Co-authored with the Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT), International Branch Campuses, Trends and Developments, 2016 reveals that there are now 249 IBCs located in more than 70 countries. These offshore campuses are “owned, at least in part, by a foreign education provider; operated in the name of the foreign education provider; and [provide] an entire academic programme, substantially on site, leading to a degree awarded by the foreign education provider.” OBHE Senior Researcher Rachael Merola describes IBCs as “the most ambitious kind of cross-border higher education,” and as initiatives that redefine “institutional identities and national systems”.

OBHE estimates that there are at least 180,000 student enrolled in IBCs today, but the report adds some important context as well in noting, “This is a significant number in absolute terms but is equivalent to less than 4% of the five million international students in the world
and a tiny fraction of the 150 million+ higher education students globally. In a few countries, such as UAE, IBCs constitute a significant proportion of total higher education enrolment; but in most they are niche players.”

“The relative ease of student and programme mobility, compared to the institutional mobility inherent in a branch campus, suggests IBCs will remain substantially niche operations. The open question is whether over time IBCs of a certain type or within certain countries will achieve a stronger reputation for capacity and quality at scale, influencing national policies and institutional brands. IBCs, in all their diversity, have much room for growth.”

On that note, OBHE reports that 66 new IBCs were established between 2011 and 2015. On the heels of a roughly equivalent number of new IBCs launched from 2006-2010, the absolute growth in IBC numbers has been quite stable over the decade. In addition to the new IBCs opened over the last five years, the final tally for 2015 also reflects the 15 campuses that closed or changed status during that same period.

Total number of IBCs worldwide, 2000-2015. Source: OBHE

Importers and exporters

The number of countries hosting IBCs has increased somewhat since 2011: 76 countries host IBCs today, which represents a 10% increase over the 69 host countries that were active as of early 2011. The top five hosts are now home to nearly four in ten IBCs (39%): China (32 IBCs), the United Arab Emirates (31), Singapore (12), Malaysia (12), and Qatar (11).

Number of IBCs by host country, 2015. Source: OBHE

As this tally suggests, China has now edged out the UAE as the top host country, reflecting both a slight decline in IBCs in the Emirates (from 32 campuses at the end of 2010 to 31 by end of 2015) as well as a dramatic increase in IBC operations within China (from 13 in 2010 to 32 today). OBHE attributes the softening global share of the UAE to “market saturation, changing strategies of local governments, and concern over instability in other parts of the region.” China, in contrast, is home to more than one in four new IBCs (26%) started since 2011, and continues to attract new IBC ventures today.

OBHE puts the continued growth of international campuses in China down to local demand for higher education and also to host government support. The report notes generally that governments are motivated to attract IBCs by a drive to greater economic competitiveness, by an interest in boosting the political or cultural influence, and/or in the hopes of boosting the profile of national higher education systems.

On the export side of the equation, the top “home” countries for IBCs are the US, the UK, Russia, France, and Australia. US institutions operate 78 IBCs currently, accounting for nearly a third of all offshore campuses worldwide and including 17 of the 66 new IBCs opened since 2011. The UK is the next-leading exporter after the US with British institutions operating 39 IBCs (16% of the global total) as of 2015.

As these values illustrate, IBC activity is fairly concentrated both in terms of import markets where we see IBCs clustered in China and other selected Asian markets as well as in the MENA region. But this activity is also focused within a relatively small of exporting countries, with the US and UK as the clear leaders.

“Future growth is being driven by institutions from the United States and Europe, particularly the UK. Nearly half of the known IBCs under development will be overseas campuses of institutions based in the US and UK. There are at least seven campuses under development in Asia and four in the Middle East, highlighting the geographic shift in activity [from the Middle East to Asia],” concludes the report.

For additional background on IBCs, please see:

• Ìę“A more cautious outlook for international branch campuses”
• “Managing growth and maintaining standards in international branch campuses”

The post China now the leading host for international branch campuses appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

These are some of the findings from an annual survey of international students conducted by . IDP’s Manager, External Affairs, Kim Dienhoff, presented high-level findings from four years of survey data at the recent NAFSA conference in Boston, Massachusetts.

The session focused in large part on reaching students in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). With nearly a third of the region’s 355 million people aged 15 to 25, it is perhaps not surprising that Internet usage, and the penetration of social networks in particular, is high.

Ms Dienhoff paired the IDP survey data with additional research to provide an important summary of social media habits and trends in the region.

Social media usage in MENA was particularly visible during the pro-democracy protests of the Arab Spring beginning in 2011, leaving many observers with the impression that major global networks, such as Facebook and YouTube, are widely used across the region.

Internet penetration is high with nearly 90% indicating they access the web from home. A much smaller proportion (34%) say they have Internet access at work. “For marketers this probably means that you need to schedule online activities like chat rooms, Skype sessions, virtual fairs, or webinars in the evening once people are home from work,” notes Ms Dienhoff.

