Social media in a crisis

“Contacting people via social media in a crisis situation is the quickest way to determine safety and whereabouts, especially when there are thousands of miles between you”

If crisis strikes when students are overseas, how can institutions check they’re ok? Email is just too slow, writes Mandy Reinig, director of study away at Virginia Wesleyan College and founder of the social media consultancy Mandy’s Mashups. She explains how social media can help to reach students who might otherwise fall off the radar.

Most people in the field of international education now understand the importance of social media in communicating with students. However, many have yet to harness its power in crisis situations. The world today has become an increasingly volatile place where the unexpected can occur at any moment. As such it is important to be able to have a means of contacting your students to determine their whereabouts and their safety status. Unfortunately, email, and even phone calls, cannot be relied on as the sole or even a reliable means of communication due to the fact that students often do not check their email regularly and in major events phone lines can be down for hours.
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Building bridges (or life after Brexit)

“All of a sudden my plans seemed not so sure anymore, and it was easy to see how current and prospective international students might feel the same”

Melisa Costinea, originally from Transylvania, Romania, is studying PGDip Social Research Methods at University College London, and has previously studied MA Film and Visual Culture – Sociology at University of Aberdeen. She is currently interning for UKCISA, and here she writes about her reaction to the Brexit vote, and how UKCISA is working to support international students.

Everyone will remember what they did on the 23rd of June of 2016 as one would remember, for example, where they were when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. I think the first thing that one should do in the aftermath of Britain’s EU Referendum result is acknowledge the immense impact that this has had on so many people, including an international student such as myself. Along the way, I will also give you a glimpse into how UKCISA is responding to the situation.
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Duty of care in the global institution

“We took calls from clients who had to sleep on the streets because their hotel was deemed too unsafe to enter”

Sean de Lacey, head of sales at Diversity Travel, a travel management firm which specialises in travel in the academic sector, discusses the importance of duty of care for growing institutions.

At an event in collaboration with the University of the West of Scotland, Diversity Travel invited procurement and finance personnel from UK academic institutions across the country to discuss key issues in academic travel. One of the main takeaways from the event was that many institutions have recognised the importance of overseas expansion and collaboration, and that it is essential that they travel to international markets to drive growth and development opportunities forward.

International travel gives these institutions access to a global network and allows academics to share first-hand experiences and insights with their students and fellow academics. Through a travel network that is becoming more affordable and easier to navigate, faculty can now reap the benefits of networking overseas to attract an international student base, and produce courses and research projects with a global perspective.
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How much do academic rankings really mean to students?

When asked outright: “Did any traditional rankings of this university influence your decision to study at this university?” 77% of the student respondents answered “No”

Are rankings really that important to students? Nelli Koutaniemi, coordinator at Study Advisory, shares the preliminary findings of a survey that suggests student satisfaction doesn’t always correlate with league tables.

Student mobility and digitalization are the megatrends of our time. There are currently 200 million students enrolled in a higher education institution, and that number is projected to exceed 660 million by 2040. Finding the most suitable option of education is, however, difficult and the competition between students for universities is tough. In addition, search patterns have changed: rather than visiting campuses or education expos nationally, students look for information online, and to be more specific, globally online, since future students are increasingly looking to apply to study abroad.
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Coverage of INZ’s investigation into student visa fraud reflects immigration at the heart of the political debate

“The media coverage here reflects an international trend that places immigration at the heart of the political debate”

An investigation by Immigration New Zealand into financial document fraud among some agents and bank managers in India has created bad press around the recruitment of Indian students via agents – but Brett Berquist, director international at the University of Auckland, offers his take on quality protections across the country;s universities and how the investigation fits into a wider debate about immigration and the need for international talent.

New Zealand is proactively developing its international education market and has seen some significant growth recently in the private training establishment sector (PTE), with a recent government announcement showing 13% growth overall for the IE sector in 2015. This is driven primarily by the PTE sector and growth from India.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s universities aim for slow and sustained growth,grow by 4% to reach 26k in 2015. Currently India is just 5% of our international enrolments in the tertiary sector. It is a complex market with a significant portion of it driven by migration goals. India is forecast to grow by 30 million people of tertiary education age over the next decade and the university sector is working to build visibility for sustained growth.
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Brexonomics: what does the leave vote mean for UK universities?

“There’s no absolute guarantee that EU students starting three or four year programmes in September will have visas to study once Britain is outside the union. That’s a very high level of risk for any EU student”

Ant Bagshaw, assistant director at Wonkhe, the UK’s leading higher education policy analysis website, digs down into the economic impact of Brexit for the UK higher education sector.

Let’s start with the good news. With the value of the pound falling to lows not seen since 1985, the cost of exports – including tuition for foreign students – have reduced dramatically. International students with places to study in the UK have just seen their fees and costs of living reduce by ten per cent. That should be good for demand even if the global PR disaster that is Brexit (we’ve decided to become a more insular nation) diverts some students to other Anglophone markets.
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What does the US election mean for international education?

“It is a very frightening time to be an American”

I was at this year’s annual NAFSA conference in Denver, where I spoke to people from all around the world about a wealth of topics, both industry-related and not. But sooner or later, every conversation seemed to end up at one of two destinations: Brexit or the upcoming US presidential election. And sooner or later, everyone had to answer the same questions: Do you think Donald Trump might actually win? What do people make of him in other countries? What might happen if Hillary Clinton becomes president? What would either mean for international education?

Here are some of the things people had to say about how the election outcome might impact the sector, and how the campaigns so far have been heard around the world:

Brexit headlines around the world

Coverage of the UK’s vote to leave the EU in last month’s referendum has been extensive – including our own over at The PIE News of how Brexit might affect international education. Here we take a look at some of the headlines from across the EU and beyond, concerning how the events will affect student mobility and funding in different student markets.

Tuition fee uncertainty

Predictably, coverage within the EU focused largely on concerns over tuition fees for their own countries’ citizens studying in the UK.

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After Brexit, UK HEIs should partner to thrive worldwide

“At the end of last week, from one day to the next, the international landscape changed shape for British universities”

By Simon Butt-Bethlendy of @GlobalHE and Chair of CIPR Education & Skills Group, writes about what the UK’s momentous Brexit decision might mean for UK universities and TNE.

At the end of last week, from one day to the next, the international landscape changed shape for British universities.

At 9am on the morning after the EU Referendum vote I chaired a teleconference with some of my CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) Education & Skills Group committee. Fellow education communicators registered shock, bafflement and despair.
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