Student Recruitment Agents in International Higher Education

Pii-Tuulia Nikula is a Principal Academic at Te Pūkenga – 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.

"Although a longstanding practice for institutions in Australia and the UK, the use of student recruitment agents is now a topic of increasing interest for institutions world-wide. Seen as controversial in some quarters but readily accepted as the norm in others, there could not be a more timely publication to support a greater understanding of the complexities of business models in international education, the rapid evolution of those business models in the face of the global pandemic, and the shifting role played by commercial agents in international student acquisition and retention."Dr Douglas Proctor, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), Swinburne University of Technology, Australia"Pii-Tuulia Nikula, Vincenzo Raimo and Eddie West have opened the world of education agents for all to see – and what an important world it is! Agents mediate the flow of six million students across the world, foster the hopes of families and open opportunities for young people, stabilise the finances of educational providers, and cross the cultural boundaries for everyone. This compelling book tells us much we did not know and also makes the agent industry accountable in a new way. A major contribution."Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Oxford and director of the ESRC/RE Centre for Global Higher Education"Outsourcing has been a staple of the higher education sector but one area of outsourcing that still gives institutions heart burn is international student recruitment agents. Student Recruitment Agents in International Higher Education provides diverse perspectives from institutions, students, consultants, and practitioners arming HEIs with the knowledge to navigate, negotiate and shape partnerships successfully. This inclusive book brings together rare insights into regional, governmental, and global practices and emphasizes the critical elements of a strategic agent-institution relationship."Joann Ng. Hartmann, Senior Impact Officer, NAFSA

• 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 Forward6. Education consultants’ work and international education: an examination of the technical and emotional dimensionsPart 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 agentsPart 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 InstitutionsPart 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 uncertaintyPart VI: Government and Regulator Perspectives and Country Studies15. Exploring the reasons for the development of India’s education agent system16. Regulation, Deregulation and Self-regulation: The Evolution of China’s Policy on Education Agents17. 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