The Centre for International Higher Education at Boston College held its two-day biennial conference this week.

Speakers at the conference included preeminent scholars such as Philip Altbach, Hans de Wit, Betty Leask, Lily Tran and Simon Marginson.

Marginson was the keynote for the morning session, addressing delegates during the Philip Altbach lecture entitled, The inevitability of difference in global higher education, addressing geopolitical tensions, global ecological concerns and decolonising curriculum.

“It’s not that the US is declining, it’s just that other countries are also internationalising”

He asserted that certain policies are deepening inequalities within some countries which inhibits widespread social mobility and argued that higher education is often being blamed. “Perhaps governments focused on employability are losing faith in the core processes of education.”

He added that simultaneously, climate science is being “ideologically undermined” and predicted it is going to get worse.

“We cannot solve geopolitical tensions, inequality, faltering capitalism, and ecological destruction solely from within higher education,” he said.

However, Marginson proffered that higher education and international educational cooperation are sources of hope. “We incubate critical thinking and creativity. We generate and codify new knowledge… We foster international understanding [and] can build a reflexive pressuring agency that’s touched by inclusion multiplicity and justice… and I think we are beginning to do so.”

Marginson shared research by the CIHE from nearly a dozen countries and indicated that common support exists for the role of higher education in “furthering public good”.

He said the American hegemony of 1945-1995 has passed and will not return. “More than 60 countries now enrol half of the young people in tertiary education,” he stated.

Marginson called for a suspension of the US hegemony in thinking and the acceptance of “the inevitability of difference”, which he said may lead to a more just future.

“It’s imperative that all engage with higher education in China,” he continued. “China is globally important to us but also, we non-Chinese people need to change the way we understand China. We need to stop seeing China through western lenses.”

Altbach, founding director of CIHE, added during a World Café session at the event, “It’s not that the US is declining, it’s just that other countries are also internationalising and are increasing branch campuses.”

The scholars concurred that internationalisation is a process of integrating international and intercultural global dynamics into higher education. However, they also warned of reinforcing the global hierarchy.

Marginson concluded, “I think in international higher education, there’s a shared moral order and a consensus about the global common good based on the quality of respect and epistemic diversity that can unite us across the colonial divide between the West and the rest.”

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The 2,000th graduate of the foundational ICEF Agent Training Course completed their course in May, with the head of the international education company urging educators to engage with players that hold recognised training credentials.

The agent to hit the milestone was Alice Gibron Temu from Top Education Consulting in Tanzania. ICEF noted that the IATC run by ICEF Academy “continues to raise professional standards in international education”.

In a comment to The PIE News, ICEF CEO Markus Badde explained that professional agencies are the ones that have well-established best recruitment practices.

They can “truly distinguish” themselves by participating in vetting and certification processes and by making a continuing commitment to staff training, he said.

“The important thing to understand is that there are currently few barriers to entry for newcomers to the sector, especially given the increasing emphasis on digital recruiting and remote advising over the last few years,” Badde noted.

“It also goes without saying that recent scandals involving so-called ‘dodgy agents’ were not actually caused by real bona fide education agents, but rather by bad actors, posing as agents, and trying to take advantage of students.”

Temu stated that the certification, not only allowed her to enhance her knowledge and skills but has also increased her credibility as a recruitment agent.

“Additionally, obtaining certification with ICEF enables me to be recognised as an international student recruiter, not only in Canada but also worldwide,” she added.

Authorities in Canada and Australia – the UK’s former universities on June 7 called for more governance of agents – are looking to regulate the agent sector. But for ICEF, any attempts to regulate the sector directly are likely to be ineffective given the “scale of the education agent sector and its wide distribution in markets around the world”.

“Governments are rather better placed to regulate educator performance”

“Governments are rather better placed to regulate educator performance as it relates to international student recruitment in their jurisdiction, but the more practical solutions to advancing professionalism and quality standards with respect to agents are more likely to come from within the industry itself,” Badde said.

The verified Letter Of Acceptance mechanism Languages Canada introduced earlier this year and ICEF’s continued investments in agent training, agent vetting, and agency recognition are examples, the CEO suggested.

Additionally, the organisation is currently implementing a new code of conduct which will be signed by 17,200 agent training course graduates and it is also tightening up its agent accreditation program.

