The PIE: Do your counsellors place students only at ELS partner schools?

MH: No, our counsellors in many cases are non-exclusive. So when we do our certification training for counsellors we tell them the student comes first and the school chosen should accord with the student’s qualifications, ambitions and finances. Many of our counsellors represent as many a 500 institutions, some of whom are our partners, some of whom are not.

The PIE: What did you think of the recent NACAC decision not to ban schools from paying agents who place foreign students in the US?

MH: I think it’s long overdue. There are so many universities who have decided unilaterally to compensate agents in the past. To give an example, before we set up at Middle Tennessee State University, the State of Tennessee did not allow universities to pay any commission on foreign students who went to the university.

Subsequent to our arrival on the campus six years ago, there was actually a motion in the state legislature to approve the payment of commission to overseas recruiters. Now all public institutions are empowered by the state to pay commission to recruiters. In New York State, certain state institutions have a state approved policy of paying overseas recruiters, too.

So I believe that if the US wants to compete for the best international students they simply have to get on the bandwagon and play catch-up in learning how to do it ethically with the correct vetting of partners. Part of what we do is make sure that our agents are ethical and treat students in an appropriate manner and they give good, informed advice.

The PIE: ELS is spread across many territories. Which are the most important at the moment for you? 

“If the US wants to compete for the best international students they simply have to get on the bandwagon and play catch-up”

MH: The two biggest contributors to international student mobility, and thus to our business, are China and India. The demand from China has been impaired somewhat by current economic circumstances, and equally that many returning students have not got the kind of jobs they were expecting. So there’s a little bit of a slow down there. Many of the best US universities are also saturated with Chinese students. But I think as more mid-tier ranked universities work to attract Chinese students this will ease.

We’ve recently opened up recruitment in India, not because students there need English necessarily, but because our university partners need Indian students. It is the only country in the world where we provide student counselling ourselves and we don’t charge for it. We have been sending students to many institutions with whom we have no direct relationship because they are qualified and have interest –including Ivy League schools.

The PIE: Are you experiencing growth elsewhere?

MH: We see growth throughout South East Asia. There’s a shortage of graduate education in those countries that will remain an issue for some years. Central Asia and the Middle East after the Arab Spring have seen growth too – again people increasingly want their children to be educated abroad and often see the US as the destination of choice.

Korea meanwhile has been slowing down. We’re waiting to see what happens in Turkey and Brazil, where the recent social unrest may spur even greater demand for study abroad.

“We see growth throughout South East Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East after the Arab Spring”

The PIE: The pathway market is getting quite crowded now with the likes of INTO moving into the USA. Is becoming more competitive?

MH: My approach is not to look in the rear view mirror but drive as fast as I can! I don’t consider other institutions to be competitors; I don’t feel they have the position we do with regards to higher education. Their models are different—certainly they would be appealing to certain institutions.

INTO is extremely successful in the UK with the model they have; there are others who are equally successful in the UK and Australia. ELS is not present in the UK at all at this moment. With students needing an IELTS 6.0 to get a student visa, and the government trying to reduce the number of international students in the UK, we don’t see it as best time to open up there. But the rest of Europe is indeed important for us right now.