels of refusals and hurdles, not only do they feel the disappointment of individual students. They also worry that the pattern could cause stakeholders such as parents and local schools to lose faith in their abilities.

Meanwhile, both students and agents are increasingly aware of emerging destinations that are offering quality education at a low cost; asking for minimal paperwork; sweetening the pot with career supports and scholarships; and processing and approving visas quickly. As such, these destinations have become significantly more compelling 鈥� and rewarding 鈥� to apply to.

Did you know?

• The number of Asian students choosing to study within their region between 2016 and 2022 rose by 40%.
• China has introduced a flexible new 鈥淜-Visa鈥� to attract the world鈥檚 best STEM students and graduates.
• Hong Kong will allow 50% of its students to be non-local, up from 40% in 2024 and 20% before that.
• Germany鈥檚 goals include seeing international students compose 15% of the student body
  and raising success rates of foreign students.
• France has expanded its scholarships, grants, and exemptions, especially for students from Africa.
• The Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) offers full scholarships to students from dozens of African, Asian, Caribbean, and Pacific countries.

For additional background, please see:

• “What students want: The top decision factors for study abroad“
• “黑料官网 Podcast: Redrawing the map of global student flows from the 鈥楤ig Four鈥� to the 鈥楤ig Fourteen鈥�“

The post From the Big Four to the Big Fourteen appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Purpose-built design

Greg Holz, assistant director for global engagement, University of
Central Missouri (United States)

If we鈥檙e talking LLMs, I鈥檇 recommend , especially now with , their dedicated browser. It鈥檚 great for research, cutting through SEO junk and sponsored results. But for international recruitment, takes things a step further. It鈥檚 built on the Perplexity model but designed for our industry, so the data it pulls is current and from relevant IEM sources. AIDO has been crucial in helping me gather evidence and build a case for our ongoing recruitment strategies in Southeast Asia, giving me confidence that I鈥檓 working from the best information available when making important planning decisions.

The multi-tool

Rishab Malhotra, founder & CEO, AIDO (United States)

As an international ed-tech entrepreneur, the AI I consider indispensable is . I rely on it daily to power my work across multiple fronts: building custom GPTs tailored to different goals, managing complex tasks and projects, prototyping features, 鈥渧ibe coding鈥� quick interfaces for HTML emails, and developing proofs of concept at speed. What would normally take days of trial and error can be iterated in hours with ChatGPT as a creative and technical partner. For me, it鈥檚 less a single Q/A tool and more an always-on collaborator that makes rapid innovation in AI-driven education technology possible.

Better lead data

Priyank Mistri, manager, digital recruitment, Centennial College (Canada)

As a digital recruitment manager, I rely on , an AI-powered ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tool that transforms how we manage prospective student information from multiple platforms before importing it into our CRM system.

Lead data often arrives fragmented with inconsistent formats, duplicate entries, incomplete fields, or errors. Zoho DataPrep automatically cleans, validates, and standardises this information, then integrates it into our CRM, ensuring accurate reporting and enabling timely engagement campaigns. By eliminating these operational barriers, my team can focus on strategic digital recruitment, driving stronger student engagement and faster conversions, and saving countless hours otherwise lost to manual fixes.

24/7 support

Guus Goorts, higher education marketing consultant and author (the Netherlands)

鈥檚 AI chatbot replaced live WhatsApp support for a language school I work with. It answers routine programme questions in multiple languages, 24/7, and forwards tricky cases to staff. The switch accelerated response times, smoothed applicant journeys, and freed advisors for higher-value tasks. Caveat: Any AI chatbot is only as good as its training, and it took months of training to get the bot to not just answer questions correctly, but also to sell in a consultative way.

Streamlined admissions processes

Oana Lelcu, global sales and marketing director, SRH Universities (Germany)

dramatically reduces HR costs while scaling international student recruitment. It automates document validation (transcripts, diplomas, language certificates, passports) with 99% accuracy in seconds, eliminating expensive and time-consuming manual processing. Our admissions team escapes tedious admin work to focus on high-value activities: candidate advising, relationship building, and strategic recruitment. Students receive fast decisions with actionable feedback, accelerating enrolment cycles. This speed advantage directly drives higher conversion rates while our staffing costs remain flat at during rapid growth. Scale smart, not hard.

A new way to search

Kyle Campbell, founder and managing director, Education Marketer (United Kingdom)

As an education marketer, my go-to is , not for content creation or data analysis, but for how quickly it can build digital tools. Recently, I pretended I was going to uni for the first time and was interested in game development, with aspirations to run my own indie studio (a boy can dream). I asked ChatGPT-5 to build me a tool that 鈥渉elps me discover the right choice for me.鈥� And it did. Within 10 minutes, I had an app that indexed gaming institutions across the world, where I could customise my 鈥渇it鈥� preferences and dynamically sort results. Tell me that doesn鈥檛 change the face of how students discover their university choices.

For additional background, please see:

• “Students are switching to AI for search. Are you ready?“
• “ChatGPT for international education marketing: What is ‘Prompt Engineering?’“

The post AI tools in action for international student recruitment appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The international student experience begins long before students arrive in a new country and walk on to campus. It takes shape when the student is still far away and considering a shortlist of schools. Institutions that provide stellar encouragement and support during this period are building trust and satisfaction even before students are enrolled.