ICEF Academy runs seven agent training courses, including destination specific programs for Australia, Canada, US, Ireland, China and France.

Total agent training course registrants on the e-learning platform are currently at over 140,000 and there are 17,200 counsellor graduates in 120+ countries, Badde noted. The IATC was launched in 2010 as a foundational course for agents.

With more than three decades of commitment to advancing the standards of practice and quality in our industry, ICEF is and always has been an active participant in government consultations, he continued.

“As a leading organisation concerned with quality standards in international student recruitment, we feel that we can contribute a valuable point of view, also given our broad international outlook, our track record to date, and our global footprint.”

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What are the challenges the American international education sector is facing post-pandemic? How is it placed to urgently address climate change and the implication of the continent’s migratory flows? And how can the region promote international research and academic collaborations and develop global talent?

These will be the key themes at this year’s Conference of the Americas on International Education, to be held in the US for the first time ever – in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The continental forum is appealing to the international education sector for proposals for its parallel speaking sessions and poster opportunities. The call for proposals closes June 18.

“We hope to receive proposals that can present multi-actors from various institutions and/or various countries together,” David Julien, executive director of OUI-IOHE Inter-American Organization for Higher Education, explained.

“For those who are less familiar with CAIE, it is similar to EAIE for Europe or APAIE for the Americas, being a one-stop-shop conference to engage with delegations from North, Central and South America.”

Running from November 6-8, CAIE will bring together higher education institutions, international education practitioners, scholars and academics, government representatives and civil society.

Interested higher education institutions are being urged to submit proposals for either parallel sessions to speak at CAIE-2023 or posters to be published in the exhibition area, Julien detailed.

Four sub-themes will cover national, international, and transnational collaboration in research, innovation, and knowledge transfer projects; teaching and learning beyond the classroom; innovation in internationalisation; and progressive strategies to address the UN Sustainable Development ambitions.

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GoAbroad honoured a man who assisted volunteers from the study abroad company in an effort to get families from Ukraine to safety after the war started in the European country.

At the annual GoAbroad awards, founder and chief of MAD (Make A Difference) Foundation John Lawler was given a special Humanitarian Award, after he dropped “everything” to go and help in the war-torn country just days after the invasion began. 

Lawler joined Troy Peden, GoAbroad’s founder, and his son who were already on their way out to find a van to ferry as many people to safety as possible. 

“As soon as we saw what was happening, I came to help. We purchased the first van not long after I arrived,” he told The PIE.

“We just did what we could; we had the time. We stayed for a year. I’m still in and out now every few months, just to keep the the work going,” he continued. 

Peden said that the award was not a “celebration, but an acknowledgement of our shared humanity”. 

Speaking with The PIE, he said that there were so many examples of how the Operation Safedrop – that Lawler coordinated – helped those who were affected by the war. 

“There was one family we were supposed to drive to Lithuania, and their father was supposed to have a military exemption. We started driving them, got to the border in Ukraine and they told us that he needed another document for the exemption, which he didn’t have and was back in territory surrounded by Russia.” The team had to return to area to retrieve the document. 

“We continued to drive to Lithuania after we left the border and about an hour out having dropped them off [at a facility], a girl called up and said that there were men who were doing drugs in the building – so we went and got them again. 

“We were trying to figure out what to do about it and then we got a call from another person in the community who runs a school in Ireland, who said we could send them there,” he explained. 

The family ended up being able to settle temporarily in Ireland, amid consistent overcrowding in other countries surrounding Ukraine like Poland. 

Another story, which involved Barcelona Study Abroad Experience, saw founder Rich Kurtzman open his own doors to a family who had been displaced. 

The other big winners at the awards were CEA CAPA Education Abroad, which was awarded both Innovative Study Abroad Program with the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and Innovation in Alumni Engagement. 

Other winners included Global Glimpse, which won the award for Innovation in Diversity with its Commitment to Diversity and Equity project – and Pacific Discovery ‘Te Haerenga’, which won the award for Innovation in Sustainability.

Through its partnership with Litter Intelligence, the New Zealand-based gap year and summer program specialist has been teaching students how to invest in sustainable practices. 

