The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is bearing the brunt of ��������’s retaliation because of its close Western ties. The region’s most important education hub and the world’s second-largest host of foreign/joint campuses after China, UAE is currently a country where schools and universities have been told to close until further notice and deliver classes online – out of an “abundance of caution.”

In less than a fortnight, Iranian strikes in the region have at times stranded international students and tourists trying to secure flights home; led prospective students who planned to study there to change their plans; and rattled institutions considering or already operating branch campuses in Dubai and elsewhere.

A spotlight on the risks of TNE

The past two years have witnessed a spike in interest among Western and Asian universities in transnational delivery modes such as branch campuses, joint programmes, articulation agreements, etc. New interest is particularly high in countries where government policies are affecting students’ ability to get a visa or to afford the costs of studying. Higher entry barriers for students have cut deeply into new international enrolments in Australia, Canada, and the US, prompting more universities in those countries to begin or extend programme delivery overseas.

But as interesting as transnational education opportunities can be, they also come with significant risks, and these are being highlighted by the growing footprint of this war. Some foreign universities operating branch campuses in UAE and other Gulf States – or considering doing so – are reassessing their plans because of concerns about staff safety, insurance, and margin for losses and disruption.

Speaking to about numerous Canadian institutions operating in UAE that have been caught up in the chaos, David Robinson, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, said:

“Clearly, the current conflict shows the risks facing universities in the region. There was always the danger of conflict that many institutions ignored. The illusion that the Gulf States were safe havens for Canadian and other foreign educational ventures has been shattered.”&�Բ�����; 

John Trudinger, a headteacher at a school in Dubai whose staff includes 100 Britons, told :  “The shine has definitely been taken off. ” He said that his British staff were “deeply traumatised and really struggling to cope” with the war and that they have left and won’t return.

Ambitions on hold

The war has also cast a pall on Middle Eastern states’ ambitions to attract foreign educator investment and international students to the region. Maia Chankseliani, professor of comparative and international education at the University of Oxford, told :

“Regional escalation is already raising the cost and complexity of internationalization for Gulf universities. It will prompt some partners to pause new campus commitments, intensify risk planning and make the higher education ambitions embedded in…national strategies more difficult to deliver on current timelines. There will be financial and reputational repercussions that outlast the immediate crisis, as in recent decades the Gulf states have positioned themselves deliberately as a serious site for higher education expansion, attracting branch campuses, research partnerships and internationally mobile students.”

A break in momentum

The Middle East – especially UAE – has been growing ever more popular among international students. Keystone Education Group reported that search volumes for the region were up +90% between March and June 2025, with the UAE accounting for about two-thirds of that surge.

India is by far the top market for universities and schools in the Gulf states, sending hundreds of thousands of students. According to agents interviewed last week by India’s , there is significant concern among Indian families about sending their children there. Sanjay Laul, founder of the recruitment platform MSM Unify, said: “About one-third of our applicants requested contingency discussions – deferrals, alternate intakes, or secondary destination options.”

Adarsh Khandelwal, the co-founder & director of Collegify, said that much will depend on timing. He predicted “a timing shock – deferrals, remote starts, and rerouting” rather than a “Canada-style volume shock.”

However, Studyportals reports that at the start of March, search traffic on its sites for study in Gulf countries was down -43% from the pre-conflict peak, and that the decline is ongoing.

Volatility continues

For international students, agents, and educators, the war is yet one more example of the challenging environment for making decisions about study plans or business strategies over the past couple of years.

The opportunities of transnational education and alternative destinations grew more compelling as immigration regimes tightened in the Big Four. But the current crisis reminds us that safety never goes away as the top concern for families considering study abroad. It also serves to illustrate the significant risk of operating a school or university in another country without always knowing if student and staff safety is as secure as it is at home.

