Return on Investment in International
Recruitment: A Qualitative Study
NAFSA Conference | Minneapolis | 31 May 2007
Session Chair / Co-Presenter:
Richard Yam, International Student Advisor
University of Massachusetts – Amherst
ryam@ipo.umass.edu
Co-Presenters:
Cheryl Darrup-Boychuck, C.I.E.O.
USjournal.com, LLC
cheryl@USjournal.com
Ted McKown, Director of International Admissions
Kent State University, Ohio
tmckown@kent.edu
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Why study ROI? Why now?
The challenges posed by the events of 9/11
changed the world, and international
recruitment as we know it.
The 9/11 Effect:
• Declining number of international
students
• Slowing enrollment
• Perspectives of visa policy
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Crisis in Chinese
危 = danger
機 = opportunity
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International Student Enrollment Trends,
1955 through 2006
700,000
Total enrollment
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
55 60 65 70 75 80 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06
Year
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GAO Report, January 2007
(Government Accountability Office)
Global Competitiveness: Implications for
the Nation’s Higher Education System
Sample Recommendations:
• Collecting qualitative data that could
provide valuable context for quantitative
data.
• Developing uniform, consensus-based
social and economic indicators of U.S.
higher education’s competitiveness.
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Limited Research Available
in Measuring Return on Investment
• NAFSA: International Enrollment
Management Survey (Jan ‘07)
• ACE: Measuring Internationalization Survey
(‘01, ‘03)
• Noel–Levitz:
• National Enrollment Management Study (‘04)
• Cost of Recruiting Report (‘05)
• Reza, Corriveau, Gogerty, Blanchford, and
Yam:
• International Recruitment Effectiveness Survey
(‘06), presented in Montreal
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Highlights of the 2006 Study:
A Quantitative Approach
Most Effective Recruiting Activities:
1. Merit Scholarships
2. International Brochures
3. Interviews
4. Articulation Agreements
5. Express Mail of Acceptance Letters
6. Independent Travel (Fall)
7. Small Group / Tour Travel (Fall)
8. Information Sessions
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NACAC Admission Trends
Survey, 2005
Please provide the “total admission
budget” dollar amount from which we will
determine average costs based on your
responses to questions.
a. Number of completed applications ___
b. Number of full-time first year, degree
seeking students ___
c. Number of full-time first year, degreeseeking students who enrolled ___
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NACAC Admission Trends
Survey 2005 (continued)
Which of the following were included in the
calculation of your institution’s “total admission
budget”?
___ Admission staff salaries
___ Admission staff benefits
___ Staff travel expenses for recruitment
___ Expenses for participation in college fairs
and other recruitment events
___ Publication expenses
___ Payments made to third party contractors for
admission or recruitment services
___ Institutional financial aid
___ Other (advertising, supplies, postage…)
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Studying ROI:
A Domestic Perspective
NACAC Admission Trends Survey, 2005
(Average cost per enrolled student,
based on domestic recruitment)
$2,167 = Private institutions
$1,753 = Overall average
$667 = Public institutions
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NACAC Admissions Trends, 2005
based on Campus Selectivity
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NACAC Admissions Trends, 2005
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Current State of Studying
International Recruitment / ROI
Measurement Myopia
• U.S. News and World Report Controversy
• Administrators demand numerical
justification for recruitment expenses
• Corporatization of U.S. higher education:
Dean of Admission -->
V.P. of Enrollment Management
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Studying ROI:
Corporate World vs Higher Education
Initial Investment vs Subsequent Profits
Recruiting Expenses vs Profits, where
Profits =
Tuition
– Cost of Instruction
+ Expected Donations
Flaw: Tuition < Cost of Instruction,
so Profits are usually negative
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Current Trends in Studying ROI /
International Student Recruitment
Estimate Admissions Yield
from recruiting in different
countries or regions
Yield = Number of
newly-enrolled students
per dollar of
recruitment expenses
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Evolution from Enrollment Funnel
to Admissions Cylinder
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Securing Pure Data:
The Perspective of a Statistician
• Survey the prospective students,
to eliminate any bias of the recruiters
• Linear Regression: Predict a dependent
variable (likelihood of enrolling) based on
several independent variables, such as the
different types of recruitment
• Topic for a Thesis?
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Multivariate Likelihood Function
to Predict Customer Behavior
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Design of the 2007
Qualitative Study on Measuring ROI
• In-depth Interviews
-- 1 to 1-1/2 hours each
• Interview Topics
-- Plans, implementation, evaluation
• Sampling
-- Open Doors, successful or
challenging institutions, availability
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The 2007 Study: Comments from a
colleague who declined to participate
I find it tough to justify putting other
projects aside to be involved in this
one… Frankly, you may find that
people who have 2 to 3 hours to
devote to this may not be the most
effective recruiters. As such, your
sample (and study) may be at risk…
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Profile of 19 Participating Schools:
A Diverse Representation in the U.S.