There are of course variations from country to country. Internet penetration varies from 85-90% in Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar to, at the lower end of the range, 44-50% in Jordan and Egypt. Nearly nine in ten Internet users in MENA use social media every day. Smartphones account for 40% of web impressions in the region (about 45% above the global average), and smartphone penetration ranges from a low of 16% in Morocco to 73-75% in the UAE and Qatar. It is fair to say that, at these levels of adoption, a mobile responsive site is a must for reaching students and parents in the region.

Facebook is your #1 friend

As the following chart illustrates, Facebook is the leading network with a 89% penetration among MENA Internet users. Twitter and Google+ are a distant second and third respectively, but each nevertheless has been widely adopted as well. As with the Internet and mobile usage patterns we noted earlier, the chart reflects national variations as well, including the notably high levels of Twitter usage in Saudi Arabia.

Top five social networks in MENA and selected markets by percentage of Internet users. Source: IDP

Adoption rates are helpful in looking at relative usage from market to market but the absolute numbers of users on each service is arguably the key metric. The following chart reflects the population of Facebook users by country, and illustrates that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, and the UAE have some of the largest populations in the region that are active on this leading social network.

Population of Facebook users by country, 2013. Sources: IDP, Arab Social Media Report-2013

This variance in user counts by market is notable in part because each country carries with it its own language preferences. English and Arabic are by far the most-preferred languages among the region’s Internet users, with the exception of markets such as Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia where French is the clear language of choice.

Beyond Facebook

Twitter has also been widely adopted by MENA Internet users and the following chart provides a summary of Twitter user counts for selected markets across the region.

Twitter user populations by country, 2013. Sources: IDP, Arab Social Media Report-2013

As the chart illustrates, Twitter is especially well used in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom accounts, on average, for roughly 47% of all Twitter traffic in the region. And, influenced by the fact that half of the Saudi population of Internet users prefers to use Arabic online, 74% of all Tweets by MENA users are in Arabic (as compared to only 18% in English).

YouTube, while not a social network as such, is one of the largest and most heavily used sites on the Internet, and its content is easily and widely shared on social media. It happens that this leading global video service is also extremely popular in many MENA states.

YouTube reach in MENA. Source: IDP

YouTube is the second or third-ranked site by usage in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Morocco. Across the region, there are 300 million YouTube playbacks each and every day, and Saudi Arabia leads the pack as the #1 market in the world in terms of views per capita.

“YouTube of course is highly valuable to marketers,” says Ms Dienhoff. “So if you don’t have a YouTube channel you should probably get one. You can use it to house videos that are then used on many other platforms and of course it will help greatly with your SEO.”

Implications for marketers

As the preceding charts and figures clearly reflect, social media usage in the region is highly concentrated around the most-popular social networks and social content sites in the world, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. “The good news is that they are using the same platforms you are already familiar with,” adds Ms Dienhoff. (Not to mention that you can reach the vast majority of prospects in the region in English and Arabic.)

For additional trends and best practices in social media, please see our post “Facebook is still the top social network but other platforms are growing faster.” It includes links to some of our most-popular posts on social media strategy, including tips for Facebook, Twitter, and social video.

The post Using social media to reach students in the Middle East and North Africa appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

This January, the League of Arab States and the British Council held a that centred on education as a key to economic development in the region and to alleviating the problem of youth unemployment. One of the symposium’s main themes was improving English education and English language skills, backed by British Council research showing that MENA workers with English earn up to three times as much as non-English speakers.

Why English?

A January 2015 World Bank report stresses that while great improvements in education have been made across the region in access, funding, literacy rates, and gender equality, . These include an overall lack of educational quality and a mismatch between what students are learning and the skills that employers want.

A survey of employers in the region found that employers consider only one-third of new graduates ready for the workplace; the same study found that only one-third of students considered themselves ready to enter the labour market. In addition, school-age populations are on the rise, putting an increased strain on already-taxed public education systems.

A 2012 study undertaken in eight MENA countries by Euromonitor International (and commissioned by the British Council) pointed out that many employment-related problems could be ameliorated by better language education. The study found that salaries were generally higher in the region for English-language speakers.

Employees with better English skills enjoyed salaries from 5% (Tunisia) to as high as 200% (Iraq) more than their counterparts with no English. In addition, it found a correlation between poor fluency (and political instability) and unemployment.

The Euromonitor study noted that private-sector development in many key industries such as IT and software development, telecommunications, and banking/finance would be greatly accelerated by a boost in the number of qualified English speakers.

