Working with Agents

Cheryl Darrup-Boychuck
March 5, 2008

The topic of commission-based promotion generated the most robust and passionate discussion to date on NAFSA's Marketing and Recruiting Network within the Recruitment, Admissions, and Preparation Knowledge Community. It's no wonder: As demand for overseas education soars, so too does the competition to appeal to the most qualified students in the world.

One element in international education that has not increased exponentially is the marketing budget of most U.S. campuses. Colleagues are struggling to boost enrollments in cost-effective ways.

At first glance, engaging agents appears to provide the most efficient return on investment, as agents are typically not paid their commission until the referred student arrives on campus. But beware: There's much more to the story. Seasoned colleagues know that investing in a healthy and transparent relationship upfront is critical to the success of commission-based recruitment.

A number of colleagues have expressed legitimate concern about the overall concept of commission-based recruitment, and how it epitomizes the gross commercialization of higher education. The potential for conflicts of interest abound. Are agents working in the best interests of the students, or are they more concerned with their own financial gain? How can you be sure the agents, thousands of miles away from your campus, are not misrepresenting your institution? Who can you trust?

Engaging commission-based agents is a serious matter of international student recruitment, and should not be taken lightly. As the practice gains popularity, particularly in the United States, NAFSA's Marketing and Recruiting Network will provide the very latest insight on the ever-evolving trends. While this practice resource lays the foundation, I invite you to review and contribute to our continuing online discussions. Stay tuned.

Table of Contents

All links below are to PDFs

• Legality and Standards (267kb)
  Mitch Leventhal, Ph.D., Vice Provost, University of Cincinnati
• The Benefits of Working with Agents (172kb)
  Diana Forman, Manager of the Americas, ICEF Inc.
• A Cultural Perspective, for Better or for Worse (176kb)
  S. Kelly Franklin, Coordinator, Haggerty English Language Program, State University of New York at New Paltz
• Developing Agent Contracts (Samples Included) (131kb)
  Kara Bundy, Marketing Coordinator, English Language Programs, University of Pennsylvania
  • Agent Agreement (43kb)
  • Agent Agreement ESL (44kb)
    

Additional Online Resources

Kemale Pinar, Manager of the International Recruitment Center at the University of New Brunswick in Canada

• AAIEP (American Association of Intensive English Programs) Standards for Marketing and Recruiting
• The Australian Government's Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS)
• The British Council's Guide to Good Practice
• China Education Association for International Exchange


• Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA)s Recruiting Standards
• The Federation of Education and Language Consultant Associations
• Global Student Mobility Data (IIE's Open Doors and Project Atlas)
• Guidelines for Ethical Practices in International Student Recruitment
  

Cheryl Darrup-Boychuck is the Network Leader for NAFSA's Marketing and Recruiting Network, 2007-09. She owns and operates USjournal.com, LLC and its family of 16 multi-lingual sites, all dedicated to encouraging non-U.S. students to learn more about studying in the USA. Darrup-Boychuck has been presenting at NAFSA Regional and Annual Conferences for more than 10 years on topics such as eRecruitment and measuring return on investment in international student recruitment.