• 2 Specialized Institutions
• 3 Language Institutes
• 2 Community Colleges
• 2 Baccalaureate Institutions
• 3 Masters Institutions
• 5 Doctoral / Research Institutions
• 2 Boarding / Prep Schools
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Geographic Representation of
18 Participating Schools
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Profile of 21 Individual Participants
• 322 total years in international education
• Average of 15 years in the industry
• 11 male and 10 female participants
• 14 Directors or Vice Presidents
- Institutional Advancement
- Enrollment Management
• 3 Associate Directors
• 3 Marketing Coordinators or Recruiters
• 1 International Student Advisor
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Profile of 21 Individual Participants:
Years in International Education
0
5
10
15
20
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30
35
40
25
Results of the 2007 Study:
Attitudes toward ROI
a. Realistic / Pragmatic: Know how
Quantifiable / Tangible: Count inquiries,
applications, deposits, enrollments,
attrition, retention, graduation, alumni
b. Philosophical: Know why
Big Picture / Intangible: Value
judgments in determining how and
where to invest, based on institution’s
mission of internationalization
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Results of the 2007 ROI Study:
Defining Return on Investment
Types of Investment:
• Infrastructure / Staffing
• Travel (Domestic and Overseas)
• Financial Aid / Scholarships
• Long-term Prospects
• Agents / Commission-based Options
• Online / Print Promotions
• Postage / Mailing Lists
• Special Scenarios / Emerging Markets
• Targeted Yield Activities
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Types of Investment:
Infrastructure / Staffing
Responsibility for International Recruitment
• Enrollment Management
• International Student Services
• International Affairs / Programs
• Other Support Offices
Holistic approaches throughout the
infrastructure seem more effective, when
recruitment is integrated to cultivate the
student’s entire experience.
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Types of Investment:
Travel (Overseas and Domestic)
Overseas Travel
• Group Tours / Large Public Events
• Small Tours / Targeted Private Events
• Individual / One-on-One Visits
Domestic Travel
• Embassy Visits (generated highest ROI
for one of our participants)
• Conferences / Agent Workshops
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Types of Investment:
Financial Aid / Scholarships
Most colleagues have limited funds to
disburse, so they’re getting more creative:
• $50 in tuition reduction for referrals
• Special Pricing, i.e., fees are waived if
MBA students pay tuition in advance
• Re-packaging existing programs: A price
tag of $19,985. looks better than $20,015.
• Work more closely with grad schools on
assistantships for international students
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Types of Investment:
Long-Term Prospects
Projects that don’t pay off immediately,
sometimes due to cultural issues
• Articulation agreements
• “Twinning”
• Joint Degree Programs
• Sister Schools
• Overseas Campuses
“We’re establishing a pipeline for supplying
students over several years.”
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Types of Investment:
Agents / Commission-based Options
• Very little middle-ground: Love / Hate
• Agent-only access via .edu domains
• Private language schools: More likely to
engage agents than public institutions
• Institutions that are more transparent
(i.e., fewer layers of bureaucracy) seemed
better equipped to use agents
• The initial cost of engaging agents must
be greater than zero (i.e., preparing for and
maintaining a successful relationship)
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Types of Investment:
Online / Print Promotions
Interviewer: How did you find out about us?
Student: In a magazine.
Interviewer: Which one? In the one that
cost me $100 or the one that cost $1,000?
Conclusion: Difficult to track accurately
---------------------------------------------------Technology allows for better tracking
-- One participant is hiring a Director of
Electronic Marketing, specifically for
international student recruitment
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Types of Investment:
Postage / Mailing Lists
• Express Mail I-20 / Letters of Acceptance
• Few purchased names and addresses
• Few mentioned sending brochures to
-----
EducationUSA Advising Centers
U.S. Embassies and Consular Offices
International High Schools
American Schools Overseas
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Types of Investment:
Special Scenarios / Emerging Markets
• Smaller, private schools seemed more
willing to experiment in emerging markets;
diversity was one of their primary goals
• Language schools seemed more
interested in the numbers of students
recruited, rather than diversity, so they
tend to stick with the top sending countries
• Other successful recruitment plans take
advantage of unique situations that
percolate via global involvement from the
campus’ academic departments
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Types of Investment:
Other Targeted Yield Activities
• Connect prospects and / or parents with
campus-related people with common
interests (language, home country, major)
-- Phone calls / Skype
-- eCorrespondence (eMail, chat, blog…)
• Hosting the influencers on campus
-- Coordinated campus tours
-- Various summer camps
• Engage Alumni Networks / Receptions
• Plan to “Respond on Demand”
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Characteristics of Successful
International Recruitment Programs
• Institutional Commitment / Mission
• Organizational Infrastructure
• Travel (Overseas and Domestic)
• Emphasize both Recruiting and Yield
•
•
•
•
•
Activities to complement each other
Emphasize Long-term Prospects
Financial Aid / Merit Scholarship / Pricing
Use Agents Prudently
Explore Emerging Markets
Determine Quality and Quantity Returns
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Recommendations for Future Studies
• Concentrate on Specific Subsets:
• Language Schools
• Graduate Schools (MBA, etc.)
• International Student Athletes
• Conduct Industry-Wide Surveys:
• Cost-to-Recruit Survey
• Factors to Enroll
• Interview Prospective Students
• Develop a Linear Regression Model
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Where do we go from here?
There’s no magic formula (yet).
Continue the ROI conversation via NAFSA’s
Marketing / Recruiting Network:
• Go to http://www.nafsa.org/
• Click Knowledge Community Networks
and Resources on the left
• Click Recruitment, Admissions, and
Preparation on the left
• Click Marketing and Recruiting on the left
• Click Discussion Forums on the left
• Click Measuring ROI and contribute!
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Return on Investment in International
Recruitment: A Qualitative Study
NAFSA Conference | Minneapolis | 31 May 2007
Session Chair / Co-Presenter:
Richard Yam, International Student Advisor
University of Massachusetts – Amherst
ryam@ipo.umass.edu
Co-Presenters:
Cheryl Darrup-Boychuck, C.I.E.O.
USjournal.com, LLC
cheryl@USjournal.com
Ted McKown, Director of International Admissions
Kent State University, Ohio
tmckown@kent.edu
Measuring ROI, 31 May 2007
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