Speaking with , higher education consultant Vincenzo Raimo noted that tensions in the Middle East tend to subside quickly once a deescalation process is agreed to, and that international educators are now very adept at pivoting in the face of disruption. Mr Raimo says the most likely lasting consequence of the Iran war in terms of transnational education activity is that there will be a slower rush to the gate among universities contemplating a new venture:

“[Any conflict] will mean greater board-level scrutiny, with leaders and governors seeking firmer assurance on scenario planning, duty of care for staff and students, and the implications for insurance, security costs, and reputation of perceptions of safety deteriorate.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Student mobility in MENA boosted by foreign partnerships and branch campuses”
• “Recruiting in the Emirates: Big goals, world-class education, and new scholarships”
• “UK transnational education enrolments poised to surpass onshore students this decade”&�Բ�����;

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• Access to undergraduate education in Iran has expanded massively over the past decade, but graduates have few opportunities for further studies in the country;
• Youth unemployment is a real problem.

Millions of Iranians with undergraduate degrees cannot find employment. So many Iranian youth have degrees from Iranian higher education institutions that the degrees aren’t providing them a competitive advantage to leverage with employers. Studying abroad for an additional degree – a master’s, a second master’s, or a PhD especially – is a better proposition for most than remaining in the country to find a job.

Public protests decrying the punishment of women who do not adhere to the Iranian Islamic clergy’s strict dress requirements have spiralled into a generalised demonstration of anger at the way the country is being run. In 2023, demand may be higher than ever in Iran for study abroad, but there are challenges to recruiting in this iron-clad theocratic regime, not the least because the government is clamping down so tightly on social media and websites in general.

Working with trusted agents and building relationships with key Iranian officials and school contacts is crucial. The Iranian government has been aware of a “brain drain” problem for years, and despite tensions with the West, is attempting to address the issue by striking partnerships with international institutions in the delivery of doctoral degrees. In these scenarios, studies are balanced between Iranian and foreign universities. WENR has noted, “Schools who can establish these sorts of links may find it easier to gain access to the market.”

Fast facts

Geography: Iran is located on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and is a strategic geographical meeting point joining Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. It is bordered by Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan (east), Iraq (west), and Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijan-Nakhichevan exclave (north).

Official language: Persian (Farsi). Turkish, or Turkish dialects are also spoken by about 18% of the population, and many Iranians are fluent in English and French.

Language of instruction: In addition to Farsi, students learn Arabic as the language of the Koran in grades 7-12, as well as one foreign language (usually English or French).

Governing bodies for education: At the secondary level, the overseeing body is the Ministry of Education. For non-medical higher education, it is the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. For medical institutions, universities, and teaching hospitals, it is the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education.

Religion: Islam. The government of Iran regards all Iranians as Shi’a Muslims and declares Iran to be officially Shi’ite.

Main student cities: Ahvaz, Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, Arak.

Population: 86.8 million. By 2060 the number of Iranian citizens is expected to peak at 105 million. Currently, more than 60% of the population is under 30 years old. In 2021, 27% of 15-24-year-olds were unemployed in Iran.

Economy: Iran ranks second in the world for natural gas reserves and fourth for oil reserves, but the World Bank considers it “relatively diversified” for an oil exporting country. However, one of the country’s key sectors – agriculture – has been underperforming because of the worsening effects of climate change (high temperatures and drought).

The mass public protests sparked by the death in detention of Mahsa Amini led to the Iranian currency – the rial – falling to its lowest level ever against the US dollar in December 2022. The protests also reflect widespread anger at the government (which is deeply influenced by its Islamic clergy) for skyrocketing prices of consumer items – especially food and medicine – and inflation. reports that people have recently been trading personal items online for food:

“‘My shirt for a few kilograms of rice,’” read one personal ad, as people who were considered middle class just four years ago, now cannot afford the most basic food items.'”

The economic chaos suggests that many Iranian families will be more price-sensitive than usual in 2023 when considering study abroad. Iranian students in Italy are reportedly having trouble paying tuition and are buying euros on the black market.

Students have been very active in the protests – a development that experts tell contrasts with “a decade of a politically dormant student movement in Iran.” Tehran University and Sharif University have been major sites of demonstrations.

