“ICEF and AIRC share a determination to improve professional standards in international student recruitment,” said Markus Badde, CEO, ICEF.

“We firmly believe that self-regulation is preferable to misaligned or ill-informed government initiatives, and as such, we have doubled down on investments in training and accreditation for the overall benefit of our sector.”

Through the partnership, AIRC, the non-profit organisation promoting standards-based international recruitment strategies, will provisionally accept all ICEF-screened agencies to its certification program.

“This will make it possible to introduce many more educational agencies to the benefits of AIRC Certification,” said Brian Whalen, executive director, AIRC.

The partnership will also see one of AIRC’s most popular programs – counsellor training on US higher education – move to the ICEF Academy learning management platform, adding to ICEF’s existing training offerings.

“We are excited that this training will become part of a diverse menu of offerings”

“We are excited that this training will become part of a diverse menu of offerings that provide the knowledge and skills that counsellors need to serve international students seeking educational opportunities” said Jennifer Wright, associate director and director of certification, AIRC.

The organisations have also agreed to coordinate the location and dates of their North American events.

In 2023 the AIRC Annual Conference will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, December 6–9, while ICEF’s event will be in Miami, Florida, December 10-12. In the future, the events are expected to be in the same location whenever possible. 

The most recent AIRC conference in 2022 sought to focus on developing institutional standards, guidelines and best practices in international recruitment.

“Together, AIRC and ICEF will have an enormous positive influence on international enrolment management and the study abroad experiences of thousands of international students,” said Derrick Alex, president, AIRC.