A long way to go

The Education First (EF) English Proficiency Index (EPI) is a global survey that measures English levels in markets around the world. Its research findings note that, “The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is by far ” In both TOEFL and IELTS test results for several past years, Arabic speakers have placed in the bottom tier of world rankings.

Egyptian students hoping to study in Turkey – a country that promotes itself strongly as a less-expensive and close-to-home destination for Arabs, with classes held mainly in English – are often stymied by their lack of academic English skills. Saudi Arabian students hoping to study in the US or UK using government scholarships are usually granted up to 18 months for language study prior to academic work, but they often need even more time still to bring their English skills to the level required for advanced study abroad.

And, similar to conditions in many parts of the world, well-qualified instructors are scarce across the region. According to a British Council survey of over 1,000 teachers in the region, the best-qualified instructors often end up being moved into higher levels of public education, where students and schools are both more interested in high marks over actual fluency.

MENA youth are fully aware of the importance of English in terms of employment mobility, but educational opportunities are still often limited to those able to receive private education, given the over-stretched resources of most public educational systems in the region.

Will travel for English

As many challenges as there currently are to greater levels of English fluency in the region, a 5-7% increase in the number of English speakers is predicted over the next few years, and special programmes to nurture this increased language skill are becoming more prevalent in the region.

Probably the most visible example of this – at least in English-speaking countries hosting large numbers of language learners – is the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP) offered by the Saudi Arabian government. In 2013, Saudi Arabia was the top country of origin for students in intensive English programmes in the US according to IIE Open Door statistics – more than twice the number of China, the next-largest source market. Most of these students intend to continue on to university programmes. Saudi Arabia was the fourth-leading source of students in full-time tertiary academic programmes in the US, according to the 2014 IIE Open Doors report, with more than a 20% increase in numbers from the previous report cycle.

Kuwait is another country exporting its language learners, with Open Doors listing the oil-rich nation as one of the fastest-growing student populations in the US. Kuwait has moved up to be the 7th most-represented country in intensive English programmes in the US.

In-country initiatives

In other MENA countries less able to send their students abroad for further opportunity, in-country programming is key, and reports the British Council is a key sponsor or provider of services in many of these countries. For example:

• In Algeria, the first phase of a nationwide teacher training and curricular reform programme for English education, under an agreement with the Algerian Ministry of Education, began in November 2014. In addition to face-to-face and online education intended to reach every English teacher in Algeria, this Strategic English Education Development for Schools (SEEDS) programme includes a complete overhaul of the English curriculum and testing system.
• Oman’s English teachers have been able to take Continuing Professional Development courses online using the British Council’s . The first instalment of highly interactive programme included discussion forums set up for smaller groups of teachers; it was deemed such a success that it spurred a second training programme in 2013/14.
• Two Moroccan universities have adopted the British Council’s , which enables them to both place students appropriately and to measure progress after students complete certain modules of the LearnEnglish Pathways programme. The early success of this pilot has led to similar e-learning methods being implemented at six other universities across the country.
• For the 1.2 million Syrian refugees and about half that number in Jordan, the need for educational opportunity is particularly acute. In Lebanon, the British Council and the European Union are co-funding a project to help Syrian refugees both with their English and their ability to integrate better into the more pluralistic Lebanese society, entitled Accessing education: language integration for Syrian refugee children. In Jordan, the British Council is working to enhance capacity in all areas of English-language education, including in refugee camps.

Changing lives

Given the current turmoil across the MENA region, and given a large and growing youth population facing more competition for employment, the value of English language skills is clearly highlighted and the success of these and other similar programmes is vital. Nic Humphries, the British Council’s director of English in the MENA region, says, “Research shows there’s no doubt that ”

There is no time to waste, both in terms of English language training and improved education in general for young people in the region. The World Bank reports that:

“The region’s youth population (up to 24 years old) will surge by about 10 million between 2015 and 2030. This sudden growth in the youth population will create increased demand for educational services at all levels and will place immense pressure on existing educational institutions. Clearly, the persistent, dual challenges of quality and relevance must be addressed before the anticipated surge. If they can, this rising tide of young people could become an engine of growth for the region.”

The post English skills a key for mobility and employment in the Middle East and North Africa appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Today we present a guest post from Anne Keeling, who works with the team at ISC. She handles their media relations and specialises in writing about international education.

Why higher education values international schools

There are several reasons for this growing attraction. At the University of Manchester in England where 25% of all the students are international, international school students are considered a top recruitment choice. Senior International Officer Liz Green explains, “There’s massive competition now to recruit the brightest and best students globally, and international schools are incredibly valuable to us for their very bright and fully rounded students.”

Working directly with international schools in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the university has been building relationships with international schools for many years. This has involved regular visits to the schools from both recruitment and academic staff. The university is exploring newer markets, such as India as well, and is focusing on developing one-to-one relationships with individual international schools.

