Four in 10 educational institutions in the US have reported a decrease in the number of international applicants for the fall 2017 intake, according to responses from an inter-associational survey.

Alongside the proliferation of commission based agents in US higher education recruitment has come some growing pains including snags in communication, unrealistic expectations and a lack of cross-departmental support.

The American International Recruitment Council will investigate Beijing-based New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting, after a Reuters report accused the company of fraudulent university admission practices.

Around 70% of US education institutions expressed concern about fraudulent practice among agencies, with 54% of respondents saying they find out about bad practice through the media.

Speaking with The PIE News , educators, agents and accreditation bodies have said the arrests of 21 education counsellors for visa fraud earlier this month highlights the need for due diligence on both sides of the recruitment process.

After leading the campaign to support commission based agency recruitment models in the US, the American International Recruitment Council is now being forced to evolve in order to remain relevant to its members.

Chinese agency, EduGlobal says it is "deeply shocked" following Australian TV channel ABC’s Four Corners: Degrees of Deception programme, aired earlier this year, which accused them of misconduct when sending students abroad.

The US's new agent friendly environment was tangible at the AIRC conference this month, where universities were exploring how to be more strategic in filling funding gaps. The ambitious arena is also creating a fertile ground for an imminent boom in pathway providers.