Brand image is built over multiple touchpoints

If you have ever bought a pair of jeans, a digital device, or any other product online, you know how rewarding it is when a brand creates anticipation and excitement before your purchase. You know the satisfaction of getting an immediate response to your questions and reassurance that should you need to make a return, there is a fair process for doing so.

Once you鈥檝e made your purchase, you look for email updates on your order, estimated delivery dates, tracking information, and notifications about any delays. You grow more eager when you go to your inbox and there鈥檚 a message with an anticipatory subject line, e.g., 鈥淵our stunning new jeans are on their way!鈥�

When the package arrives, you are delighted to see your purchase wrapped beautifully in tissue paper, contained in a sleek, branded box, or accompanied by a personalised note. In fact, 鈥渦nboxing鈥� videos 鈥� where purchasers ooh and ahh as they open their packages 鈥� are so popular that they often go viral on social channels. They are also perfect examples of the power of word-of-mouth marketing.

Clearly, a great deal of brand engagement happens before consumers ever try on or try out their purchase. Online brands that provide great service and communications before and directly after a purchase encourage a positive consumer mindset that inspires satisfaction right from the get-go.

Jeans and headsets are one thing. Study abroad is another 鈥� and it is much, much more
of an investment. Yet many schools miss the opportunity to deliver gold-standard service to prospects still deciding where to go and to keep inspiring confidence after students have applied.

Study abroad begins at home

When designing pre-enrolment student support, imagine a prospect sitting in a living room chatting with family and friends about institutions on their shortlist. Parents are naturally worried and determined to make a good choice. After all, they care deeply about their children鈥檚 happiness and safety and often make the financial investment in study abroad. Friends may also be considering foreign schools or universities, and so there is vigorous debate about the pros and cons of various options.

That living-room discussion touches on all the typical considerations: rankings, affordability, quality, location, visas, programmes, work opportunities, possible scholarships, etc. But also: Which institutions have great websites? Which institutions make it easy for students to contact them?

You can imagine parents poring over emails from institutions to compare pros and cons. And they aren鈥檛 just looking for information. They notice if the tone is professional and friendly, and they notice when an admissions staff member offers to talk personally to them about a programme. They like impressive percentages about post-graduation employment rates. If parents aren鈥檛 proficient in English or another language of study, they appreciate an o聣 er to have information and answers translated into their first language 鈥� which is becoming much easier to do with AI tools, and which is just beginning to happen at some institutions.

Students, meanwhile, look for prompts to speak with student ambassadors, offers to connect with the career services team, and housing assistance. They like links leading to virtual tours of campus facilities and 鈥渄ay-in-the-life鈥� videos of students having fun at orientation and graduation ceremonies, attending lectures, enjoying meals with friends, and interacting with industry professionals as part of their programme.

If those students and parents were looking at communications from your school or university, would they be impressed? Would your email and website strategies truly represent what it is like to study on your campus? If not, it鈥檚 time for a review and rethink.

Keep it going

Congratulations! The prospect you鈥檝e been handling with great care has decided to apply! Ahh, all that effort was worth it. But that鈥檚 not where it ends.

Kasper Baars, head of university partnerships at Uni-Life, notes: 鈥淔or many institutions, the post-application phase is where things go quiet. Students go dark. Engagement drops. And teams shift their focus to the next cycle. But this silent stretch is actually one of the most critical moments in the entire journey.鈥�

Mr Baars continues: 鈥淭he admissions process isn鈥檛 just about checking boxes and verifying documents; it鈥檚 about sustaining momentum, building trust, and reassuring students that they鈥檝e made the right choice.鈥�

As students wait for a visa decision, your institution could:

• Provide one-on-one guidance about accommodation, academic expectations, study tips, course structure, reading lists, etc.;
• Guarantee late admission in the event of visa decision delays;
• Deliver virtual tutorials for students who may need language support;
• Create virtual meet-ups with other international student applicants to start creating community.

Roll out that welcome mat

When new students arrive on campus, arrange for airport greetings and transportation to ensure their first impression of your country and school is incredible. When students tuck in for bed on their first night, you can be sure they are messaging with family and friends at home and posting photos and videos before they go to sleep.

For additional background, please see:

• “Five key steps to driving ROI from your student ambassador programme“
• “黑料官网 Podcast: Beyond the offer letter: The services that drive international student success“
• “How likely are students to recommend your institution?“

The post Building the bridge to campus: The first stage of student satisfaction begins long before admission appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

In the age of AI, are students still asking human beings for their advice? It depends. When prospective students get information from a platform such as ChatGPT, they can sometimes conclude that they have all the answers, which can diminish their likelihood of (1) going to the university website and pressing the 鈥淐ontact us鈥� button, and (2) visiting a local agent.

However, an AI response can also inspire prospects to take the next step to see what other people think about the university 鈥� especially people with first-hand experience: other students and alumni.

The importance of a student/alumni ambassador initiative is not diminished by AI. Instead, this investment can go a long way towards ensuring that AI may be the first word about your institution, but not the last word.

According to marketing guru Seth Godin, a brand is 鈥渁 promise and a shorthand for the expectations, memories, stories, and relationships a consumer has with a product, service, or organisation.鈥� That is a phenomenal description of the emotional relationship between brands and their avid fans. This kind of relationship is just not covered by AI. It needs humans.

Students engage with school and university brands on many levels, including by spending hours watching student-created videos about getting ready for school, decorating dorm rooms, cramming for exams, cheering for sports teams, and goofing around with friends. They are looking for a student perspective as much as a list of the objective benefits of an institution. They want to be sure that on top of receiving quality education and good career outcomes, they will belong on campus and have friends and fun.

