Latin American agents report they are beginning to see repercussions of the US’s change in politics, predicting interest among students to study in the country will stagnate with students seeking alternative English language destinations.
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.
Education agents around the world are preparing to redouble their marketing efforts to encourage international students to study in the US, predicting a volatile landscape in the coming months.
ICEF reported an appetite for business in Brazil at its recent Latin America Workshop, and also organised its first partnership forum focused on HE partnerships and collaboration.
NACAC has amended its Statement of Principles of Good Practice to ensure agent usage and commission payments are clearly communicated to prospective international students.
Just 44% of Indian student visa applications assessed since January were accepted, figures from Immigration New Zealand reveal, with fraud given as one of the reasons for the high refusal rate.
Stakeholders have said the investigation blows the cover off an "open secret" of Indian agents falsifying bank statements and universities not verifying loan letters, with nearly 60 education agents in Hyderabad found to have submitted fraudulent loan documents.
A panel of education agents from Italy, Spain and Germany said at the Eaquals conference last week that the internet has changed how they recruit and the relationship they have with schools.