Iranian students abroad who have supported the protests are concerned about having to return to Iran. One told Italy’s that:

“The Iranian regime’s choices affect many of our lives. To give an example: if Iranian boys do not receive the scholarship and are forced to return to Iran, they are forced to join the army because they left the country with an educational exemption. Also people who participated in anti-regime demonstrations face major political problems if they return to Iran, risking even prison or worse. For this we expect the Italian government and the international community to support us in the same way it has supported the Ukrainian and Afghan students in the past years, because, at the moment, we Iranian students have not received any support and we continue to be under pressure both of the Iranian government and of the laws that are here.”

Outbound mobility

Iran is a major sender of students to destinations including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Malaysia. The Iranian government says that in 2022, more than 95,000 Iranians studied abroad. Despite sending fewer students since former President Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran is still the 15th largest source market for American higher education institutions (9,295 students in 2021/22). It is a top 10 sender for Canada (16,900 students in 2021, up 21% year-over-year), Turkey (12,000 in 2022), Germany (10,560 in 2022), and Italy (4,580 in 2019).

Iran also has aspirations to attract more inbound students to its universities. In the summer of 2022, Mohammad Javad Salmanpour, the deputy head of the Organization for Student Affairs, stated, “Iran has the ability and capacity to have more than 250,000 foreign students by 2026.”

Push factors

��������’s reports that, “In recent years, the unemployment rate for new graduates in Iran has topped 50%.”

The market is saturated with degree-holding students, many of whom will have credentials from subpar private colleges. WENR reports:

“As economists Djavad Salehi-Isfahani and Daniel Egel have noted, ��������’s education system more ‘resembles … a giant diploma mill than a dynamic sector, training workers in skills needed by the global economy. … [P]roper teaching of English and computer skills is an extra-curricular activity for most students and available only to those whose parents can afford to pay for evening and summer courses in private institutions.’”

As they struggle to figure out ways to parlay their education into meaningful jobs in Iran, young Iranians are aware that there is much more opportunity elsewhere. MigrationPolicy.org reports:

“Iranians abroad tend to be well educated and earn high incomes. Nearly 60 percent of Iranian immigrants in the United States had at least a bachelor’s degree as of 2019, with more than 30 percent holding a graduate or professional degree. Iranian immigrants’ median household income was nearly $79,000 in 2019, significantly more than U.S.-born residents ($66,000) and immigrants overall (nearly $64,000). Likewise, more than 47 percent of Iranian asylum seekers living in Germany in 2018 had a university degree, the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said in a recent report.”

Challenges and opportunities

Because of the protests, the Iranian government has increased its censorship of expression and foreign content and the press even more than it already did … and that is saying a lot. In July 2022, according to the 20th World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Iran was ranked lower than all countries other than Eritrea and North Korea.

The list of banned websites and apps is now longer than ever, and Iranians are even having trouble accessing international websites with sections translated into Farsi.

Iranians are currently not permitted to access:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Discord
• Instagram (a recent ban)
• WhatsApp (also a recent ban)

The banning of Instagram and WhatsApp is particularly troublesome given Iranian students’ fondness for these apps. The state-run Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA) conducted a survey in 2021 that found that 74% of Iranians aged 18+ use social media, with WhatsApp (64%), Instagram (45%), and Telegram (36%) the most popular. Iranian social platforms are far less popular, with only 5% reporting use of these platforms.

Despite the government’s increasing censorship of the Internet and apps, it is still important to develop customised web content for Iranian students. Iran International reports that “Nearly every Iranian with a smartphone has installed anti-filtering software that allows access to filtered applications and websites.” Those Iranian students who are determined to study abroad will be doing their best to find a way to check out foreign institutions’ websites.

Still, the highly controlled digital environment in Iran means that engaging with trusted agents is an absolute must – agents can help with building relationships with key partners in Iran, from government officials to good schools and universities. Two important things to note:

1. To be eligible to recruit Iranian students, a foreign college or university must be accredited by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.
2. Agencies can recruit students for a maximum of 3 countries and are regulated by the Iranian Society of Student Recruitment Initiatives (SSRI).

Girls and women have as much access to secondary and tertiary education in Iran as men do, and the Iranian government reports that women make up more than 60% of the student population in the country’s universities.

