If you are a community college that is not paying close attention to recruiting international students, well, you must. Recent trends show a steady and impressive increase of number of international students at community colleges in the United States. In some cases, it is serendipity. Students simply seem to show up at the doors of community colleges even without any specific or targeted recruiting effort on the part of these institutions. (Many four-year institutions and graduate schools would love to have this problem!) Others are focused on international student recruitment because they are committed to campus diversity; and yet others understand the importance of international students to their bottom line and to their articulation partners.
Regardless of the reasons for expanding international student recruitment, community colleges face both enormous opportunities and a few noteworthy challenges. The opportunities are that there is a growing middle class in countries like India and China. The US educational brand is still strong and impressive around the world.
The challenges are in many parts of the world decision-makers, including students and parents, do not fully understand the role of community colleges in higher education and those who understand do not always subscribe to the value of a community college education. There is still some "prestige" issues associated with community colleges in the minds of some.
Regardless, these barriers can be overcome and must be overcome. Community colleges provide superior education at a dream price! They add value and nurture students in impressive ways.
USAsiaEdu offers international student recruitment fairs tailored for community colleges. Contact exec@USAsiaEdu.com for further details.