At John Cabot University, a small, liberal arts college in Rome, international school students are also considered ideal candidates. “International school students bring us diversity, well spoken English language, and they are a good return on investment,” says Director of Marketing and Enrolment at the university, Danette Anderson. “Most international schools are not very big and so many international school students tend to gravitate to universities that are smaller,” she explains. “A typical international student is a risk-taker and is usually willing to look beyond larger, mainstream institutions; the avant-garde environment of John Cabot suits them very well.”

The enrolment team at John Cabot specifically targets international schools that offer the International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, or A-levels exams and that are within a three-hour plane journey of Rome. “Parents want their children to be fairly accessible,” explains Ms Anderson.

Regions in the world with a high density of international schools are those that are most often targeted directly by universities and colleges. “A select few reputable, third-party agents are occasionally used by international schools, particularly small schools and those in remote locations that are difficult for universities to access directly,” says Diane Glass, Business Development Manager of ISC who specialises in supporting the university admissions market with data and market information.

“Those international schools that do work with agents usually have very strict vetting procedures to ensure students and their families are working with trustworthy agents that offer a specialist service.”

The international schools market – key locations

ISC is the leading provider of data and market intelligence on the world’s English-medium international schools market. Research from ISC suggests that the market is expanding significantly, with many countries in Asia growing at a steady pace, and with no sign of saturation.

“The number of students attending international schools worldwide is predicted to increase from 3.82 million enrolments in 2015 to 8.26 million by 2025,” says Ms Glass. “That’s a huge number of students, the vast majority of whom want to go to universities in the West.”

Ms Glass points to the example of the Taaleem Group of international schools in the UAE, where over 90% of its students go on to universities around the world. “These are not just higher education institutions in the UK and US,” she explains. “There’s an increase in students looking to wider international routes, especially Canada, Australia, and Holland for other affordable, high quality options.”

ISC data indicates that there are now 22 countries globally with over 100 English-medium international schools, some of which have significantly more. The UAE leads the world with 507 international schools teaching over 455,000 students. As many as 245 schools are located in Dubai alone.

Even with such extensive options, competition for the best schools remains high. The National Curriculum of England is the most popular curriculum choice and is offered (all or in part) by half of all international schools in the UAE. A US-oriented curriculum and the International Baccalaureate are also widely offered.

China, meanwhile, is home to 480 international schools – for such a vast country, this may seem like a relatively low number. A large part of the reason for this is that most of China’s first international schools were foreign-owned and were established to respond to the needs of expatriate children. With few exceptions, these schools are still not allowed to enroll local children.

However, there is a rapidly increasing demand from Chinese parents for an English-medium education for their children, and the international schools landscape in China is changing in response to this demand. The number of Chinese-owned international schools is growing fast and, crucially, local children are allowed to attend these schools.

Elsewhere, India, Pakistan, Japan, Spain, and Saudi Arabia all have over 200 international schools offering all or part of their curriculum in English. Countries with over 100 international schools include:

• Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand in South East Asia;
• Qatar in the Middle East;
• Hong Kong in East Asia;
• Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico in South America;
• France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland in Europe;
• Egypt and Nigeria in Africa.

“All of these countries are experiencing significant demand for international school places,” says Ms Glass. “Much of this demand is coming from local families who want a high quality, English-medium education for their children so that they can achieve a place at a respected English-medium university.

As incomes rise, and as more English-medium international schools establish and become accessible, such an option becomes more of a possibility for an increasing number of local families.”

Supporting student choice

What can universities and colleges do to develop business with international schools? Ms Glass offers some advice:

• Target the schools carefully. International schools vary in the range of curricula, examinations and orientation they offer. They also vary in the demographics of their students.
• Develop a relationship with the career and guidance officer or counsellor within the school to build rapport and to get to know the needs and potential of that school.
• Look for international schools that are accredited or are members of leading associations, and that have a good reputation for their standards of learning and teaching.
• Some of the larger, leading international schools are inundated by requests for visits by individual universities. So much so that it becomes a problem to handle. Try to work collaboratively with other universities in your country or region to offer the school a coordinated visit, allowing students to learn about a broad range of universities at one time.
• Many international schools have strict policies which prevent third party agents from approaching their students or their schools; some counsel their students and families against using non-approved agents, while some work with reputable agents and organisations that provide particular support services.

Further data and research services dedicated to the international schools market are available from ISC. These include an online licence providing market information, school data, search facilities, and contact options. For more information, please or contact Ms Glass directly.

The post How to engage the international schools sector for higher education recruitment appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) has defined an international branch campus as an initiative “operated by the institution or through a joint venture in which the institution is a partner, in the name of the foreign institution” and where “upon successful completion of the course programme, which is fully taken at the unit abroad, students are awarded a degree from the foreign institution.”