“Working with organisations like Litter Intelligence, honestly is incredible, because it’s where our students become citizen scientists through the activities like beach cleanups and learn what it actually takes to do that, clean up and then collect that data locally,” Erica Schultz, representing Pacific Discovery, told The PIE. 

“We’re very excited with this recognition – this is a very new program for us, so we’re excited about what the future will hold.”

The People’s Choice Award went to the International TEFL academy – and IES Abroad’s student Clarence A. won the Innovative Student Video award with his entry, “Not My Life”. 

In a statement ITA co-founder Ian Davis noted, “The last few years have been tough for everyone, and the international education community experienced a lot of volatility.

“To be recognised by our peers means so much to me. We’ve all weathered this storm together, and hopefully we all come out stronger. There are so many amazing organisations that deserve their flowers, it’s an honour to be among them.”

The full list of winners is below: 

Innovative Technology

The Community-Based Global Learning Collaborative, The Interdependence: Global Solidarity and Local Actions Toolkit

Innovation in Alumni Engagement

CEA CAPA Education Abroad, Passport: A Gamification Platform for Alumni Ambassadors

Innovation in Diversity

Global Glimpse, Commitment to Equity and Diversity

Innovation in Sustainability

Pacific Discovery, Te Haerenga

Innovation in Philanthropy

University of the People, Scholarships for Earthquake Impacted Turkish and Syrian Students

Innovation in Marketing and Digital Media

Universities Study Abroad Consortium, See Yourself Studying Abroad

Innovative Volunteer Abroad Program 

United Planet, Volunteer to Support Ukrainian Refugees in Moldova

Innovative Intern Abroad Program

Connect-123 Global Internship Programs, Pediatric Healthcare Internship Program in South Africa

Innovative Study Abroad Program 

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and CEA CAPA Education Abroad, Black Lives Matter: A Global Comparative Study

Innovative TEFL/Teach Abroad Program

Na’atik Language and Culture Institute, English Program

Innovative Student Video

“Not My Life” by Clarence A. – IES Abroad

People’s Choice Award

International TEFL Academy

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Australian immigration has cancelled the visas of some international students enrolled in more than one course as institutions and agents continue to call for a crackdown on course-hopping. 

At least 21 student visas have reportedly been cancelled since May, some of which were linked to concurrent study and course-switching. 

In a Facebook post, one migration agent wrote about a student who changed courses from a Bachelor’s “to a package of trade courses”. According to the agent, the student’s visa was revoked for changing to a lower-level course, but the agent successfully appealed this decision. 

The practice of students switching to cheaper providers has been ongoing for years in Australia, with students often enrolling in multiple courses under concurrent study rules. 

This has come under greater scrutiny in recent months as institutions claim that uncapped work hours have led to a rise in the number of students doing so. 

Meanwhile, the issue has been discussed numerous times during recent ongoing inquiries into the international education sector, including at recent hearings by the joint committee on foreign affairs, defence and trade, which heard that onshore agents are helping students to switch. 

It has been revealed that the Education Department highlighted the issue internally in March 2022, in a leaked memo noting that concurrent study rules were being ‘misused”, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.  

A leaked memo reportedly said that between 2018 and 2021, “in a very large majority of cases, the initial [course] was not continued after one month of enrolment and the student instead continued only in the second course”.

Writing on LinkedIn, Ravi Lochan Singh, director of Global Reach, described the revelation as “shocking”. 

“The government has known of this issue for years and department even recommended a fix but no action was taken,” he wrote. 

The Association of Australian Education Representatives in India sent a petition last week to Australia’s Home Affairs Minister, repeating calls for the government to link student visas to institutions. 

“Institutes and agents who have spent considerable amount of time and money on the recruitment activity overseas are losing revenue”

“While students are allowed to study a second course and this is a good option but the concurrent CEO policy is also misused with the loopholes in the system have encouraged certain RTO’s to act unethically and commercially,” the group wrote. 

“As a result, institutes and agents who have spent considerable amount of time and money on the recruitment activity overseas are losing revenue and rules are being flouted,” AAERI continued, adding that the loophole is “attracting non-genuine students”. 

“There is increase [in] fraud and the brand of international education in Australia is being affected.”

Student visas are already linked to institutions in the UK and New Zealand. 

In the long term, AAERI said the government should ban commission for the onshore recruitment of students. 

It comes as Australian universities continue to refuse to accept applications from students in certain regions of India, citing concerns around fraud. 

