A recent survey that was conducted by VETEC’s parent organization,  California ETEC, has again identified the number one issue for U.S. schools recruiting international students-  How to maintain student diversity! While the boon of international students has been helpful to the bottom line of many public and private institutions,  the truth is most programs are too reliant on just a few countries for the majority of their international student population.     While our own organization has been proud to support the recruitment efforts of many institutions in China,  it is very common to hear these same institutions remark they are looking to lighten their dependence on Chinese students.   It is not uncommon to find that the average institution has nearly 50% of their students from China, and this is particularly true for secondary schools that are now emerging as active players in the international student recruitment market.    In the past few years the King Abdullah Scholarship Program has brought more 100,000 Saudi students to U.S shores, and coupled with the tidal wave of Chinese students, it is common to find that 75-80% of English language students at most public and private institutions are from these two countries.

So how then can schools maintain international student diversity?   Without question,  ASEAN countries beckon the best hope.    For a number of schools,  Vietnam is already an important student recruitment market and holds promise to be even more significant in the coming years.    If you add Thailand, Indonesia and the emerging Burmese student market,  the ASEAN region offers a target market of more than 500 million.    California ETEC and VETEC has a long history helping U.S. schools engage the  Vietnamese and Thai markets, going back as far as 2004 when we brought our first school delegation to Bangkok.

2014 IIE Open Doors Data

• Vietnam-16, 579
• Indonesia- 7920
• Thailand- 7340

We invite interested schools to contact California ETEC/VETEC to learn about the recruitment opportunities and key success factors  in the ASEAN region countries and upcoming recruitment events planned in Spring 2015 and future events in Fall 2015.    We will have specific events for public, private and boarding high schools,  colleges and universities.