Student ambassadors can provide accurate, current information about programmes, internships, costs of study, etc. and the subjective student experience. This is a superpower! Ambassadors provide the authenticity prospective students crave when deciding on where and what to study.

Why aren鈥檛 more universities using student ambassadors?

At this year鈥檚 黑料官网 Monitor Global Summit in London, an expert panel 鈥� George Grainger, co-founder of Alumnify; Sanna Heikkinen, marketing designer at the University of Oulu in Finland; and George Olesen, CEO of The Ambassador Platform 鈥� explored the benefits and challenges of student ambassador programmes.

Mr Grainger started off by highlighting why institutions need to consider ambassadors as part of their branding and outreach, saying, 鈥淧rospective students are willing to make a huge investment in study abroad, but you need more than traditional marketing to have them choose your university over all the other options they might be considering. Students want to hear the real stories and opinions of other students 鈥� student ambassadors are a unique opportunity.鈥�

The panelists also addressed a common worry that investing in an ambassador initiative could lead to unpredictable or unmeasurable ROI. For example, maybe one ambassador would prompt a conversion, while others would not, or maybe an ambassador could even damage the brand by providing inaccurate information by mistake or sharing a video that is too silly or even inappropriate.

The solution, agreed panelists, is to commit to a serious onboarding system and continuous support. Mr Grainger explained that you can鈥檛 just expect ambassadors to know how to represent your institution without preparing them:

鈥淭raining is so important for outcomes. We start with a four-hour bootcamp where we get ambassadors into the nuts and bolts of how to recruit. We explore how to communicate with different stakeholders. We do scenario training, where for example we take on the role of a difficult student or a difficult parent and then help ambassadors learn how best to handle the situation.鈥�

Ms Heikkinen said that in her experience, involving ambassadors across marketing functions and activities is great for engagement and results:

鈥淲e connect all our marketing activities and design them to be complementary. So our ambassadors contribute to ideas for the website, they gather student testimonials and create videos. They play a role in webinars, open days, high school visits, social media, and more. They鈥檙e involved in agent cooperation and study fairs. They are integrated because they are part of our team.鈥�

Treating ambassadors as valued, important professionals will encourage the results you are looking for. In addition to improved conversions, ROI will come from a strengthened position in key target markets and a reputation as a brand that students can trust.

Five key steps to driving ROI

1. Compensate your ambassadors. Paying them professionalises their job. By paying them fairly, you get to set tasks and responsibilities and require accountability. If ambassadors are simply asked to help out of the goodness of their hearts or for a bullet on their resume, they may deliver variable results. They could hit it out of the park here and there but then fade away when they are busy or distracted. If cost is an issue, start small 鈥� even 3-5 ambassadors for your top target markets can make a huge difference.

2. Commit to the relationship. Attach a contract to the work, with a start-and-end date and with regular performance and check-in meetings. Create a list of weekly/monthly tasks the ambassador is required to complete. As George Grainger said, 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 build in regularity to the relationship, you run into situations like when all of a sudden, after not contacting an ambassador for months, you need them to attend an event. That鈥檚 probably not going to work.鈥�

3. Choose wisely. Career outcomes are crucial to prospective students. Choose students
excelling in programmes you want to promote overseas or alumni who have secured great jobs after graduating. In addition, choose:

• Students and alumni who are passionate about what going to your school has done for them. Those people are going to be the most engaging, authentic, and persuasive.
• Current students or recent alumni. Someone who graduated 5 years ago instead of 12 months ago won鈥檛 have the same fresh take on studying at your university or school.
• People who are good communicators and presenters.

4. Train and nurture. Develop a rigorous onboarding programme for your ambassadors,
since ideally, they will serve as an extension of your marketing team. Provide comprehensive training, have your staff welcome them, and make them feel valued. Consider ambassadors part of your 360-degree branding: show them how they can support all other functions (e.g., agents and in-country representatives, digital campaigns, social media posts, etc.).

5. Clarify and prepare. Clearly define what kind and tone of content the ambassador can create to represent your school, and delineate what they can and cannot say to students. Then, provide them with a set script so they can confidently direct sensitive questions (e.g., immigration-related) to appropriate staff members. For many activities such as fairs, online discussions, and events, ask your ambassadors to have their laptop open so they can easily and quickly pull up accurate information about a wide variety of programmes, tuition fees, accommodation, etc.

For additional background, please see:

• “How to build a better peer recruitment programme“
• “The peer-to-peer effect in international student recruitment“

The post Five key steps to driving ROI from your student ambassador programme appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The twenty years between 1990 and 2010 saw a rapid expansion of student mobility. The number of students pursuing higher education credentials abroad increased by 5.4鈥�5.9% per year, on average 鈥� a much higher rate of growth than in the previous two decades. The reason, in a word, was China.

China was the main contributor to student mobility growth from 1970 until about 2015 on the back of its roaring economy, burgeoning middle class, and massive gaps between student demand for higher education and capacity at reputable Chinese universities. These factors propelled large numbers of Chinese students abroad for many years. Most of them were self-funded, and many of them were just as likely to return home after their studies as they were to stay on in their host destination to work.

Chinese students shaped educators鈥� understanding of international students in general. Their priorities were assumed to be foreign students鈥� priorities鈥ntil fairly recently.