The OBHE estimated there were as many as 200 branch campuses worldwide as of 2012, with another 37 in various stages of development at that time. And this year alone, Arkansas State University is building , while, across the globe, the first wholly overseas Chinese campus will commence operations in Malaysia.

But as some experts have noted, the mention of an international branch campus, or IBC, still causes “many people to think of small replicas of the home campus, set up in a foreign desert or jungle.” In reality, most operating definitions require only a physical presence abroad and IBCs – accordingly – come in various shapes and sizes.

In today’s șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor article, we take a closer look at different models of IBC ownership, as well as some operating issues and developments in the field.

Five models of ownership

In 2011, researchers from the Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT) at the State University of New York at Albany conducted . Subsequently published in the journal International Higher Education, the survey gathered information on 50 international branch campuses and found that the responding universities adopted one of the following five models to establish an IBC’s “physical plant”:

• In the most common arrangement, 28% (14 IBCs) operate in facilities that are wholly owned by the home campus.
• In another often-cited arrangement, 22% (11 IBCs) had adopted a government partnership model whereby the local or national government subsidises the cost of, and thereby owns, the local campus. Some governments have, for example, invested in facilities to attract foreign institutions and help foster local economic growth.
• Meanwhile, 20% (10 IBCs) are owned by a private partner, typically an investment firm or property developer who builds the campus, and sometimes receives a stake in the IBC’s revenues.
• Another 18% (9 IBCs) rent their campus space from a private party. In or Dubai International Academic City (), for instance, multiple IBCs rent space in the same or nearby buildings, creating a “shopping mall effect” that gives students a variety of academic options.
• Finally, 12% (6 IBCs) operate within a campus owned by an academic partner, but use its facilities to independently offer stand-alone academic programmes.

As for whether or not any one particular ownership model is better than the other, the study authors note that each arrangement has its advantages and disadvantages:

“Wholly owned endeavors provide some stability and freedom from external interference but also pose a financial risk, should the enrolments not meet projections or government hospitality lapse. Partnering reduces the financial risks, but could lead to outside interference in academic affairs.”

Key implementation issues

Apart from ownership models, what other issues need to be considered when it comes to establishing a successful IBC? While social and political changes in a foreign country can undoubtedly impact the viability of an IBC, some experts say that the key to mitigating such risks abroad is careful strategic planning at home.

According to a recent article in University World News, the most serious challenge a branch campus faces is likely to be between the home institution and the host country. Academic departments at the home campus thus have “a significant role to play” in overseeing the quality of academic programmes delivered overseas and, the authors argue, it is essential for deans and their staff to be part of the planning process.

Having clear goals for an IBC initiative – as opposed to “expanding for the sake of expansion” – can also be an important factor in the success of an overseas campus.

Furthermore, the planning process for an IBC should also take into account the additional administrative work and high levels of coordination that are typically required at the home campus to accommodate the unique conditions of an academic programme overseas. Writing in University World News, Daniel Kratochvil and Grace Karram add that:

“Clearly implementing contingency plans, strategic linkages between the campuses, flexible frameworks of governance and realistic expectations for the new venture are essential to ensure an institution’s viability
 Clear harmonisation of accreditation, faculty involvement, administrative processes and academic mission will solidify the branch campus’ trajectory and decrease its vulnerability to changes in the host country.”

Quality assurance and regulatory issues

Other experts in the field have raised concerns that the for transnational education (TNE), including IBCs, are lagging behind. Approaches to quality control can vary across countries, and core concepts such as accreditation, recognition, and the authority to grant degrees may carry different meanings.

For example, research conducted on behalf of the European Commission on branch campuses, franchising, and validation activities in the European Union found that , and that there are loopholes in quality assurance which can enable “rogue providers” to take advantage of the system.

Furthermore, observers point out that in many countries where the demand for TNE is high – such as Pakistan, Nigeria and India – there is neither strong oversight, nor clearly established quality assurance regulations.

While groups such as the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education () and the CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG) are working to address issues of quality assurance in international settings, some have suggested that more needs to be done, given the current scope and rapid growth of TNE programmes. For example:

• Undertaking substantial research on TNE models;
• Developing standards that recognise the nature of TNE;
• Strengthening collaboration among TNE groups and organisations;
• Encouraging participation from countries with inadequate quality assurance;
• Improved sharing of institutional data and practices.

Amid such calls for collaboration and a commonly accepted framework, there are also concerns that some institutions are eschewing the “branch campus label” altogether in order to avoid the regulatory radar. Such was the case with an Indian institution that was operating in Mauritius since 2007 of the Indian University Grants Commission. Meanwhile in China, there seems to be an increased sensitivity to the notion of educational sovereignty, which rejects the “idea that any other country’s quality-assurance system should have a say over the quality of institutions” operating within a host country’s borders.

