The Landscape for International Undergraduate Recruitment at UBC
Karen McKellinInternational Student Initiative
April 27, 2015
International Student Initiative• Established by Board of Governors in 1996
• Recruits full-fee paying international undergraduates
• Serves faculties at UBC V, UBC O; reports to the Provost each campus
• Supports recruitment for Vantage, other entry/bridging programs, visiting and sponsored students
• Works closely with the faculties and undergraduate admissions on strategic setting of international targets commensurate with capacity, admission standards, budgetary considerations, and market considerations
• Manages international student financial assistance funding to strategically support recruitment and retention
ISI’s recruitment infrastructure• Recruitment teams based on both campuses• Teams aligned for regional focus under a Director
• Asia & Europe (A & E) • Americas, Middle East, & Africa (AMEA)
• Established relationships with broad network of international feeder schools• eRecruitment (on-line webinars, chats) the new frontier • On-campus recruitment: student/counselor fam tours, weekly campus tours• Remote recruiters:
• Asia Pacific Regional Office (1.8 fte); India; the UK; United Arab Emirates; • Kenya and Indonesia (planned)
• Dedicated marketing and communications unit; you.ubc.ca site attracts 3 M unique visitors/year; active on all major social media channels.
• New strategic partnerships capability – sponsors and third-party recruitment agents
Scale – find
enough students to meet each faculty’s annual international
enrolment targets
Diversity –
find students from a variety of source
countries; find students for our
international needs-based
scholars program
Quality –
find students who can meet program
admission requirements and English language
admission standard
Three international undergraduate recruitment goals
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015Projected
UBC Vancouver international enrolment in undergraduate degree programs 2008-2015 (head count)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Projected
UBC Okanagan international enrolment in undergraduate degree programs 2008 to 2015 (head count)
Comparison with Canadian peers Winter 2014
UBC Toronto McGill
International undergraduates (all -degree + non-degree) 8,506 10,276 5,882
Total undergraduates 49,034 67,926 21,153
International as % of total undergrads 17% 15% 22%
Top five source countries
1 China 2,786 China 5,379 USA 1,741
2 USA 865 S Korea 583 France 1,330
3 S Korea 456 India 390 China 797
4 Japan 325 USA 281 S Korea 173
5 India 266Hong Kong (China SAR) 271 Pakistan 168
Institution Total Int'l StudentsUniversity of Toronto 12,607
University of British Columbia 11,965
New York University 11,164
University of Southern California 10,932
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign 10,843
Columbia University 10,486
Purdue University - Main Campus 9,988
University of California - Los Angeles 9,579
McGill University 9,531
Northeastern University 9,078
Arizona State University 8,683
Michigan State University 7,704
University of Washington 7,469
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 7,273
Boston University 7,143
Penn State University - University Park 7,024
Ohio State University - Main Campus 6,800
Indiana University - Bloomington 6,661
TOP N. AMERICA DOCTORATE-GRANTING UNIVERSITIES HOSTING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS, 2013/14
• International education a growth industry• 4.5 million students on the move in 2013/14 – growth will be sustained until 2024• China – currently #1 source of students worldwide but growth is slowing• India – steady growth; poised to overtake China by 2024
• Hyper competitive• US, UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, and now China vying to grow their market share• General perception that US and UK offer higher quality of education than Canada
• World economy improving • Recovery from recession – set back by falling oil prices • US jobs growth• Canadian dollar down – a boon for Canadian exports
• Political factors• Lingering turmoil in Middle East• US presidential elections• Changing Canadian student visa policies
Global economic, political and demographic push-pull factors
Competitive advantages and disadvantagesUBC advantages
• Faculty-driven strategic international enrolment management
• Bulk of international tuitions flow back to the faculties
• Largest pool of dedicated financial assistance funds in Canada and one of three Canadian partners for MasterCard Foundation Scholarships
• Canadian student visa policies and right to work 3 years post-graduation
• Experienced and focused international recruitment team and worldwide network of feeder schools
• Commitment to provision of international student services (eg., JumpStart)
Challenges
• UBC moving to benchmarked tuition fees –will no longer have a price advantage
• Maintaining quality in order to maintain ranking and brand
• Maintaining diversity; risk of too great dependence on one or two source countries
• Changing Canadian immigration rules less friendly to international students who may want to stay in Canada
• Proliferation of programs geared to an international consumer– marketing and recruitment can become balkanized
• No systematic tracking of international student outcomes post-graduation and systematic cultivation of loyal alumni