Evolving needs

Now, students鈥� top-of-mind concerns centre on the costs of study abroad. This manifests in several ways, including interest in work opportunities during and after study abroad, greater price sensitivity in the marketplace, and the growing popularity of affordable study destinations.

Chinese students are no exception. China鈥檚 economy has cooled in recent years and its youth face historically high unemployment rates. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese families became more hesitant about study abroad, more worried about safety, and less convinced that investing in a foreign degree will provide the same benefits as it used to.

New expectations

The composition of foreign enrolment in many destinations has changed substantially over the past 10 years. There is a far greater diversity of students coming from all over the world and much greater outbound flows from South Asia and Africa.

Tens of thousands of students are now from lower-middle-income countries in which the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is between US$1,136 and $4,495. These dynamic sending markets include Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, and at least a dozen others. In Nepal, fully one in five students now chooses to leave their country for tertiary education.

Considering the low GNI in those countries, there is an associated need among many students to work during and after studies; to carefully examine the costs of study and living in various study destinations; and to choose programmes most strongly linked to positive career outcomes.

Inside the numbers

In 2010, there were just over four million students abroad in higher education. Roughly 1.3 million 鈥� almost 31% of the total 鈥� were from China, and in that year alone, the number of Chinese outbound students surged by 24%.

That same year, there were just over 330,000 students from South Asia studying abroad, with most coming from India. The number of African students was about the same.

By 2019, the global total of international students rose to six million. Nearly three in ten (28%) were from China, but roughly as many were from key markets in South Asia 鈥� including over a million from India. Meanwhile, the number of African students abroad reached nearly half a million.

By 2024, student mobility had rebounded from the pandemic, and almost seven million students were abroad. However, a much greater range of countries contributed to that outbound trend than in 2010 and 2019. The number of Chinese students dipped to just over one million (or about 14% of the total) while the number of Indian students climbed to an estimated 1.3 million, representing nearly 19% of the total in 2024. Other South Asian markets 鈥� notably Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka 鈥� also registered very strong growth.

Buffeted by economic headwinds at home, the number of African students did not grow significantly in the five years between 2019 and 2024. However, given its massive college-aged population, Africa is expected to figure much more prominently in global mobility trends going forward. To highlight just one indicator of that potential, the United Nations has projected that by 2030, one of every four people on the planet aged 15-24 will live in Africa.

Implications

We have entered an era in which global student flows are heavily shaped by students from South Asia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

This accelerating trend means that the historical understanding of international students 鈥� largely informed by the Chinese students who once greatly outnumbered students from other countries 鈥� is outdated. The reality is that the world鈥檚 mobile students are more heterogeneous than ever 鈥� from varied backgrounds and with unique as
well as common needs.

It is time to double down on brainstorming about how to enhance the study abroad experience for a more diverse range of students. This means creating more detailed student personas; conducting more market intelligence research; reaching out to current international students for insights; examining the range of student services on offer; prioritising integration services; tailoring the website to address concerns and aspirations in top target markets; providing better guidance on immigration rules and visas; and more. It also involves recognising that work rights, career services, and career outcomes have joined quality of education as dominant drivers of student decision-making.

The international students of today 鈥� and of the future 鈥� will be shopping the market for value and measurable outcomes more carefully than ever before. The most competitive institutions will deliver that ROI in every facet of their offer to students.

For additional background, please see:

• “What students want: The top decision factors for study abroad“
• “The four key trends that will shape international student mobility for the next decade“

The post The changing face of international student mobility appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

More than seven million students are currently enrolled in higher education abroad. This number has more than tripled since the turn of the century, and it is expected to reach nine million by 2030.

Underlying this growth are different circumstances than in the past, including a changed student mindset about the value of education.

To be more concrete, let us put ourselves in the shoes of just one person: an upper secondary student in Vietnam. She is set to graduate next year and hopes to go abroad for university studies. Over the next few months, she talks with her parents and friends; spends hours online researching programmes, institutions, and destinations; and chats with student ambassadors and alumni on social channels. She attends meetings with her school counsellor and visits a local education agency as well. In no time, she has a longlist of potential countries, cities, universities, and programmes.

But now what? How does she narrow the field of options? What motivates her to apply to one institution versus another? These are the questions that determine the shape of international student mobility.

The want list is longer now

Traditionally, students have prioritised goals such as international and intercultural experience, foreign language acquisition, and the prestige of a degree from a particular institution.

These goals remain influential. However, they are now often secondary to financial considerations and value for money. Global surveys by IDP, Etio, QS, Keystone, and Studyportals find that top concerns centre on cost of living, cost of studying, scholarships, work opportunities, and graduate outcomes, which are all linked to an emphasis on affordability and return on investment (ROI).

It isn鈥檛 that these concerns are new. Rather, what is important here is that affordability and ROI have risen significantly as factors that affect where in the world students decide to study, and in which programmes.

In some respects, this greater focus on ROI is changing the value proposition for study abroad. It affects, for instance, how students evaluate quality of education. For example, IDP鈥檚 Emerging Futures 聴 survey conducted in March found that students increasingly equate quality of education with graduate outcomes.

Other indicators of quality 鈥� such as rankings 鈥� are still important. But IDP鈥檚 findings underline that students are looking beyond traditional indicators to ask, 鈥淲hat can I really expect?鈥� 鈥淲hat am I going to get from this experience?鈥� 鈥淲hat will this mean for my future prospects?鈥�

Affordable destinations

The quest for affordability is a primary reason for the growing interest in destinations other than the 鈥淏ig Four鈥� (i.e., United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia).

