Education Agents and Their Work with Universities

Vincenzo Raimo; Iona Huang; Eddie West

Vincenzo Raimo University of Reading
Iona Yuelu Huang Harper Adams University
Eddie West San Diego State University

Keywords: Education agent, international student recruitment, international higher education

Abstract

Education agents are a key feature of the ever more commercialized journey that thousands of international students make each year to enroll in universities abroad. They are intermediaries between universities, increasingly desperate for tuition fee revenues, and students searching for their perfect study destination. They have become a staple of the recruitment industry. But what are agents, and why do universities work with them? And what governance mechanisms exist to protect students from unscrupulous agents?

Author Biographies

Vincenzo Raimo, University of Reading

Vincenzo Raimo is visiting fellow at the University of Reading, UK, and adjunct professor at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, China. Email: v.raimo@reading.ac.uk.

Iona Yuelu Huang, Harper Adams University

Iona Yuelu Hung is senior lecturer at Harper Adams University, UK. Email: ihuang@ harper-adams.ac.uk.

Eddie West, San Diego State University

Eddie West is assistant dean of International Strategy and Programs at San Diego State University, US. Email: ewest@sdsu.edu.