"Student Segmentation for an Effective International Enrollment Strategy" - A New Research Report by World Education Services

The following research report came on my radar by World Education Services (WES) and I thought IHEC Blog readers would find this to be of interest.

The report, entitled “Student Segmentation for an Effective International Enrollment Strategy,” examines four types of U.S.–bound international students, based on their academic preparedness and financial resources. 

The report identifies the following student segments:

• Explorers are students with high financial resources and low academic preparedness. They are the most likely to need assistance during the application, as 39% of them chose application requirements as one of their most sought-after areas of information. 
• Highfliers are students with high financial resources and high academic preparedness, and family support is key to their financial independence. 69% of survey respondents indicated family or friends as their main source of funding. 
• Strivers are students with low financial resources and high academic preparedness. 61% of Strivers indicated that they rely on institutional financial aid, and 35% said they will take out loans to finance their studies. 
• Strugglers are students with low financial resources and low academic preparedness. Strugglers are the least interested in learning about the reputation of a school, indicating that they have lower expectations for quality. 

These insights are integral for U.S. universities and colleges that want to effectively attract and enroll the best fit international students. The report expands the scope of last year’s report and provides a deeper understanding of international student segments at a more granular level. The report highlights differences in prospective international students’ information seeking behavior by level of education — bachelor’s and master’s degree — and key source countries — China, India and Saudi Arabia.

You can access more information about the report via the WES World Education News & Reviews (WENR) website and while you are there you may want to take 20 seconds and subscribe to the free WENR Newsletter as it's well worth it!

Graduate Student Research at 2014 NAFSA National Conference in San Diego

Are you a graduate student in international education interested in presenting your research? If yes, I was wondering if you would be interested in presenting your research at 2014 NAFSA national conference in San Diego. The name of the session will be “Graduate Student Research” where students will present their research and then the audience will be giving feedback. Presentation will be 5-7 minutes long. We will have a Skype talk to discuss the details of this panel before submitting the proposal. This can be a wonderful opportunity to present at national conference and receive feedback from professionals in the field.

If you know other people who would be interested, send me their names and contact information.

The deadline for NAFSA 2014 conference is August 1st. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are interested.

Hope to hear from you!

Yuliya

Yuliya Kartoshkina, PhD Student at University of North Dakota
2014 NAFSA Annual Conference Committee Member for TLS
E-mail: yuliya.kartoshkina@email.und.edu