As the Big Four have introduced more restrictive immigration policies, other countries 鈥� especially in Europe and Asia 鈥� have opened wide their doors. And it just so happens that many of these countries offer relatively low costs of study and living.

The following table provides a summary of undergraduate fees and accommodation costs in selected destinations, and it illustrates significant price gaps across the international education market.

We should note that costs for an individual student may still vary quite a bit within a given destination. Some fields of study are more pricey than others, smaller towns and cities are less expensive than major urban centres, and some students will have scholarships or other financial support from their host institution/country or home country. But the table鈥檚 broad comparisons reveal the wide spectrum of choice available to students with various budgets.

Factors affecting ROI

Costs of study and living are only part of what students consider when evaluating where to put their investment in study abroad. Students also look at available scholarships, the number of hours per week they can work while in their programmes, and the length of time they can work in a destination after graduation.

A recent analysis by INTO University Partnerships shows that beyond programme and institution choice, students鈥� post-study decisions 鈥� e.g., whether to emigrate, work for a couple of years in the destination country after graduation, or return home immediately 鈥� bear considerably on the time it takes to 鈥渆arn back鈥� the cost of an overseas education.

An undergraduate student from China, for example, who studies at a Go8 institution in Australia could expect it to take 3.5 years to recover study costs if they remained in Australia, 6 years if they worked for a couple of years before returning home, and 9.5 years if they went straight home after graduation.

But for an Indian student enrolled in that same Go8 university, it would take much longer to recover the cost of study unless they remained in Australia for good after completing their programme. In fact, it could take 18 years if they returned to India immediately after graduation, in part because the salaries afforded by the Indian labour market are often lower than in China.

Even across the two countries of origin and the five study options outlined on these charts, there is a tremendous range in that earn-back period. Now extend that to more countries of origin and destinations, and you get a sense of the complexity of decision-making facing students today.

INTO鈥檚 model also underlines the high stakes associated with a student鈥檚 choice of where and how they study. Their decision has serious implications for their future prosperity and wellbeing.

What is driving price sensitivity?

Macroeconomic trends such as trade wars, conflicts, and global warming-induced calamities such as droughts and flooding have a wide geographical and financial impact.

Consumers in both advanced and emerging markets are experiencing the effects of these global events. Inflation, rising food and housing costs, and rapidly changing labour markets are among the factors that impinge upon families鈥� disposable income.

The other factor in play here is that the composition of the international student body has shifted quite a bit over the last 10 or 15 years, and it’s continuing to shift in terms of where students are coming from.

In 2010, there were just about four million students abroad in higher education. Just under a third of those were from China. And as I said earlier, China was the driver of global growth in international mobility for a couple of decades.

Just think for a minute about the profile of those students coming out of China. They’re supported by a burgeoning economy, by an exploding middle class. They were self-funded, they were able to return to their home country and have an expectation of a higher earning potential.

In 2024, with more like seven million students abroad in higher education, only 14% of that total now comes from China, another 19% from India.

And indeed, the lion’s share of that international student body writ large is now coming from South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

This includes a greater mix of students who are loan-funded or who are funded with family support or by scholarships. They come with very different needs and expectations. And, as Tim’s work demonstrates to us, they have a different earning potential at home. So that ROI calculation is necessarily different, depending on where you are coming from.

The foreign degree premium

A key factor influencing international student mobility is the value that students, families, and especially employers place on a foreign university degree. This value is in itself integral to the calculus of the expected ROI from study abroad.

Several determinants affect the premium linked to foreign credentials versus degrees earned at home. The weight given to each may vary according to the student鈥檚 home country. For example, if the student鈥檚 domestic higher education system is seen to be of poor quality and incapable of improving career prospects, then a foreign degree will carry more of a premium.

Similarly, if the domestic higher education system has limited capacity and cannot produce enough skilled graduates for a growing economy, there is an aspect of scarcity that enhances the competitiveness of degree holders generally and graduates of foreign institutions in particular.

This premium, however, is not in a steady state. The value of foreign credentials tends to fall if there is an increase in the number of foreign degree holders (which erodes the scarcity premium). It also tends to decline when the quality of the domestic higher education system improves (which narrows the 鈥渜uality gap鈥� between foreign and domestic credentials).

China is perhaps the best contemporary example we have in terms of how that foreign degree premium can shift over time.

From the late 1990s through the 2020s, capacity and quality in the Chinese higher education system grew at an unprecedented rate. Over roughly 30 years, gross enrolment rates rose from below 10% in 1998 to above 50% as of 2024.

Chinese tertiary institutions enrolled approximately 50 million students in 2024, making China the largest higher education system in the world.

Years from now, when we try to pinpoint when the ground really shifted in China regarding the value of foreign degrees, we might think of the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek.

Not only did DeepSeek develop large language models (LLMs) considered to be highly competitive with leading generative AI models (e.g., OpenAI鈥檚 ChatGPT-赂 and Google鈥檚 Gemini), but it also put its high-grade AI product into the market at (reportedly) less than 10% of OpenAI鈥檚 cost.

This arguably makes DeepSeek one of the most important and highest-profile technological advancements to come out of China for some time.

