College Online Cources

The U.S. draws more international students to its colleges than any other country but in recent years, the numbers are dipping. So the question is: What are we doing about it? Lets start with the numbers.

According to USA Today News:

• Between 2000 and 2008, the number of students attending college outside their own country rose by 85%, totaling 3.3 million.
• During this eight year period, the percentage of international students studying in the U.S. dropped from 24% to 19%.
• The number of Indonesian students who used to put the U.S. at the top of their list when selecting colleges fell from a high of 13, 282 in 1997-8 to 6,943 in 2009-10.

Whats going on?

Well, high tuition fees and living costs for one thing. Not to mention, other countries such as Australia are now giving the U.S. a good run for our money.

Another problem is that since 9/11, prospective international students have been legitimately concerned theyll be denied visas.

One way of getting back in the game is for U.S. schools to pay local recruiters to bring in students. The more students they bring to a campus, the more money they make.

Referred to as commercial agents, these recruiters are commonplace in the UK, Canada and Asian countries.

Not everyone uses the agent system, however. Many fear these agents arent entirely honest, often pointing students in the direction of a particular college.

Plus, some charge the students for their services while also being paid by the college.

We need to get back in the game in a big way, says Scot Marciel, U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, aggressively marketing the quality of U.S. education.

Are commercial agents the answer? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

And dont forget to follow us on Twitter!

Similar Posts:

• International Students Bring $18.8 Billion to U.S. Economy
• Greece and the Crisis in the Eurozone
• Occidental Named One of Country’s Best
• Economic Diversity: Top 10 Schools
• Too Many Erasures on D.C. Standardized Tests