Key dates

��������’s secondary school and university calendar runs from September to June, with the first semester running September-January and the second semester taking place from February–June. Secondary school students can only gain entrance to teritary studies by passing the national university entrance exam, the “Konkur.”

Students begin exploring study abroad options two years prior to their intended start date, according to Intead, and therefore campaigns and other efforts to attract them should begin at this time. Outreach should gear up when students begin applying to schools – from September to December prior to their start date.

Where the students are

At least 50% of university students are enrolled in the mega-institutions Islamic Azad University (a private institution with 400 campuses across the country enrolling close to 2 million students) and Payam Nur University (providing distance education to over 800,000 students).

In addition, more than 50 public universities and institutes are overseen by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, and there are more than 300 private institutions. A list of universities .

Another very useful link is the – which uses the following criteria:

• The university must be chartered, licensed or accredited by the appropriate Iranian higher education-related organisation;
• It must offer at least four-year undergraduate degrees (bachelor degrees) or postgraduate degrees (master or doctoral degrees);
• It must deliver courses predominantly in a traditional, face-to-face, non-distance education format.

In terms of degree equivalency, the Iranian government provides the following details:

• Kardani: 2-year programme equivalent to the associate degree;
• Karshenasi: 4-year programme equivalent to the bachelor’s degree;
• Karshenasi Arshad: 2-year programme beyond the Karshenasi equivalent to the master’s degree;
• Doctora: 3-year programme equivalent to the PhD degree;
• Specialised Doctorates: Degrees in dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, etc.

More detailed information on these programmes .

As for grading, the government explains:

“In Iran, the grading system is based on a 0-20 scale. At the elementary, secondary, and undergraduate levels, an average grade of 10 is a minimum required passing grade. The minimum average grade at the graduate level is 12, and in doctoral programs, the cut-off score stands at 14.”

At the secondary level, students considering study abroad will be studying at the “upper secondary” level (Grades 10-12) and will be aged 15–17/18. They will have chosen either the “theoretical (academic) branch” which prepares students for university, and includes focuses in mathematics/physics, biology/experimental sciences, and humanities, or the “vocational branch” (which the government says “prepares students to go into the business market as semi-skilled and skilled workers”).

The literacy rate for Iranians aged 15 and up is 86%.

A final note

Recruiting in Iran is more complicated than in many other countries, especially in the current context of widespread protests and a regime struggling to control them. A careful approach is necessary, especially given that government approval is required for foreign institutions to recruit in the country. With high demand among Iranian students for study abroad, however, many institutions are betting that the extra time and consideration needed to enter this market are well worth it.

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A number of destinations, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, , and , have travel bans in place. This provides an overview of travel restrictions in place as of 29 February.

Editor’s note: Bans on travel, and on large public gatherings, will be changing daily so make sure to check the news regarding any destination you may be travelling to or receiving students from. For example, currently Australia is reviewing and revising its travel bans weekly and New Zealand is doing the same every two days.

In the US, the world’s largest host of international students, are reporting that students have been exposed to places where confirmed cases of coronaviruses have been reported, and/or asked to self-quarantine.

Then there are the complete shutdowns. Some schools are in an effort to stop the virus’s spread, including in the US.

Others are turning to online classes to maintain some alternate programming for students affected by closures, travel restrictions, or quarantines. For example, Duke University’s Duke Kunshan campus, established in 2013 in partnership with Wuhan University of China, is now an online-only university “until further notice.” Hundreds of students who have dispersed from Wuhan due to the outbreak to other countries will now pursue their studies at Duke through virtual classrooms, labs, and discussion groups. Similarly, New York University is now offering an online programme for its Shanghai campus.

The abrupt switch to online-only learning has been a big test for university executives and faculty. For example, Jace Hargis, director of the NYU Shanghai Teaching and Learning Center, noted that almost 90% of faculty had little to no experience of teaching online. Speaking to , he added:

“Before day one, a lot of faculty said they were feeling a bit anxious. They weren’t sure what students would think. Now they’re feeling a lot better.”

