“The industry is playing an increasingly influential role in the international operations of UK universities”

“With at least 40 per cent of East Asia students who choose to study abroad employing the services of agents, and over 110,000 UK Tier 4 and Student Visas issued to East Asia students in 2012, the industry is playing an increasingly influential role in the international operations of UK universities,” it said in a statement.

160 delegates from 12 East Asian countries and the UK attended the event, which was designed to help UK institutions understand East Asian market trends and develop local recruitment strategies.

Awards went to Shinyway Education in the “Most Innovative” category – a firm that has established partnerships with over 2000 institutions in 30 countries. Taiwan’s UKEAS Group took “Best Partner” while GEN Education Malaysia won the “Entrepreneurial Award”.

“I’m proud to come here all the way from Malaysia, a regional hub for tertiary education,” Joseph Hii, executive director at GEN, said. “This award is an acknowledgement of all our hard work.”

Although agents inspire distrust in many countries, the Council is a long time advocate. It said agents had “evolved” from being an extension of a partner university’s brand to “education brands in their own right”.  It said agents often represented hundreds of universities across different countries and offered diversified products: “Everything from student counselling to pre-departure briefings and flight and accommodation arrangements”.

Vincenzo Raimo, international director at the University of Nottingham and vocal agent supporter, used his keynote speech to defend the money universities spent on agents. However, he said more transparency was needed if the industry was to build trust.

“I think the student has the right to know how much the agent is receiving”

“Almost all UK universities employ the services of agents, but many outside of the international office have very little idea of the commercial relationships entered into,” he said. “I think the student has the right to know how much the agent is receiving and what influence that might have on how they influence him or her.”

Despite their widespread use in East Asia, agents still get bad press in countries such as South Korea and China following a series of high profile scandals. In the US, meanwhile, the National Association for College Admission Counselling is reviewing whether its members – comprising most US schools – should be able to pay agents commission.

A representative of one of America’s largest universities told The PIE News that the anti-agent philosophy, upheld by the likes of Education USA, was damaging. “Right now they are cutting out a huge proportion of stakeholders that many American universities are working with,” she said.