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Five Ways to Cost-Effectively Expand Your International Recruitment Reach

Getting more international students on campus requires targeted recruiting and outreach, but unfortunately, the need for expanded efforts does not always coincide with an increased international recruiting budget.

It is possible to double or even triple your global reach without adding travel or postage costs. How? With innovative, Web-based enrollment technologies that capture the attention of today’s wired international student. And as a NAFSA member, you are also eligible for a discount. Here are five ideas to help get you started:

1. Social Networks. Statistics show that social networking is more prominent outside than inside the U.S., making it an ideal vehicle for reaching international students. Of total worldwide unique visitors to social networking sites in August 2007, 29 percent were from the Asia-Pacific region, 19 percent were from Europe, 16 percent were from Latin America, and 23 percent were from the Middle East/Africa.+ To capitalize on this trend, try creating a private social network just for international students interested in learning about or attending your institution. Learn more

2. Online Chats. One of the biggest barriers to reaching international students is time zone. Equally challenging is that international students don’t typically learn about your institution through informal events like campus open houses, which are more effective within the U.S. Hosting online chats gives you the flexibility to schedule “online open houses” during times that work for the student. Your chat host can even log in and conduct the chats from home, in the students’ native languages! Learn more

3. Personalized Web Portals & e-Brochures. Providing customized information tailored to the international student’s interests can get costly. Personalized Web portals and e-Brochures allow you to collect a few pieces of interest and demographic information in a Web form, and then deliver each international student a personalized Web page or PDF e-Brochure that contains only the most relevant information. Customization can take the form of photos that change based on country, content written in the student’s native language, specific program and/or activity information, profiles of current students from their home countries, and any number of other customizations – all while saving on costly printing and international postage. Learn more about: Web Portals | e-Brochures

4. Automated E-Communication Plans. Nearly eight out of ten international students feel that e-mail is the ideal way to be contacted by U.S. institutions.* Combining e-mail with text messaging and RSS Web feeds creates a comprehensive international recruitment communication plan that can be automated for maximum efficiency, customization, and cost savings. Try using this vehicle not only as a way to keep students informed of important information and deadlines, but also to promote your social network, online chats, or student Web portals for an even-more integrated approach. Learn more

5. Online FAQ Systems. More than half of international students studying in the U.S. learned about the institutions they applied to by visiting the institutions’ Web sites.* It is extremely important that your site is designed with the international student in mind, containing user-friendly features for international student information gathering. Consider an automated online FAQ system, which allows international students to type in a question in their native language and receive an instant answer. The service can’t be topped, placing your institution in a favorable light among the student’s many options. Learn more

*Hobsons International Research Report 2008-2009
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