Other commentators point to what could be seen as a natural tension that forms over time between parent institutions and their international branch campuses. Writing in International Higher Education, Nigel Healey of Nottingham Trent University, adds: “In conversation with faculty at international branch campuses, one of the most widely used metaphors is that of . Branch campuses start as dependent infants, reliant on the mother university for their every need. As they grow and mature, they become unruly teenagers, chaïŹng at parental control and striving for greater autonomy. As young adults, they begin to develop their own personalities and the bonds with their mother inevitably weaken until they are broken for good.” He concludes:

“History suggests that international branch campuses either ïŹ‚ourish and become independent, or fail and close. No one remains a child forever.”

Current state of play

A recent post on the European Association for International Education (EAIE) blog points out that , including the US (50 IBCs), UK (24), Australia (13), France (6) and India (6). With regard to the estimated 68 importers or hosts of branch campuses, the largest in this group are the UAE (33 IBCs imported), China (29), Singapore (14), Qatar (11), and Malaysia (9).

Worldwide, the establishment of New York University’s campus in Abu Dhabi, as well as NYU’s latest international have garnered much attention in recent months. And as previously noted, another American university – Arkansas State – is set to open its inaugural in 2016. The campus will be financed and built by the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Education (AIEM), a formally registered non-profit body. Notably, AIEM will be involved in all operations necessary to support the American university’s plans in Mexico, and will ensure that it has no liabilities in the country.

Meanwhile, China continues to make waves as an importer and exporter of branch campuses. Established in 2004, the houses over 6,000 students and 400 staff. And since 2006, the in a jointly run institution.

But while these British models could be characterised as “independent legal entities,” some other Western universities are taking a different approach in China. The Sino-British College (SBC), for example, is “embedded” within a Chinese institution – the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology – and offers British degrees from nine UK universities. SBC’s principal and chief executive, Dr Ian Gow, sees the consortium approach as one that has great potential for the future, as it can enable universities to be present in more than two or three major regions – and thus be more competitive. In a 2014 interview with Inside Higher Education, Dr Gow noted:

“You can put a footprint on each continent if you are in a consortium
 I would say that probably developing more than two overseas campuses on your own would be a phenomenal drain on your resources.”

Looking ahead, the number of IBCs in China is expected to continue to expand. As for China’s exporting activities, construction has begun on Xiamen University’s Malaysia branch campus: the US$400 million project expects to welcome its first 500 students (from China, Malaysia, and elsewhere in the ASEAN region) in the fall of 2015, and to grow to an enrolment of 5,000 by 2020.

The post Managing growth and maintaining standards in international branch campuses appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

When admissions becomes marketing

This post from College Admissions Today has been nagging at us for a little while now. It makes the interesting point that admissions staff are now often asked to play a more direct role with respect to marketing and recruitment, and raises some interesting questions about how this impacts workloads and focus in the admissions office.

Is Japan going to hit its target?

Japan aims to attract 300,000 foreign students by 2020. The good news: there is just one thing standing in its way. The bad news: that one thing is China. reports on how China’s efforts to attract greater numbers of international students are drawing market share from Japan.

Saudi Arabia tops the first ranking of Arab universities

Saudi Arabia owns the top three positions in an initial ranking of 91 Arab universities in 16 countries published recently by US News & World Report. The rankings are notably concentrated: the top seven countries counted 77 universities in the table (85% of the total), while seven other countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – had only one ranked university each.

Pearson launches new English test

Education giant Pearson and the online language learning platform busuu have partnered for the global launch of a new English proficiency exam: the Global Scale of English Test (GSET). busuu is the first company worldwide to offer the test, on exclusive terms with Pearson for an initial six-month period.

We’ve looked at Facebook from all sides now

Social marketing specialist Brian Carter offers an : the good, the bad, and the ugly. In this nicely balanced post, he offers a compact summary of the challenges – and strengths – of this key social media platform.

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

There are, however, transitional and support services that can help students with disabilities succeed abroad. To learn more, we caught up with Rob Crawford, the CEO of the Life Development Institute (LDI), and are pleased to present excerpts from our discussion in the videos below.

Offering internationally recognised and fully accredited high school, college, and career-focused programming in a residential setting, the LDI serves young adults with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, Autism spectrum disorders, and similar conditions. The author of numerous books and articles, Mr Crawford has previously written for șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor about working with students with disabilities.

The impact of national laws and acts

As Mr Crawford notes in our first interview segment below, colleges and universities in the United States are required by law to guarantee equal access and reasonable provisions for all attending students, including those with disabilities. In fact, an institution must provide disability student services and offices in order to access financial aid.

Equal access laws also exist in other destination countries that are popular with international students, such as the UK. British universities must comply with the Equality Act, which requires all institutions to have experts specialised in .

