Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
1st Mar 2012

Why students use agents and other insights for 2012

ICEF led a presentation at the Languages Canada conference, held recently in Vancouver, providing the audience with an insightful overview of current research and best practices for working with education agents. The session provided a country-specific overview of why students use agents, what students in each country look for when choosing where to study overseas, and how educators can work most effectively with education agents. In addition, the presenters explained the reasons for the variations in each country surveyed and offered practical suggestions for a country-by-country strategy. This wide-ranging presentation contains a wealth of current research and best practices on working with agents, brought to you by three members of our ICEF Americas team. We are pleased to present the entire slide deck below.

Why Students Use Agents - Demand and Supply

This British Council report compares the differing levels in which students around the world are and are not using agents, and the reasons students turn to agents. The information presented is based on a survey of 131,000 students over a five-year period. The report in its entirety includes sections on the likelihood of students using agents if they had previously studied overseas, if the subject area affects the use of an agent, if the stage of the buying process increases or decreases the use of agents and if there is a need based on destination country.

The i-graduate ICEF Agent Barometer 2011

As reported in a previous post, this is a survey of 737 agents, with their thoughts on study destinations, what they are looking for in an educator, and what their expectations and concerns are for 2012. Results reveal what students in each country look for when choosing where to study overseas, as well as what courses and destinations are most popular, by country.

How to work with agents

The presentation wraps up with a look at key issues in how educators can work most effectively with education agents – finding, approaching, contracting, incentivising, motivating and supporting agents.

Most Recent

  • Survey highlights a growing “engagement gap” between international student expectations and institutional response Read More
  • Foreign recruitment of American students and researchers is intensifying Read More
  • Inside Spain’s growing appeal for international students Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

Foreign recruitment of American students and researchers is intensifying The US, along with the UK, has always been a preferred destination for top international students. Now, it...
Read more
Inside Spain’s growing appeal for international students Along with Italy, France, and Germany, Spain is positioning itself as a more compelling destination than ever for...
Read more
Canada struggling to attract and retain global talent  In Canada, two years into the government’s introduction of caps on international student enrolments and related reforms to...
Read more
Canada’s foreign enrolment has fallen by nearly 300,000 students over the last two years Speaking in the East Coast city of Halifax last month, Canadian Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said that...
Read more
China: Two-thirds of new TNE partnerships are with countries outside the Big Four China has been ramping up its transnational education (TNE) partnerships with other countries, with the Ministry of Education...
Read more
Vietnam: Students encouraged to obtain advanced technology degrees abroad Vietnam boasts one of the fastest-growing economies in the world (+8% in 2025), but its workforce cannot yet...
Read more
The Netherlands: Foreign enrolment slowdown driven by declining undergraduate numbers In 2024/25, 131,000 international students – including 51,800 new students – were enrolled in a degree programme offered by...
Read more
UK: International student numbers fall for second year, especially in postgraduate programmes A sharp year-over-year decline in non-EU students enrolling in UK universities in 2024/25 (-5%) is the main contributor...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links