The story behind the story, however, is that there are almost no foreign graduates on the DeepSeek team. Every single member of the team completed their undergraduate degree in China, and of the 24 postgraduate degrees held by DeepSeek team members, only two were earned outside China. 鈥淭his would not have been the case 10 years ago,鈥� says Matt Durnin, a consultant in higher education and principal at Nous Group. 鈥淕o into a large or influential Chinese technology firm and you would鈥檝e at that time seen many more 鈥榮ea turtles鈥� (i.e., foreign-trained returnees). They鈥檙e less valued and less emphasised in key industries than they used to be.鈥�

This doesn鈥檛 mean that there are no longer opportunities for foreign universities to recruit in China. Far from it. But it does mean that Chinese students now assess the value of foreign degrees differently than they did even 10鈥� years ago.

The example of China illustrates that the perceived value of a foreign qualification can change over time.

Most importantly, it suggests that for an institution or programme to retain its premium, it must deliver outstanding student outcomes.

Graduate outcomes

Promoting great student outcomes is an opportunity that is within reach for virtually any institution. It happens as well that our understanding of career services 鈥� especially when and how they are provided and the value that they represent for students 鈥� is changing quite a bit. The range of services will vary from institution to institution, but it typically includes career readiness workshops, assistance in interview preparation and resume writing, counselling, networking events with employers, internships, and job fairs.

A crucial question for institutions is how best to provide solid career services before, during, and after studies to students from around the world. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot accommodate the reality that there is a huge range of international student profiles.

At the 黑料官网 Monitor Global Summit held in London in September, presenters and attendees discussed this very question. Sanam Arora is the chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) in the UK, and at the 黑料官网 Monitor conference, she emphasised the place that career outcomes have in the hierarchy of student decision-making inputs:

鈥淪eventy percent of Indians choose a destination of study on the basis of overall employability, and they have historically seen the UK or US in particular as a launchpad for global careers. In that sense, the definition of what it means to be educated has fundamentally changed. Universities that realise they鈥檙e not just here to educate, they鈥檙e here to be that global talent launchpad, will really ace this going forward.鈥�

She continues: 鈥淏efore I graduate, I want the university to help me prepare for a successful life. That is what I think of when I think of career services, because success in a career is not that different than success in life. Sometimes career services is seen as something that is off to the side or in a corner, but really it needs to be embedded end-to-end throughout the entire student life cycle.鈥�

A longer window for career supports

Career services used to be introduced as a transition support for soon-to-be-graduates. Now, the window for career supports might begin even before the student has an admissions offer. For example, an institution might send information to applicants (or even pre-applicants) about internship programmes, and it might also offer pre-admission courses or career-readiness training.

At City St George鈥檚, University of London, career services begin as soon as a student has received an admissions offer. The prospective student with the admissions offer may not convert into an enrolment for months, but the university recognises the competitive edge gained from giving that student access to career services right as they are choosing where to study.

Offering career supports at the pre-enrolment stage engages students in the areas they value most, and it draws them to a decision more quickly. If a student has offers from multiple universities, they are most likely to narrow their focus to the one that best highlights post-graduation outcomes.

What鈥檚 more, students who have received career-based information before they enrol are more likely to arrive on campus feeling positive, prepared, and informed.

Career services can also extend beyond the last day of a study programme. The University of Southampton, for example, provides career supports up to five years after graduation. The University of Edinburgh takes the idea even further by offering lifelong career support to alumni through a Career Services and Alumni Services platform that includes access to online resources and advice, career events, networking opportunities, and individual counselling support.

In this context, many students will also place a premium on work integrated learning, such as co-op or practicum placements. We have seen this becoming a bigger part of post-secondary offerings in recent years and I think this is a trend we can expect to continue as well.

The problem with numbers

It is widely acknowledged that there are significant data gaps across international education. In most countries, institutions generally don鈥檛 have enough information on how students are recruited; what they choose to study; how they perform in their studies; whether they graduate and how long it takes them; how often they obtain jobs linked to their programmes; and to what extent they are satisfied with their career outcomes.

This poses a significant problem for international educators who hope to develop evidence-based strategies for recruitment and retention. But lack of data is an even bigger problem for students, because data is what they want and expect when making study abroad decisions.

US institutions have an edge. 鈥淲e are swimming in data,鈥� says Dr Di Maria. 鈥淲e have data on everything because we鈥檙e required by the US government to track what students are doing. More accurately, there鈥檚 a requirement to report on the activities. There鈥檚 not necessarily a requirement to report on success. But at our institution, we鈥檙e tracking both. So that allows me to know that 93% of our graduates are employed and/or pursuing further education within six months [of graduation]. We know the salaries. We know that about 60% of our students interned first at the company where they are now employed. We know 75% of our graduates stay in Maryland and 83% in the Capital Region (Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia).鈥�

Any of us reading those proof points knows how compelling they are for prospective students, current students, alumni, institutions, employers, and parents alike.

This brings us full circle to where we started. If career outcomes are the top priority for international students, it follows that institutions should prioritise outcomes in recruitment strategies, programmes, and services. Collecting better data on student success and graduation will go a long way towards achieving that alignment鈥nd towards giving students what they want.

The post What students want: The top decision factors for study abroad appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Ask 10 people working in our industry what 鈥渋nternationalisation鈥� means, and you鈥檒l get 10 answers. For some, it simply means attracting a certain volume of foreign students to a campus. For others, the goal is broader: programmes, campus, and partnerships are designed to have a global flavour.