Asian countries hit hard

Across Asia, entrance exams for universities have been delayed, which may eventually affect the 2020 intake of first-year students. In Japan, schools have been ordered to close until mid-April, and Hong Kong has also suspended classes until late-April.

Meanwhile in China, provinces will reopen schools at varying times in the coming weeks to stagger the influx of students; it will be a serious test of how well the virus has been controlled through the strict measures the country has had in place for weeks. In Wuhan, China, the hardest-hit region in the world, universities will not open until at least 20 April and will then have to offer classes online for at least three weeks.

Exchange programmes cancelled

Italy is a major study abroad destination, particularly for students seeking to learn Italian or to soak up Italy’s unique landscape and culture. In the wake of high infection rates in some parts of Italy, however, these programmes are now also under pressure. Syracuse University is closing its campus in Florence, and New York University (NYU) has also closed its Florence campus.

The Italian government is doing what it can to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, which is currently most prevalent in the northern part of the country. One significant measure has been both within Italy and to other countries until at least 16 March. This will impact ELT schools in Europe – in the UK in particular – for which Italy is a leading sending market, especially for juniors, and to a lesser extent Malta and Ireland.

Most still planning to study abroad

In a new survey of 2,000+ students from Africa, Asia, and Australasia by , nearly 3 in 10 (27%) said that their plans had changed due to the virus, while a much greater proportion (61%) said their plans to study abroad were not affected as yet by COVID-19.

Of those students who said their plans had changed, 37% said the multi-country outbreaks have made them decide to defer their entry until next year, while 33% said they are now going to choose an alternate destination for study abroad. Just over 11% of those whose plans had changed said that they no longer wanted to study abroad.

Nunzio Quacquarelli, QS’s CEO, said in a related statement:

“Today’s findings come at a crucial time for the global higher education sector, as universities start planning for the next academic year. The data suggests that although the coronavirus is creating a great deal of uncertainty, the impact is mostly one of timing. In response, the sector should aim to be flexible on application deadlines and delayed start dates.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Coronavirus update: Educators adjusting deadlines and programmes; agents provide their perspective”
• “Coronavirus update: Schools and universities brace for impact amid global response”
• “Coronavirus triggers travel restrictions and other countermeasures”

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But tensions are high between the two countries following the US government’s assassination of the top Iranian military commander, General Qasem Soleimani, on 3 January, and ��������’s subsequent missile attack on two US forces airbases in Iraq. Hours after the strike, the Iranian military accidentally , killing 176 civilians, in what appears to be a tragic by-product of escalating military tensions in the region.

More recently, Iranian students with dreams of studying in the US are also paying a heavy price. There are growing reports of Iranian students with valid study visas being either detained by customs officials upon their arrival in the US and forced to leave the country or, in other cases, stopped from boarding flights headed to the US.

Detained then deported

For example, on 20 January, Mohammad Shahab Dehghani Hossein Abadi, a visa-holding Iranian student headed for Northeastern University, was turned away at Boston airport and forced to leave the country via a flight to Paris. The New York Times reports that “flight attendants on the trip back held onto his cellphone and travel documents and refused to give them to him until he reached Paris.”

The situation is even more extraordinary in that Mr Hossein Abadi – who had already been studying in the US for two years – engaged a lawyer who then secured a court order to stay his removal from the US. However, either the timing or interpretation of that order failed to prevent US officials from putting him on a flight back out of the country. Northeastern University is attempting to help the student and return him to campus, but with little success:

“We still have not received a satisfactory explanation from Customs and Border Protection for this action. We believe that a clear explanation is needed, especially because the deportation took place after a 48-hour extension was granted by a federal judge. Only in the most extreme instances should students have their academic pursuits interrupted by government intervention.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) counts at least 10 Iranian students who have been turned back at US airports since August 2019. Amin (who chose not to reveal his name to the New York Times) is one of them. He was stopped at a US airport, prevented from proceeding to his PhD programme at the University of Florida – deemed “inadmissible” because customs officials found that he had not disclosed a former school email address and a research paper he had authored on his visa application. During his detention at the Atlanta airport, Amin told the Times that, “he was placed in a chilly holding cell for six hours, then transported in cuffs and chains to an immigration detention facility in Georgia … the officers there ordered him to strip naked in front of them.”

