It is apparent that international study has been on the rise in the last few years. Statistics from 2017 has stated that there were over five million international students scattered from country to country. However, research done today suggests that there will be a rise in international students to seven million in 2022. With the number of international students estimated for 2022, there will be a rise in colourfully stamped passports. A large number of students studying internationally are coming from Asian countries, travelling mostly to English dominated countries. Due to the vast number of students looking to pursue higher education from Asian countries, many students are looking into various options that can help them achieve that. This means students from Asian regions are connecting with institutions through virtual fairs, emails, or through the phone to learn about admissions. International recruitment gives students the mobility to go to another country and conduct research based on their specific studies and interests while contributing to the economy of the country they are in.

It is undeniable that Asian students are commonly encouraged by their family to pursue higher education, especially somewhere overseas. Students are being pulled in the direction overseas to pursue an education because it can bring them vast experience, acquaint them with diversity, and broaden their knowledge to adapt to western and eastern cultures. Moreover, are how many students have already experienced diverse experience prior to college or university. Most countries in Asia are already extremely tourist-based, so Asian students have become immersed in their homeland with foreigners. However, they are interested in participating in the opposite of what they are used to and visiting the western world. By recruiting students from Asia, it helps enhance diversity, equal opportunity, and enrich experiences for all students; domestic and non-domestic.

Get to Know the Continent Asia 

The largest continent on the globe is Asia, and it is made up of various countries. This continent is comprised of 48 countries and has over 2,300 languages being actively spoken every day. The most popular languages being spoken in Asia are: Mandarin, Hindi, English, Russian, and Indonesian. The most known countries in Asia can be broken down per region, such as: Central Asia, Southern Asia, West Asia, East Asia, South East Asia. 

Education in Asia is continuously dealing with various problems, which cause the educational realm there to suffer. There has been research conducted that states 625 million individuals throughout Asia are illiterate or have not completed their schooling. Due to these misfortunes, students are more interested in studying abroad, compared to staying in their own country, so they can be sure to have a successful future. Students want to enhance their knowledge to learn more about ethnic, cultural, and learning backgrounds different to their own.

As we know, education varies from country to country, depending on the importance or economic state of a country. A lot of the learning in Asia is lecture-based and memorization-based. Compared to western culture, which is more subject-based and opinion-based. Due to research conducted, students from Asia would rather study abroad because they find their creativity may be undervalued, due to certain subjects having more importance than others (math, science, reading), intensive studying hours, and high discipline levels. Therefore, students are looking for a well-rounded post-secondary experience at modern institutions that may take on a different stance on subjects compared to what they are used to in Asia. Students want a full learning experience which is what your institution can offer them by learning about different recruitment measures.

How International Recruiters Can Help Students 

When looking to recruit students from Asian countries, institutions need to think outside the box. Your institution needs to think of things that would be of interest to Asian students, to show them that you want them at your institution, and that you care about all the characteristics and values they can bring to your institution. Following that, is seeing countries improve on their international student numbers, which helps encourage Asian students around the world to see the importance of studying abroad and that they are valued outside their countries. Although it is astonishing that students are becoming more aware of the importance of international education, recruitment efforts need to be constructed and put into position for better results. 

There are various tools your institution can use to improve or increase student population. No matter where your institution is located, if you properly market your school and join educational initiatives, you can ensure that you get positive results. The initiatives that can be taken to further your recruitment efforts are: 

Exploring your Marketing Options 

Marketing has changed a lot since the rise of technology. Which is why it is crucial to use these new methods to your institutions advantage; to ensure that you are gaining the attention of the right students. Some of the most successful methods of marketing for institutions is social media marketing and email marketing. Social media marketing entails bringing awareness to institutions through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more to reach a global reach. This is one of the best ways to achieve reach as an institution because they can monitor the activity that is taking place and decipher what is working and what is not working from social media. It also gives institutions the chance to join in on trends that would appeal to the targeted generation who is looking into post-secondary education. Furthermore, is that social media can give your institution a direct approach which would allow you to target Asian students. This can be done through intensive social media marketing, which allows you to create a target audience, which would be Asian students in this case.

Compared to email marketing which uses email servers to deliver mass emails to students to engage and notify them of valuable information regarding their admissions. By taking advantage of email marketing, your institution can ensure that emails are engaging through forms, polls, and other call-to-action buttons. You can also create a specific folder that is set to students in Asian regions, which would direct emails to that region. This helps your institutions keep students informed, without seeming aggressive. In addition to social media and email marketing is joining educational initiatives who help market your institution by working with them. Worldwide College Tours, for example, markets institutions who work with them by sharing their institution on their social media platforms, through email marketing, and traditional advertising. They also ensure that their marketing plan coincides with the location an institution is wanting to market in, which in this case is Asian regions.

Exploring Virtual Fairs 

The popularity of virtual fairs has taken on new heights in the last year, which is why it is crucial to join virtual fairs to gain more interaction with students. Virtual fairs are similar to in-person fairs as they help you, admission representatives, connect with students to learn about your institution. However, the major difference is the vast number of students an institution can connect with. Rather than going to a city and meeting students in Asia, admissions representatives can now connect with hundreds, if not thousands, of students from there. More importantly, if your institution is looking to gain more admissions from students in Asia, there are region specific fairs offered by companies that can allow you to direct your efforts towards that specific region. At Worldwide College Tours, we host region specific fairs to help institutions meet with students from specific areas. We decided this plan of action was appropriate to help institution heighten their international numbers from a specific region, successfully.

Check out our upcoming Student Fairs schedule that can help institutions recruit in Asia. 

Students Want Changes to Campuses 

The latest buzzword found in higher education is diversity. College and universities all around the world are trying to diversify their campuses, which includes their faculty, students, and programs. Multicultural campuses show students that you care about them and their cultural needs. This may mean making sure that campuses are open to students from different countries, sexual orientations, religious or cultural beliefs, disabilities, and socio-economic attributes. By diversifying a campus, it means distinguishing where there are potential problematic behaviours, discriminations, or prejudices that would be creating a block between the diversification of a campus. Although diversity and multiculturalism tend to go hand in hand, multiculturalism focuses specifically on the culture of different groups. This helps ensure that students and faculty who have different beliefs and practices have no issues expressing them. We should be able to coexist with one another, no matter what we believe in, or where we are from, because it creates a greater society that undermines the need for a more dominant group.

Check out our previous blog on How a Diverse Team Encourages Student Diversity 

At Worldwide College Tours, we want to help students achieve their dreams of studying abroad. We help institutions learn more about what they need to do to gain the attention of international students and keep them. This means integrating a better marketing and virtual fair plan or creating a positive reputation around the diversification of a campus, or all the above. We want to help you with your recruitment in Asia, and help students decide which institution is best for them. If you want to strengthen your Asian student numbers, join our “Student Fair: Africa, Middle East, Southern Asia, Central Asia” and “Student Fair: Southeast Asia, East Asia, Oceania” which are region specific fairs, to help you gain more, easily.

Explore New Opportunities, with Worldwide College Tours