Student Recruitment Agents in International Higher Education

With a focus on commercial agents supporting international student recruitment, Student Recruitment Agents in International Higher Education provides an evidence-based exploration of this phenomenon, and will increase the reader's understanding of agent engagement, its contradictions and complexities.

With a focus on the growing number of institutions employing commercial agents to support international student recruitment, Student Recruitment Agents in International Higher Education provides an evidence-based exploration of this phenomenon, and will increase the reader's understanding of the multiple dimensions of agent engagement, its contradictions and complexities.

This book explores who and what these education agents are, what students and higher education institutions can expect from a good agent, how bad agents can be identified and avoided, and what we learn from the reasons for the development of these agents in the first place. Offering theoretical perspectives with practical applications, this volume features contributions from academics and scholar-practitioners, laying out fresh perspectives and insights on topics such as process transparency, developing agent policy and procedures, and government regulations.

Providing the ideal reference for students embarking on international study, agents, higher educational institutions, government/accreditation agencies, researchers, and practitioners, this insightful book acts as a critical basis for further research and improvements in higher education practice.

Autorentext

Pii-Tuulia Nikula ****is a Principal Academic at Te Pkenga New Zealand Institute of Technology and Skills. Her research focuses on questions of education agent management and governance.

Vincenzo Raimo is an independent higher education consultant and Visiting Fellow at the University of Reading, where he previously served as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement).

Eddie West is Assistant Dean of International Strategy and Programs at San Diego State University, where he provides leadership of international partnership development, collaborations, and overseas programs.

Inhalt

Part I: Setting the Scene

1. Education Agents: Key Issues, Themes and Stakeholders 2. From Student to Agent to Faculty: How my Journey has Influenced my Work with Education Agents
   Shenton Chang 3. The Risky Terrain of Outsourcing Recruitment: Ethics Versus Expediency **Part II: Education Agent and Consultant Perspectives 4. The Agent Voice: Agents' Perspectives on Recruiting and Student Services Before and After the Pandemic
   5. An Ethical Approach to Student-Centered Commission-Based Recruitment: The Way Forward
   
   6. Education consultants' work and international education: an examination of the technical and emotional dimensions
      **
   Part III: Agents' Value Propositions and Impact7. Agents and Test Preparation: The Quest for High Scores on Standardized Tests8. International Education Agents: Lessons from the History of IDP9. Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Toward a student-centred value proposition for agents**Part IV: Agent Management & Views of Higher Education Institutions10. Agent Management Best Practices 11. Building an Effective Agent Engagement Strategy to Empower Strategic Growth in New Zealand 12. Recruitment Agents in Italy: Perspectives of Higher Education Institutions**Part V: Student Views13. Pursuing Higher Education Dreams in the U.S.: Portraits of Chinese Families Assisted by an Education Agent14. Giving voices to Chinese international students using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): the application experiences to UK universities via education agents in uncertainty
   **Part VI: Government and Regulator Perspectives and Country Studies15. Exploring the reasons for the development of India's education agent system
   
   16. Regulation, Deregulation and Self-regulation: The Evolution of China's Policy on Education Agents
   17. Education New Zealand's agent engagement programme: Building a more sustainable international education sector18. Client-Agent Dispute Cases19. Conclusions, Emerging Trends and Future directions for education agents and their stakeholders