The international higher education landscape is at a crossroads.
From the National Institutes of Health cuts in the US, to UK universities cutting entire departments in order to weather the financial struggles they are facing, or the ongoing debate about antisemitism and VC pay in Australia.
While the negative headlines about the state of the globe’s leading study destinations rightly emphasise the difficulties for and concerns of students, researchers, lecturers and everyone working in higher education, universities are among the oldest institutions on the planet. They have proven to outlast pandemics and wars, changed to meet the evolving demands of students, scholars and employers and adapted in the face of existential crises many times before.
Beyond front pages, there is still good news. For example, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, MIT, Caltech and the University of North Carolina are just some US institutions increasing access to financial aid or offering free tuition to families with more moderate incomes.
[Universities] have proven to outlast pandemics and wars, changed to meet the evolving demands of students, scholars and employers and adapted in the face of existential crises many times before
The overall picture for a sector that we have been committed to helping ever since our founding in the early 1990s has seen the ‘big four’ – Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA – triple the number of international students each has hosted since 2000. The growth potential in international recruitment remains strong, with 3.9% annual growth forecast to 2030.
Data from Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital shows that the global population will rise to above nine billion in the next 25 years, with some two billion more learners in education by 2050.
While the US has seen a loss of market share in the last 20 years, as new study destinations such as France, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia and China increase in attractiveness, it is likely to see competition for talented students ramp up further. The enrolment cliff projecting a 15% decline in US college students between 2025 and 2029 only exacerbates this further.
To reach new markets, universities need to be targeted in their positioning and messaging, focusing on affordable living costs and scholarships in some countries and institutional reputation and performance narratives in others.
It is important we recognise that not all institutions can be the best at all things. The name of the game is playing to your institution’s strengths and where your reputational levers make the most impact, be that teaching quality, subject ranking or graduate outcomes.
Embracing a welcoming environment on campus, steering prospective students to associate your city’s brand or developing a high-quality reputation in a smaller range of target subject areas are all strategies different institutions can and should deploy.
You can see the success of universities such as Wrexham in Wales, which has grown alongside the city’s football team. Previously called Glyndŵr University and changing its name to Wrexham University in 2023, the institution has grown its international intake from 870 in 2018/19 to 2,830 according to the latest HESA statistics.
Loughborough University, placed overall joint 224th in QS World University Rankings 2025, has become synonymous with the best quality sports degrees. If it maintains its position for the next iteration of the QS World University Rankings by Subject for sports-related subjects next year, it will have one decade under its belt as the world’s best provider for these degrees.
The UK boasts 21 institutions in the global top 50 for the International Student Ratio indicator in the QS World University Rankings 2024 – a characteristic we know that graduates appreciate.
The UK also has an education system that is recognised globally for its quality. Some 90 UK institutions are in the QS World University Rankings—second only to the US – and 15 are in the global top 100.
Latching on to these qualities is one way that universities can continue to build their reputation, attract students from key markets and reach their institutional objectives.
“Do more with less” has become a mantra in all sectors, higher education included. But the big challenges universities are facing in regard to international student recruitment operations can be mitigated with prioritisation and planning – identifying applicants’ propensity to enrol, ensuring offer acceptances are locked in early, deploying AI and digital solutions to automate and augment workflows at every stage of the process.
In an increasingly competitive international market, universities need to embrace their points of strength and differentiation and play to their unique value propositions.
Formulaic marketing and play-it-safe strategies will not cut through to students who have a wide range of quality options to choose from.
About the author: Kym Nguyen is vice president, student recruitment at QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Working in international education since 2012, Kym utilises QS’ proprietary data and market intelligence to empower clients to make informed decisions in the face of an ever-evolving higher education landscape. She has delivered bespoke student recruitment and retention goals for with institutions across Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the UK and has furthered the capabilities of QS’ end-to-end recruitment services.