Federation University and Western Sydney University are the latest to inform agents that they will no longer accept students from regions including Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat. 

Nishidhar Borra, president of AAERI, said universities should avoid “region-based bias”. 

“The assumption by a few universities that all students from certain parts of India are ‘high risk’ is grossly unfair and discriminatory,” he said. 

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Attendees at the NAFSA conference in Washington DC lauded the event’s true “back to business feel” after years of Covid-induced turbulence.

The CEO of NAFSA, Fanta Aw, acknowledged that it takes a “village” to put on the organisation’s conference, as the attendees celebrated an overarching theme of “inspiring an inclusive future”.

More than 8,000 people attended the 2023 event – not up to the usual numbers of 10,000, but climbing fast after two years of Covid-style conferences – and a cancelled event in 2020.

The opening plenary was given by Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, who told delegates that the industry’s value is more important than ever before, especially given her own experiences.

“Education teaches us about others – about respect, about kindness and about love,” she said.

“It starts in the cradle, with compassion and tolerance of other people; treating boys and girls equally, celebrating differences and highlighting similarities.

“Once we start school through literature and history, we can appreciate each other’s cultures and countries. We can more easily imagine their thoughts and feelings,” she continued.

Murad’s story, wherein she was raped, tortured and kidnapped by the Islamic State in Iraq, touched many delegates, but her consistent dedication to education bridging gaps inspired many, aligning closely with the conference’s theme.

“My female friends and I knew in our bones that education would lead to better jobs and better wages. In fact, a single year of primary education has been shown to increase a girl’s wage later in life by 20%,” she noted.

“Education teaches us about others – about respect”

“But more than this, educating that girl will also improve her family’s future and teach her independence.

“We also need to do more around human rights. We still have a lot to do to make woman’s rights human rights,” said Murad.

Speaking of inclusivity, NAFSA’s sessions covered a breadth of different workshops and topics on just that.

On a panel examining how staff can help LGBTQIA+ students feel more comfortable whilst studying abroad, one delegate said there were difficulties with some aspects of the LGBTQIA+ experience when studying abroad, especially for students going to the Middle East – where legality can even be a problem.

“We’re having these conversations, difficult ones, but ones that need to happen. We can’t pretend that these difficulties don’t exist in the Middle East, but we can get in trouble for even talking about it with students,” the delegate said.

Jena Curtis of SUNY Cortland, leading the session, said the legal frameworks often present a challenge – even at home in the US, where many legal frameworks directly, negatively affecting LGBTQIA+ people are being drafted and written into law.

Another delegate, LaKendra Brunston-Parker, who spoke to The PIE News at the conference, told of how NAFSA’s quest to continue inclusivity actively supports her own organisation for study abroad.

“The pulse around is that the price is a big issue”

“StudyAbroad4711 is an agency study abroad provider that gives HBCU students an affordable opportunity to study worldwide, at the price points of only $4,000, $7,000 and $11,000.”

Students that have gone on to study abroad with the company are from various HBCUs, including Morgan State University and Virginia University, out of which Brunston-Parker is based.

“I love NAFSA. I don’t like conferences per se, because they always have discussions – especially around DEI – on how and there’s no implementation. For me, NAFSA is a place where I can literally see the how and I now have the tools and information that I can implement at StudyAbroad4711,” she added.

However, in a year where there was an expectation that the attendance would be bigger than ever before, others at NAFSA also disclosed to The PIE that the conference’s steeper price tag somewhat did not reflect the experience they may have been able to get out of it.

“I’m personally not finding it as busy as I expected it to be – it’s slightly better off than last year in Denver when we were still coming out of Covid – but the pulse around is that the price is a big issue,” Sushil Sukhwani, director of EDWISE International told The PIE.

He also said that while Canada is still the number one destination for India in his experience and the UK still going strong at second the US is still in third position, despite the UK’s recent negative rhetoric against international students, and Canada’s issues with student deportation.

“Most go to the US for STEM designated programs – you may get some for the premium finance or STEM MBAs. The demand is definitely there, and the US has great career options demand is that the U.S. has good career options, but does not have good immigration opportunities,” Sukhwani noted.

