International student recruitment

Picture above: Brad Wertheimer, President of AAE discussed his company's set-up and goals in Vietnam.

AIRC, founded by Dr. Leventhal, has developed standards for international recruitment and a certification process for agencies which have successfully undergone external due diligence, undertaken professional development and a self study, survived external review, and finally, the scrutiny of a certification board. AIRC has succeeded in developing an enforceable standards regime for agency recruiters of international students, which has five major categories: organizational effectiveness, integrity of the recruitment process, student and family engagement pre and post enrollment, and the complaints process. AIRC certification attests to the quality of a recruiting agency which meets the AIRC Certification Standards for a designated period of time.

Dr. Leventhal stressed that almost all other major destinations of international students, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada have systems in place to handle agents, which results in a well regulated and ethical industry. Though it is admittedly difficult to distinguish respectable agents from those who are not, Dr. Leventhal is confident that the AIRC certification process will go a long way to remedy this problem and bring about the expanded use of recruitment agents in the United States.

Picture above: Chris Runckel gave a presentation on the Vietnam education system and opportunities for U.S. Education institutions in Vietnam.

Runckel & Associates President Chris Runckel who has had nearly forty years of experience with Vietnam dating back to 1969 in the U.S. military opened his presentation Education in Vietnam: Opportunities and Challenges for US Universities, Colleges, and Educational Institutions, by discussing Vietnam’s rapid economic development, the country’s relative youth, and the importance of education to Vietnamese people. Mr. Runckel first discussed the Vietnam education system with two national universities, 3 regional universities, and 14 private universities with new institutions opening monthly to better meet the demand. The current total numbers of post- secondary institutions in Vietnam currently exceeds 360 and is growing steadily. Student fees in Ministry of Education sponsored universities can be as little as $200 a year but can be as much at $10,000 in certain international middle and high schools and specialty institutions.

Currently, 60% of the Vietnamese population is under 35 years old. There is a 90% literacy rate, and although only 2% of the population goes on to higher education, Mr. Runckel pointed out that there is a strong belief that education is the road to advancement, and for the first time many families have the means to make this goal a reality. As a result of Vietnam’s recent economic development and growing prosperity, it has become one of the fastest growing feeder countries of international students to United States institutions. 8,769 Vietnamese students studied in the United States last year, an increase of more than 45% over the previous year. In one year, Vietnam moved from 20th place to 13th and will shortly be in the top ten of foreign countries sending students to the U.S.

Mr. Runckel noted that opportunities for U.S. education were not only at the undergraduate level. He went on to discuss the Vietnamese government’s goal of increasing the percentage of teaching staff in Vietnam with masters degrees to 60% and the percentage of those with doctoral level degrees to 35% by 2020. The government also seeks to achieve a student to teacher ratio of 20:1 by 2020. The Vietnamese government is dedicating 20 % of their total budget to education and this was further helping to support higher education and the number of students studying overseas although most students were still being financed through private means.

Despite the fact that Vietnam appears ready to provide a steady stream of qualified international students, Mr. Runckel warned that there are still challenges to be overcome. For example, though Vietnam has nearly 3,000 agents recruiting students to come to the US, most of these were not sufficiently qualified to counsel their student clients nor to develop a well-reasoned study program that best looked at educational opportunities in the U.S. and matched them with student interests, financial resources and other factors. Additionally, students and families are often focused on regions in the United States like California as they are the best known areas of the U.S. in Vietnam as over 4 million Vietnamese resided in California with concentrations in Los Angeles, Orange Country, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento and most still maintained families ties in Vietnam. Although California has many good schools, students because of lack of information often miss better opportunities in cities like Philadelphia or elsewhere in the Northeast.

Regardless of these challenges for local colleges and universities, Runckel saw significant opportunities through regional recruiting from groups such as Campus Philly, as well as through each institutions development of a strategic plan that outlines major issues, targets recruitment areas, provides a budget and staffing, and recognizes the need to utilize local language and understand local culture. He suggested that local institutions interested in expanding their programs and student recruitment in Vietnam visit Vietnam with companies or as part of group visits of those such as Campus Philly that helped to match institutions and/or students and that assisted in on-the-ground support and meeting arrangement. With proper support and suitable preparation, Vietnam can be a fertile market for U.S. education.

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