As helpful as such laws can be, it is still important for students, their families, and agents to research and confirm precisely what access provisions are available at a given institution. As Mr Crawford notes, the support offered through a university’s disability office may provide assistance with a specific area of coursework, but it’s not “a blanket measure of assistance.” Beyond the learning environment, some students with disabilities may need assistance with settling into a new country, requesting and receiving appropriate services, and day-to-day living.

Advice for agents

What advice does Mr Crawford have for agents working with students with disabilities? First, he recommends having an open mind and adopting a “strength-based model” that looks at what this underserved market of students can do, as opposed to what they cannot.

Mr Crawford additionally suggests that agents can better serve students with disabilities – particularly those destined for the US – as follows:

• Familiarise yourself with existing policy documents (e.g., UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the ) to understand the issues associated with disability and how they are influencing the education sector.
• Learn about and be attuned to some of the characteristics exhibited by people with disabilities. For example, a person with Asperger’s syndrome may not make eye contact during a conversation and seem aloof.
• Spend significant time prepping the prospective candidate for the immigration interview. Agents or schools may also want to write a letter to the appropriate embassy office that describes how the student will likely present during an interview, particularly if he or she demonstrates atypical behavior on account of a disability.
• Try to find a collaborating partner in the host country that understands the range of available services.

Resources such as the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange () can also be a valuable source of information. The NCDE offers free advice and support to individual students and their families, as well as professionals who are working with students with disabilities, and referrals for more specialised information. In particular, it offers , as well as .

Organisations like this exist in many countries around the world; two more examples include:

• , a not for profit organisation in New Zealand that provides information, assessment and tuition to families, whanau, schools, businesses and individuals living with Dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities.
• In the Philippines, the National Council on Disability Affairs () is the national government agency mandated to formulate policies and coordinate the activities of all public and  private agencies concerning disability issues. There is also the Philippine Association for Citizens with Developmental and Learning Disabilities, Inc. (PACDLD), which provides support and information for parents and families of children with different disabilities or medical conditions.

Regardless of where a student is headed, advance preparation is key. As Lorraine Gallagher of the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (), Ireland, recently noted in a blog post for the EAIE:

“Students with disabilities need to know before they travel what’s available for them in both the host institution and the local community where they’ll be living
 There might be a local disability organisation that can provide you and the student with specific information about things like accessible transport, health services, accommodation or wheelchair-friendly restaurants.”

What kinds of schools are most attractive for students with disabilities?

Like any international student, the “right” school for a student with a disability often depends on his or her academic and career goals. But a student with a disability must also consider the type of support that he or she will require, which can vary according to their particular disability.

In an interview with The Guardian, Rachel Challinor, the student life support manager at the University of Salford, said that it is important for students to assess whether or not the campus facilities can accommodate their needs:

“Is the library service accessible? Can you get e-books? Check out the student union: is there a disabled students group? What emotional support is on offer?”

For some students, the kinds of support offered through a university’s disability office – such as note-taking services or extra time allocations on exams – can be sufficient, says Mr Crawford. Others, however, may need more comprehensive programmes that also provide counselling support, an apartment to live in, life skills training, and a social network.

Furthermore, community colleges – which often work with underrepresented and underserved groups of students – can also be a good transitional option, according to Mr Crawford. Upon first fulfilling some general education and elective requirements at a community college, a student may then be able to transfer to university. He or she can also pursue certification for employment programmes, making a community college an ideal “testing ground” for students with a disability.

Importantly, students who have diagnosed disabilities often have a different full-time course load than students who do not. “Sometimes it can be as few as two classes,” says Mr Crawford, making it possible for certain students to pursue a course load that is appropriate for their disability, while also meeting funding or visa requirements tied to full-time enrolment.

Recent developments and debates in the field

Deciding how best to accommodate a student’s disability isn’t always easy, say some of the experts who attended the recent International Summit on Accessibility. Dr Manju Banerjee, Vice President and Director of Landmark College – a Vermont-based institution focused on students with learning disabilities – has suggested a need for serious thought to be given to assessing what special accommodations a disabled student may require. As reported in University Affairs:

“Dr Banerjee believes some students labelled disabled do not always need to be assigned classroom note-takers or given extra time to complete assignments; they simply have not been taught properly how to take notes or how to develop good study habits.”

Elsewhere in the world, debate is focused on adequate funding for students with disabilities. In the UK, for example, it has been estimated that the total budget of the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) will be , a move that has prompted some to suggest that the studies of disabled students will be put at risk. Currently, Disabled Student Allowances pay for assistive technologies, non-medical assistance, and other costs for 53,000 disabled students.