At the government level, the concept of internationalisation changes over time and according to considerations that include foreign enrolment growth rates, labour market gaps, demographics, geo-politics, domestic politics, and the need to participate in global science or research projects.

The official international education strategies highlighted below emphasise the great extent to which foreign students figure into larger narratives around globalisation, security, and soft power. As those narratives evolve, so too do the strategies.

Australia

Strategy for International Education 2021鈥�2030

Priorities

• Pursue sustainable growth1
• Diversify student nationalities
• Meet national skills needs
• Enhance student experience
• Improve global competitiveness

International enrolment goal

Australia is implementing an effective cap on the number of new students beginning in 2025.

Target markets

Not specified.

International student population (2023)

786,900 (+27% y-o-y)

Canada

International Education Strategy 2019鈥�2024 (now expired; an updated strategy is pending)

Priorities

• Encourage Canadian students to go abroad, especially to Asia
• Diversify (source countries and students鈥� fields, levels of study, and locations of study within Canada)
• Increase support for Canadian educators
• Increase scrutiny and regulation of agents
• Invest more in digital marketing

International enrolment goal

No stated goal currently. Rather, the national government introduced a cap on new study permits for 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Target markets

Brazil, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam.

International student population (2023)

1,041,000 (+29% y-o-y)

France

Bienvenue en France

Priorities

• Diversify beyond Africa
• Triple scholarships
• Simplify visa processes
• Make it easier for students to find housing
• Increase French campuses/partnerships abroad

International enrolment goal

500,000 international students by 2027.

Target markets

Expand recruiting outside Africa.

International student population (2023)

430,500 (+5% y-o-y)

Germany

Strategy 2025

Priorities

• Make Germany a top five study abroad destination
• Increase academic success of international students
• Increase share of international academics at German universities to 15%
• Encourage German students to study abroad
• Invest in more collaboration with foreign institutions

International enrolment goal

350,000 international students by 2020 鈥� met in 2021.

Target markets

Not specified.

International student population (2023)

367,600 (+5% y-o-y)

Ireland

Global Citizens 2030

Priorities

• Attract the highest quality students and researchers
• Adopt a 鈥渕oderate鈥� growth strategy of about 10%
• Position Ireland as a thought leader in talent, innovation, and science policy in 鈥渟mall advanced economies鈥�
• Enhance student experience
• Measure impact of international students beyond enrolments and economic value

International enrolment goal

15% of overall student population by 2025 鈥� nearly met (international students now compose 14% of overall student population).

Target markets

Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Africa, South America

International student population (2023)

35,100 (+11% y-o-y)

Japan

Council for the Creation of Future Education Goals

Priorities

• Improve learning environments to attract promising foreign students
• Send 500,000 Japanese students abroad by 2033
• Develop a multinational labour market
• Make it easier for foreign graduates of top 100 universities to immigrate
• Streamline visa processes

International enrolment goal

400,000 by 2033.

Target markets

Not specified.

International student population (2023)

279,300 (+21% y-o-y)

Malaysia

Education Blueprint 2015鈥�2025

Priorities

• Claim position as an international education hub with a difference: values-driven and globally relevant education
• Provide rich cultural experiences, balance of quality and affordability, and good quality of life
• Reach new markets through innovative programmes and partnerships
• Improve and streamline visa and immigration processes
• Communicate niche strengths in academic and research expertise (e.g., Islamic banking and finance, and tropical-related science and technology)

International enrolment goal

250,000 by 2025.

Target markets

Iran, East Africa, China, India, Indonesia.

International student population (2023)

Over 170,000 (+30% over 2021)

South Korea

Study Korea 300K Project

Priorities

• Expand scholarships for STEM students
• Stimulate economy through foreign talent
• Enhance global competitiveness of domestic universities and high-tech companies
• Become a top 10 鈥渟tudy abroad powerhouse鈥�
• Increase Korea鈥檚 share of the global study abroad market from 2% to 3%

International enrolment goal

300,000 by 2027.

Target markets

China, Vietnam, Poland, UAE, India, Pakistan.

International student population (2023)

207,100 (+24% y-o-y)

New Zealand

International Education Strategy 2022鈥�2030

Priorities

• Diversify sending markets and products, services, and modes of delivery
• Spread out international enrolments across regions
• Prioritise student well-being and excellence of education
• Commit to a sustainable sector that brings economic, social, and cultural benefits to the whole country
• Retain talented international graduates

International enrolment goal

None specified.

Target markets

China, India, and intent to diversify further.

International student population (2023)

69,100 (+67% y-o-y)

United Kingdom

International Education Strategy to 2030 (2023 Progress Update)

Priorities

• Increase education exports to 拢35 billion per year by 2030
• Host 600,000 international students per year
• Expand transnational education
• Collect accurate and coherent data for the sector
• Improve visa processes for students, including increased personalisation

International enrolment goal

600,000 by 2030 鈥� met in 2020.

Target markets

China, Hong Kong, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

International student population (2023)

758,855 (+12% y-o-y)

The post Tracking the internationalisation goals for 10 leading destinations appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

If you think about it, one of the most pressing questions we all want answers to is, 鈥淲hat do students really care about when making study abroad decisions?鈥�

The answers will differ based on factors including a student鈥檚 country of origin, degree of financial security, and intention to return home or seek permanent residence in a new country. But if we take a macro lens and explore significant global research conducted this year, we get insights into common themes to consider when recruiting and hosting students.