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After working for multiple universities as recruitment manager for North America, Jackie Christopher, originally from Pennsylvania, decided to branch out in 2020. Inspired by her own experience studying abroad at the University of Roehampton in London, she created The UK Study Expert. 

What do you like most about your job? 

Being able to get students out of the US, and expand their knowledge and understanding of other cultures. 

If you had a magic wand, what would you change? 

Get more universal access, and allow everyone in the US to understand the UK application process and how easy it is to actually apply to study there. 

Tell us about a defining moment in your international education career. 

When I was studying my masters at the University of Roehampton, I was an international student ambassador. My international officer while there, whose name was Martin, managed the ambassador program, and it’s how I was exposed to the whole idea of study abroad and this whole industry of international education and supporting students in that experience. That exposure allowed me to understand the international office, and it’s why I do what I do now. 

What was your first proper job in the industry? 

My time as an international student ambassador drove me to look at international education positions and I got a job six months prior to graduating with an agency that was looking to support students who are looking to study in the UK. And I’ve now come back around to that, obviously!

Best industry conference you’ve attended?

The International ACAC Conference. There were so many events going on at once, and I met so many international officers, some of whom are now my best friends, so it was an amazing experience. 

“I want to reach across the US, to students and counsellors alike about the benefits of studying in the UK”

What makes you get up in the morning? 

Mostly the tasks that I need to get done for the company… but really, it’s wanting to make sure I can provide that information for students who want to study in the UK. I just want to reach across the US, to students and counsellors alike, about the benefits of studying in the country. 

Most inspiring international student you’ve helped? 

There’s so many inspiring students, but there’s one in particular whom I helped get into the University of Cambridge. She just landed in my email – she didn’t even realise she had the means to get into Cambridge, it wasn’t part of her plan – but then she went on to study archaeology. 

Cheerleader of the industry we should all follow and why? 

Akil Bello, who leads FairTest. He knows all his statistics on US admissions, will call out bad actors, and get into the nitty-gritty on what’s really going on. He appeared on the Netflix show Operation Varsity Blues, surrounding the US college admissions scandal, as an expert.

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Last month, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a mandate into law prohibiting public colleges from spending money on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives for students, faculty or staff.

The law, starting July 1, also limits what public colleges in Florida can teach. It states that “theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities” are prohibited.

A separate bill signed by DeSantis in May proposed banning colleges from requiring DEI statements as part of enrolment or hiring processes and imposing consequences for those who violate it.

One week later, DeSantis announced his campaign for the 2024 US presidential election. His attacks on DEI, critical race theory, decolonising the curriculum and rights for the LGBTQ+ community have largely composed his legislative agenda.

This January, the DeSantis administration rejected the College Board’s Advanced Placement African American Studies course. And the administration has engaged in efforts to limit discussion on LGBTQ topics in schools, even removing books with gay characters from classrooms and school libraries.

“The anti-DEI legislation has resulted in an exodus of faculty, staff, and students from those states”

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the American Civil Liberties Union, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, all issued travel advisories for Florida, a state in which tourism is one of the largest industries.

As a result of the political climate, faculty and staff at some institutions are leaving or are actively searching for employment outside the state. Many HEI leaders fear these measures may negatively impact enrolment at Florida’s universities, particularly for international students belonging to historically marginalised groups.

Amer Ahmed, vice provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Vermont told The PIE, “The anti-DEI legislation has resulted in an exodus of faculty, staff, and students from those states, particularly with regards to people who hold historically and systemically marginalised identities and/or conduct research or work that has connections to DEI.”

Ahmed added that the exit has manifested itself in applicant pools at UVM.

Jewell Green Winn, executive director for international programs, senior international officer, and chief diversity officer at Tennessee State University told The PIE, while she is not surprised, “it is very disappointing and quite disturbing that politicians continue to insert themselves into the fabric of higher education”.

Winn predicted that Gen Z would not “stand by” nor “be dictated to” about how and what they are taught.

“Only time will tell but it is going to be interesting to see how the politicians respond to the strong loud voices of marginalised groups and their supporters,” she asserted.

Ahmed concluded, “We need to demonstrate how effective DEI strategies can benefit all people and foster innovation, creativity, and inclusive excellence.

“Harnessing the strength of diversity through inclusion, equity, and belonging can transform our ability to create solutions to complex challenges in our world.”

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