In Australia, the federal government is conducting a review of its Disability Support Program, which covers under half the support costs that universities must deal with in serving disabled students. The programme budget has remained constant at AUS$7 million annually despite the number of disabled students entering postsecondary education in Australia continuing to rise. Since 2008, the number of commencing students with a disability has nearly doubled to 18,212 in 2013. Overall, there are now more than 50,000 disabled students studying at Australian universities.

Apart from funding, policy-makers in some countries are working on integrating disabled children at the primary and secondary school levels. In India, where less than 1% of children with disabilities are enrolled in schools, interventions include early identification and assessment through camps, providing aids and learning equipment, and teacher training.

Meanwhile, in Bahrain, a new curriculum for students with disabilities and special needs will be implemented in September of this year. And , more than half of the schools there are equipped to meet the needs of students with physical disabilities, and the Supreme Educational Council is committed to ensuring that all schools in Qatar have an accessible learning infrastructure that is supported by trained educators.

The post Transitional and support services for international students with disabilities appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

This reflects a broader observation from a 2013 OECD report that found the gender balance in higher education is shifting slightly in favour of women across most OECD and G20 countries. As we reported last year, the OECD says of the 2011 freshmen class: “52% of new university entrants in 2011 were women – the exceptions to this trend being found only in Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, where the number of men beginning their university studies still outnumbered their female counterparts.”

With some variations by market, the trend applies in the Middle East as well. In fact, in some Gulf States female enrolment tracks well ahead of male participation in higher education. Qatar, where there are roughly twice as many women enrolled in universities than men, is a notable example in this respect. Women are not only more likely to enroll in university programmes in Qatar, they are also more likely to complete them: 60% of the graduates from Qatari universities are female.

On the one hand, these are indicators of accessibility and success for women studying in Qatari institutions. However, they also reflect broader disparities still at work in the Gulf region. University studies are equally available to men in Qatar but the lack of a university qualification does not appear to impair the career prospects of men, many of whom simply enter the workforce directly after secondary school. Women, for whom senior positions and further training opportunities are still less available, appear more inclined to pursue higher education as a way of strengthening their career prospects.

They also, however, prefer to do so at home. A recent Doha News item notes:

“When it comes to furthering their education, female Qatari students were much more likely to remain here than to take up overseas opportunities, reflecting national customs and traditions.”

An editorial piece from Al-Fanar adds a broader perspective on women’s participation in education: “In general there is a lag in women’s participation in higher education throughout the Middle East and North Africa, though the gender gap has closed dramatically in recent years. Algeria is now at complete parity and Palestine, Libya, Tunisia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all show slightly higher enrolment rates for women than men.

Yemen appears to be the furthest behind of the Arab countries in granting women access to higher education. The country had 47,000 male university students and 15,000 female students in 2011, according to the latest statistics available. ‘Only elite families send their daughters to schools and universities,’ says Wahiba Fara’a, a Yemeni politician who was also the country’s first female minister of state for human rights in 2001.

Conversely, in some Arab countries, higher education seems to be viewed as essentially a female sphere, with men assuming they will get a job in the government or the Army.”

Equal access to education

Al-Fanar’s observations are formed partly against the backdrop of UNESCO’s Education for All initiative, a global effort to improve access to education by addressing systemic disparities. Education for All has several core goals, including “Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.”

Progress toward this goal, however, has been slow and observers continue to call for specific programmes to address gender gaps in access to education at all levels. A 2012 UNESCO regional report for the Middle East said, “Achieving equal participation for both boys and girls in primary and secondary education has been a challenge for most the countries. The 2005 gender target has been missed and most likely difficult to achieve by 2015. Indeed, only Syria and Oman met this target in 2010.”

Even so, growing participation by women and girls at all levels of the education system stands to have profound social and economic impacts across the region, as well as on evolving study abroad market trends. As the Qatari example reflects, cultural or systemic biases that discourage female participation in study abroad remain. However, we have also noted that other major initiatives in the region, notably Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP), can be a catalyst for opening up new opportunities for women to study abroad.

In fact, the Saudi Gazette reported recently on the . The Gazette indicates that the demand has been strengthening both among female secondary and university students, and that the students are mainly interested in study destinations in Europe and Asia.

Women and language travel

For the moment, it appears that much of this burgeoning demand is being addressed by group study tours organised by Saudi agencies that develop group packages in collaboration with language training providers abroad.

“Many travel and tourism agencies are providing packages to meet the demand, while assuring that they are not violating Ministry of Higher Education regulations,” adds the Gazette. “According to these agencies, many women prefer to travel in groups with relatives or friends and want to reside with families that do not have sons.”

Such reports are early indicators of a shifting marketplace in the Middle East with respect to the participation of women and girls in study abroad – a trend that stands to be strengthened and expanded in the years ahead as persistent gender disparities in education access are further addressed.

The post Education enrolment trends of women in the Middle East appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.