The Times goes on to tell the stories of several other Iranian students refused entry, many who were forced to allow Customs and Border Protection officials into their social media accounts. The Los Angeles Times has also reported on nearly two dozen cases of Iranian students – again with valid visas – turning up at international airports only to be told they could not board their planes to the US.

Perhaps not surprisingly given the demand for graduate programmes abroad in Iran, many of the students in question are highly qualified and intending to begin or continue advanced degree studies or research in the United States.

Even so, there have also been many reports of incredibly long visa processing times and roadblocks for Iranian students, with “administrative processing” (i.e., additional screening) the typical answer provided for the waits, which can be as long as one year.

Student guidance published by the explains that, “Administrative processing is more common for academic programmes considered to be sensitive to US national security, such as Biotechnology or certain kinds of Engineering. Individuals that are citizens of countries considered by the US State Department to be state sponsors of terrorism can typically expect to receive administrative processing, and should apply early to avoid extensive delays to their visa application. The length of processing time varies, but can be as short as a week or as long as multiple months.” (Editor’s note: the US State Department has designated Iran as a since January 1984, and it remains one of only four countries in the world to be so designated.)

What customs officials are saying

The CBP generally doesn’t comment on individual cases. It has said in the case of Mr Hossein Abadi, for example, that “it was not at liberty to discuss an individual’s processing, and that it prohibits profiling on the basis of race or religion” but that it “is operating with an enhanced security posture.”

The agency adds:

“Every applicant for admission is subject to inspection upon arrival in the United States. The issuance of a visa or participation in the visa waiver program does not guarantee entry to the United States. Upon arrival at Logan Airport on Sunday, 19 January, [Hossein Abadi] was deemed inadmissible and processed for expedited removal and return to his place of departure. During today’s hearing, the court ruled that the matter is now moot as the subject was never admitted into the United States, the subject is no longer in custody, and the court does not have jurisdiction to order his return.”

Early response

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said,

“Such absolutely discriminatory measures that only happen over people’s race, nationality or religion are against international human rights laws and principles. These individuals were questioned by America’s border security over their political views and beliefs, and their social media accounts were forcefully entered.”

And US immigration lawyer David Ware explained to how it is even possible for an international student to be given a visa to enter the US and then be denied entry:

“Under our law, CBP has a second bite at the apple to determine admissibility. The consulate has the first bite in the apple, and they put the person through a security check. The consulate determined through various agencies of the US that this person was not a risk to US security. Then CBP turns around and revokes their visa and sends them home. Usually, what CBP will tell you is something came up in the encounter with the CBP officer in the US that indicated to the CBP officer that the visa had been erroneously granted, and there was indeed some problem with the individual. It could have been a security issue, or it could have been some other issue.”

Ryan Costello, policy director for the National Iranian American Council, adds:

“I certainly think the US is doing long-term damage to our ability to recruit really bright people, bring them here and have them excel in institutions of higher learning across the country. It’s likely that a lot of brilliant people are going to go to Canada, they’re going to go to Europe, they’re going to go elsewhere because our national policy is one of discrimination against Iranians.”

An important market

Iran is the 13th leading sending market for the US, with most Iranians enrolled in graduate studies. Their numbers declined by 5% in 2018/19 according to the latest report.

Any further declines will be of concern to US higher education, especially given that the number of new international students enrolling in US institutions has been falling in recent years. Even with that recent trend, however, the US remains the number one study abroad destination in the world.

For additional background, please see:

• “Bulletin: US announces travel ban for Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen”
• “Keys to the market: Iran”
• “Five emerging markets to watch”

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The full text of the executive order has been released by the White House.

While there had been advance reports that the new US administration was contemplating such a move, the signing of the order late last week still came as a surprise to many, including affected US government agencies and front-line staff, none of which had received any advance notice or consultation around the implementation of the order.

