StudyTravel Magazine: Market trends, recovery and opportunities in focus at EnglishUSA event
Global ELT market trends, sign of recovery in the USA in visa and accreditation body data, recruitment opportunities, advocacy and hiring and staffing were among the themes at the recent EnglishUSA Stakeholders recently.
The annual EnglishUSA Stakeholders’ Conference was held in person for the first time in three years at a new venue in Alexandria, VA, welcoming member representatives and other industry stakeholders for two days of updates, seminars and networking.
Global ELT trends: In a special update, Igor Skibickij, Chief Operations Officer at Bonard, Brittany Goodman, Associate Director, USA at ICEF GmbH , and Matthew Knott, News Editor of StudyTravel Magazine, gave perspectives on recruitment trends worldwide.
They discussed that the US remains an attractive destination and the most popular at most levels of international education, although programme affordability and student safety will need greater emphasis.
Concerning programme trends, the panellists noted a move towards purpose-driven language programmes, leading to higher education or employment, and language plus work courses. Matthew highlighted, nonetheless, that the market share of general/intensive language courses has remained consistent in StudyTravel Magazine’s Global Agency Surveys across recent years at around 37-38 per cent of all courses sold by agents.
Igor, Brittany and Matthew after a session on Recruitment Trends Worldwide.
Concerning programme trends, the panellists noted a move towards purpose-driven language programmes, leading to higher education or employment, and language plus work courses. Matthew highlighted, nonetheless, that the market share of general/intensive language courses has remained consistent in StudyTravel Magazine’s Global Agency Surveys across recent years at around 37-38 per cent of all courses sold by agents.
The panellists spoke on the importance of agencies in recruitment, particularly in Asia and Latin America, how the pandemic highlighted the increased security of booking through an agency, and the increasing use of digital marketing channels.
A comparison of the marketing activities of rival destinations showed that most have some kind of national strategy and recruitment target, at least for higher education, and Matthew shared the example of Western Australia, where the government has provided agent incentives and bursary payments for long-term English language courses.
Markets: Rachel Alarid, International Trade Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce, presented data on IEPs from the Open Doors 2022 report, and highlighted growth opportunities – based on in-market intelligence from the Department of Commerce network – in: Latin America, particularly for short-term summer and winter courses and workforce development; Western Europe, for degree courses; and Mexico for workforce development.
Visa data: Student visa processing is ramping up in the current year, according to Chris McFadden of U.S. Visa Consular Affairs at the Department of State, who advised that 460,000 student visas have been issued this year and that July 2022 was the highest number of monthly adjudications since 2016. The Tokyo office was cited as a success story, with 63 per cent more visas issued in the current fiscal year than in the previous year.
The Department of State gave indications that the temporary visa interview waiver scheme for certain F-1, M-1 and J-1 visa applicants is likely to be extended for another year. He said that 50 per cent of student applications at the Tokyo office and 25 per cent in Seoul have utilised the waiver. International education stakeholders have recently called for the waiver to be made permanent practice.
He said that in the 2021 fiscal year, 80 per cent of student visa applications were granted.
As of October 2022, there were 1,091,472 active student visa holders in the USA, according to the SEVIS by the Numbers report from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. China accounts for the largest cohort at 265,603, closely followed by India on 252,742.
CEA/ACCET accreditation updates: Updates from the CEA Commission on English Language Program Accreditation and ACCET were also giving during the event, with data indicating a stabilisation of the sector and a return to regular business for accrediting bodies.
The EnglishUSA Board at the event.
In the year to date, CEA has only seen four voluntary withdrawals from accreditation, compared with around 20 in each of the three previous years, while ACCET has only had two withdrawals from IEPs this year, compared with 18 in 2021 and 15 in 2020. CEA currently accredits 351 programmes, while ACCET accredits 66 IEPs at 156 sites.
CEA said that the average number of student weeks delivered by accredited sites this year is 3,011, higher than the 2,909 recorded in 2021, but below 3,917 in 2020.
Meanwhile, only 47 per cent of CEA site visits this year have been hybrid, compared with 80 per cent last year, and 26 per cent of ACCET site visits this year have been virtual, compared with all last year.
Government actions: Opening speaker Diana Farrell, Deputy Undersecretary of the International Trade Administration, praised the importance of education as one of the USA’s largest service sectors, and said that the Department of Commerce was thrilled to be working with EnglishUSA on the recently announced Market Development Coordinator Program (MDCP) grant to expand markets in Latin America.
She said that the government was supportive of the sector, and referenced the joint statement issued by the Departments of Education and State last year and the launch of the USA: A Study Destination marketing campaign, and added that the government is also currently working on a national export strategy.
Advocacy: In a pre-recorded video clip presented during a session on association updates, Joann Ng Hartmann, Senior Director IEM-ISS Services & Volunteer at NAFSA Association of International Educators , said that the sector needed a national strategy for international education with “actual, attainable goals” that will increase diversity and mobility.
As previously reported by StudyTravel Magazine, EnglishUSA unveiled a series of English language sector-specific requests to federal government at the conference, and other associations, including NAFSA and the Alliance for International Exchange, also updated on their advocacy priorities. Click here to read that news story.
Hiring and staffing: The conference also featured sessions on The Great Resignation: Impact on Hiring and Staffingwith a panel comprised of Lisa Kraft, Pace University English Language Institute; Jackie McCafferty, at Temple University Center for American Language & Culture ; Jennifer Phillips of Wisconsin ESL Institute ; and Mackenzie (Kerby) Bishop of ILSC Education Group / ELS .
Panellists discussed themes such as worker demands for higher pay, meeting modern expectations for flexible working in what is predominantly a face-to-face sector, boundary setting, managing staff and expectations, and the differences between the private and public sectors.