Practical priorities

Keystone Education Group鈥檚 survey asked more than 27,000 students not just what they consider when comparing institutions, but also what matters to them in a programme.

There are some clear implications in the graphic above. For example:

At the institution level:

• Gather and communicate data on graduate employment outcomes. If this is hard to come by, feature successful alumni in marketing campaigns.
• Highlight rankings. If programme/field rankings are more impressive than institutional rankings, focus on those.
• Understand that accommodation is a top five issue for students researching institutions. Good student housing is a competitive differentiator.

At the programme level:

• Programmes become more competitive if they have an internship/work placement component. This priority was cited 46% more in 2024 than in 2023.
• Students need to know about funding and fees sooner rather than later. Don鈥檛 make them hunt for answers in these areas, and don鈥檛 let them (or you) be surprised late in the game when they realise they can鈥檛 afford your programme after all.

Speed matters

One of the statistics we saw cited the most this year is Keystone鈥檚 finding that 85% of students expect a response within 24 hours 鈥� a 35% increase over 2023. What鈥檚 more, 17% expect a response immediately, up 55% since 2023.

Student recruitment firms Edified and Uniquest collaborated on the 2024 edition of the Enquiry Experience Tracker mystery shopping survey, which found that too many student leads are being neglected. Six international student personas 鈥渟hopped鈥� 102 institutions in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America. They submitted their questions through enquiry forms, live chat, social media, email, and peer-topeer platforms. The highlights on the left show where there is room for improvement.

Efficient staff structures, a well-implemented customer relationship system, and AI tools can help to respond to the need for speed in international student recruitment.

Communication is crucial

IDP Education conducted important research this year looking at how much international students are influenced by government policies in destination countries. The answer: a lot.

Institutions and associations must continue to advocate for responsible policies that address immigration needs without damaging the ability of countries to attract talented international students. At the same time, institutions and agencies must endeavour to communicate policies in a timely and accurate manner to students and to provide expert advice on applying to programmes that offer them the highest chance of being accepted.

Open to alternatives

During the pandemic, students got used to having back-ups to their preferred destination 鈥� and to thoroughly researching border policies, vaccination and test requirements, and rules about on-campus study. These research habits are proving useful again.

In response to quickly changing immigration environments, students are:

• Exploring alternative places to study, researching cost of living, fees, visa rules, etc.;
• Looking into programmes tied to labour market demand. Canada and New Zealand are two examples of countries that now tie better post-graduation work rights to programmes leading to specific occupations (and those occupations are not always STEM-based).

In addition, a 2024 QS survey of more than 11,000 international students interested in business schools found that demand is spiking for programmes that:

• Include a focus in other fields, reflecting the niche and increasingly specialised needs of global employers;
• Have a sustainability orientation. The survey found that an institution鈥檚 commitment to sustainable values (including the UN鈥檚 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs) is now a top three factor affecting students鈥� choice of institution.

The QS research suggests that there is an urgency to informing students about niche potentials of programmes. Think of ways to market programmes in a creative light that goes well beyond mere description.

Eager for ROI

Students choose to study abroad for many reasons, but research shows time and again that employability is the top driver. For the past five years, for example, 鈥渇uture career impact鈥� has topped the list of student motivations (96%) on Etio鈥檚 (ISB). This year, the ISB included 122,975 international students studying at 155 institutions in 24 countries, and as always, its data is definitely worth paying attention to.

Nannette Ripmeester, Etio鈥檚 director of client services for Europe and North America, wrote in 黑料官网 Monitor earlier this year:

鈥淲hat can institutions and providers do to support this quest for employability? Take employability skills seriously. Globalise your curricula, build in global orientation and skills training because that career workshop at the end of a study programme will not be enough to create employable graduates. Maybe it all starts with the understanding that, for recruitment of new students, you need to start at the end of the student journey by taking steps to ensure better graduate outcomes for your students.鈥�

Ms Ripmeester also believes that institutions 鈥� especially through their career services department 鈥� must help students to maximise the impact of their study abroad experience:

鈥淲hen we asked employers [in two Erasmus Impact studies] if they recruit students simply because they have studied abroad, 鈥� we found there is no guarantee that study abroad in itself makes someone employable 鈥� there is more needed to make that happen. For starters, a graduate should be able to explain what they have gained while being abroad and how these skills can support them in their new role. When graduates can unpack what they have gained abroad, employers become keener in hiring that person. When that graduate can 鈥榬epackage鈥� their skills in the language of a hiring manager (word of warning: there is no one-size-fits-all approach 鈥� this may differ per sector and per country), an employer is more likely to be interested in that graduate. After all, study abroad provides, by its very nature, situations where people develop the skills sought after by the future world of work.鈥�

Key takeaways

There is a theme running through these research findings: think like a student. Think about their priorities, how they make decisions, their demand for immediate answers, and their increasing willingness to consider alternative destinations and programmes. Consider their need to show employers why investing in study abroad was such a good decision. Successful alumni are perhaps the best asset you have. Their success can drive the sustainability of your programmes, your marketing, and your reputation in key target markets.

For additional background, please see:

• “The way forward: Shifting to a more strategic and student-centred recruitment“
• “Industry experts conclude that better recruitment results begin with a focus on student outcomes“
• “In a time of shifting student demand, a speedy response to enquiries is a must“
• “Is employability still the holy grail for the new generation of international students?“

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