The move affects more than 17,000 students from the seven countries that are currently enrolled with US institutions, 71% of which (or 12,269 students) are from Iran. Another 2,300 scholars from the seven affected countries are currently in the US as well – and again, a strong majority of these professors and researchers (82%) are from Iran.

While the full implications of the executive order are not yet clear, here is what we know so far:

• It prevents citizens from the affected countries, with the exception of those travelling on diplomatic credentials, from receiving a visa to enter the US.

• It requires US officials to put in place strengthened screening processes for visitors to the US, including foreign students. This “uniform screening standard and procedure” is expected to include such measures as “in-person interviews; a database of identity documents proffered by applicants to ensure that duplicate documents are not used by multiple applicants; amended application forms that include questions aimed at identifying fraudulent answers and malicious intent; a mechanism to ensure that the applicant is who the applicant claims to be; a process to evaluate the applicant’s likelihood of becoming a positively contributing member of society and the applicant’s ability to make contributions to the national interest; and a mechanism to assess whether or not the applicant has the intent to commit criminal or terrorist acts after entering the United States.”

Over the weekend, US educators were quick to reassure foreign students and scholars that they can continue their studies uninterrupted. However, students are also being advised not to leave the US during the 90-day travel ban. Nor will family or friends from abroad be able to visit students in the US while the ban is in effect.

Aside from those specific points, there has been  and protest in the wake of the executive order. Reports indicate it has been inconsistently applied by travel operators, airport officials, and border control staff in these early days of implementation. And it is unclear what additional screening processes will be put in place following the travel ban, or how any such new provisions will affect new students, current students, foreign scholars, and US host institutions.

We will have a more on this story in the coming days, particularly its longer-term implications for US educators and foreign students in the United States.

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The situation is similar in the UK where the top five non-European markets account for nearly 60% of all non-EU enrolment in British higher education. China again stands as the number one source market, and sends one of every three non-European students in Britain. Canada’s top four markets, meanwhile, send nearly six of every ten foreign students in the country. And the same pattern plays out in Australia where four markets again represented nearly half of all student commencements through April this year.

But 2016 has also been marked by some significant disruptions in emerging markets – notably Brazil and Russia – that international educators have seen as important pieces in a broader diversification strategy. As always, there are a number of moving pieces this year – including immigration policy, foreign exchange controls, and world commodity prices – that bear on near-term market conditions. The search for the next tier of promising sending markets, however, continues all the same and we take a closer look at five promising candidates below.

Vietnam

With an economic growth rate of 6.7% over 2015/16 – comparable with China’s – Vietnam is steadily pulling more of its citizens out of poverty and into the middle and upper classes. One-third of Vietnamese are expected to join the middle class by 2020, and as of 2016, Vietnam boasts the world’s fastest growing percentage of ultra-high net-worth individuals. As families secure more wealth, they are better able to send their children abroad – and there are a lot of children: the median age in Vietnam is just 28.5.

Already we are seeing more Vietnamese students in the rest of the world. Japan welcomed 38,882 in 2015 (up 47.7% from 2014), and the US enrolled 28,883 in the same year, a significant increase as well. Ninety percent of outbound Vietnamese students are self-funded.

For additional background, please see “America and Japan reporting big gains in Vietnamese enrolment ,”��“Challenges in Vietnamese higher education contributing to demand for study abroad,” and “From the field: Vietnam’s cash economy and study abroad.”

Colombia

Colombia is the third largest economy in Latin America, after Mexico and Brazil, and more growth is likely as the government progresses in peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The country’s middle class has steadily expanded despite the war,
growing from 16% of the population in 2002 to 27% in 2011.

President Juan Manuel Santos’s mission is that Colombia will be Latin America’s most educated country by 2025, and in keeping with this goal, he increased Colombia’s education budget by 5.75% to US$14.52 billion in 2015. In so doing, the president made 2015 the first year ever that the Colombian government spent more money on education than on the military.

Tertiary enrolment in Colombia more than doubled between 2003 and 2013 to reach 2.1 million, and the number of Colombian tertiary students abroad has increased by roughly 50% over the past decade to total more than 25,000 students in 2013.

