Collegial Conversations - Charles Rickard

Through these conversations, we hope to share the fresh perspectives of a few idea generators and thought leaders in international student recruitment. Periodically, the Marketing and Recruiting Network will ask respected colleagues to answer three questions. Visit often to learn more about the most recent and relevant trends in this dynamic field, and to contribute to its development.

Charles E. Rickard

Charles E. Rickard, Emeritus Associate Vice President of Kent State University (Ohio), lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and is an independent consultant in higher education. He was selected as a Fulbright Scholar in 2002 and worked with faculty and staff in Germany and Belgium. His graduate work was completed at The University of Michigan. He is also a recipient of the IBM "Best Practices Award" for the effective use of technology to enhance student services.

What do you see as the most critical element in trying to attract globally mobile students to a particular country? Why?

A major barrier to attracting students to the United States is the visa application process – both the initial visa and future visas for students later in their career who need to renew visas if they go home for the summer, etc. I currently have four Saudi students who were unable to return for winter quarter because of delays issuing their visas. They all applied the first week of December, and three months later, they still did not have visas.

Word of mouth/recommendations from friends and family are very important when an international student is deciding where to study abroad. One of my trapped Saudi students recently shared in an e-mail that his two cousins who were admitted to U.S. universities have decided to go to Australia instead because they have seen how many difficulties my student has had with the U.S. visa process. So, this delay cost the university a full out-of-state fee-paying student for sure - how many more is unknown.

What particular obstacles (in terms of threats or challenges) prevent recruiters from being effective? How can colleagues overcome those obstacles?

Cost and financial assistance are huge factors, especially graduate students who receive multiple graduate assistantship offers. Some public schools are able to waive the out-of-state charge for international students, which can be a great recruiting tool.

I think the U.S. suffers from the lack of promotion of our higher education system at the national level and from our immigration regulations. Check out what the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany are doing to see our competition.

Ten years from now, how do you envision the landscape of marketing and recruiting in international education?

As far as the future goes, I think we will see more and more online learning opportunities internationally. The other factor for the United States will be whether or not the current immigration reform discussions actually result in changes that benefit higher education. The Senate's version has some good stuff in it, especially the F-3 status for students in STEM fields.