The Power of Information

Have you ever wanted something, thought you knew where to look, and then could not find it? I cannot begin to tell you the number of times this has happened to me in my personal and professional career. The frustration is manageable (most of the time), but the real trick is knowing that you could take a few extra steps, but simply don't have the time to fix the problem so that it doesn't happen again.

Since coming on board at IIE, I have been charged with the expressed responsibilities of assisting EducationUSA advising centers promote US higher education to students in their countries, and better connecting accredited US institutions & the international education community with EducationUSA advisers & REACs (regional educational advising coordinators). At the upcoming NAFSA conference we will be rolling out for the advisers a series of new marketing materials & items for centers to use, and have plans for a major website overhaul & marketing campaign in the upcoming year.

For the US higher education community, there has been a concerted effort on our (EducationUSA) behalf to raise the level of visibility of our advisers & REACs through expanded presence at various conferences around the world (AACC, AACRAO, NAGAP, AIEA, CIS, and OACAC). Additionally, at NAFSA this year over 150 advisers and REACs will be attending--our largest group yet. In addition to these efforts, we will be conducting a major network wide survey this fall of our advising centers and their students to gather information that will help shape how we reach out to students in the future.

Part of my goal, having been in international admissions for over 15 years, is to improve the information we provide to US institutions to assist them in recruiting overseas students. I invite you to comment to this blog with any questions you have you would like included in an EducationUSA survey to prospective students and to our advisers that would help you reach your intended markets. I will be collecting these questions for potential inclusion in our survey over the next two months.

Additionally, for those attending NAFSA this year, you will be the first recipients of a new tool to help US institutions reach out to our EducationUSA advising centers. At the country fair on Wednesday, May 27th, from 3-5pm in the Exhibit Hall at NAFSA, we will be distributing to all attendees an EducationUSA Searchable Database on a flash drive (see images below). For those who cannot make to NAFSA, fear not, the contents of this database will be part of the EducationUSA website overhaul that will be taking place later this year. Hope to see you all if not in person, certainly virtually soon.