For additional background, please see “From the field: Recruiting in Colombia” and “New study offers important insights on demand for English training in Colombia.”

Indonesia

In Indonesia – the world’s fourth-most populous country and one of its 20 largest economies – the middle and affluent consumer classes are expected to double in size by 2020 from 74 million to 141 million, according to Boston Consulting Group. On top of rising wealth, Indonesia also has a very young population – the median age is 28.2.

Indonesians aged 15-29 make up a third of Indonesia’s workforce; however, youth unemployment is high and two million people enter the Indonesian labour market every year. Career-focused education is naturally on the minds of many, and thus opportunities to study abroad will likely grow in popularity in the near term. The Jakarta Post recently noted that Indonesia will have one of the largest college-going populations in the world by 2020 but that it will be one “with limited access to market-oriented education opportunities within its borders.”

For additional background, please see “Indonesia looks to education to help drive growth” and “New report forecasts postgraduate mobility trends through 2024.”

Nigeria

One-fifth of Nigeria’s massive population of 181 million people is between the ages of 15 and 24 – creating significant demand for higher education that cannot be met domestically. Nearly 1.5 million Nigerians seek a place at a Nigerian university each year, but only about half a million are able to get in. This goes a long way to explaining why Nigeria is the leading African source of international students.

More than 50,000 Nigerians studied abroad in 2012, and their numbers have gone up substantially in certain markets since then: nearly 9,500 Nigerians studied in the United States in 2014/15 – a 20% increase over the year before – and 8,620 studied in Canada in 2014.

Even with recent disruptions related to the collapse in world oil prices, the fundamentals in the market, including student demand, remain strong. Those recruiting for post-graduate programmes in particular will want to keep an eye on Nigeria: The British Council recently projected that of the 23 source markets it studied, Nigeria will contribute the strongest average annual growth in post-graduate student mobility through 2024 (+8.3%).

For additional background, please see “Nigeria tightens foreign exchange controls to limit use for study abroad,” “Falling oil prices put Nigerian scholarship funding in doubt,” and “Nigeria projected to be one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for postgraduate studies.”

Iran

In the wake of a historic nuclear deal earlier this year, Iranian universities are working to quickly build collaborative links with universities across Europe. The country has always been interested in international education, however: Iran has been the second fastest growing outbound market for postgraduate studies in recent years (behind only Saudi Arabia), and the British Council projects continued growth through 2024.

Driving this projected growth in part is the fact that domestic capacity for post-graduate students is insufficient to meet demand: 900,000 Iranian students applied for a master’s programme in 2011 but only 60,000 were accepted (6.6%). Meanwhile, only 4% of those seeking acceptance to a doctoral programme were successful.

Add to this the striking fact that roughly 60% of Iranians are 30 years of age or younger and this is definitely a sending market to explore.

For additional background, please see “Keys to the market: Iran,”��“Iran moving quickly to expand higher education links,” and “��������’s university enrolment is booming. Now what?.”

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The end of sanctions for Iran

Will lead more Iranian students to study in the West? Some observers certainly think so, and argue that continuing tensions within the region will encourage students to look further afield.

Blended learning and international recruitment

There are plenty of indicators pointing to a greater role for in the next decade. This insightful post looks at how some early movers are creating new hybrid online-offline learning options for international students.

UK universities offering course credits for MOOCs

Two UK institutions are moving for the first time to “unbundle” higher education by allowing . Could this be a way of recruiting from new market segments?

What is wrong with university websites?

A nice round-up of common issues and challenges associated with . If you want to review or improve your current site, this is a good place to start.

Korean universities facing an enrolment downturn

as prevailing demographic trends push enrolment down. University leaders are looking for solutions and that is in turn opening the door to new approaches in teaching and learning.

The post Five for Friday appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

1. Each will be short, usually under five minutes.
2. Each will provide some valuable advice that you can use to get started in a new market.

And so without further ado, we are pleased to present our first Keys to the Market for Iran. It features insights and tips from Kyle Mack of the

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