Recruiting Undergraduate Students

With increasing costs and a poor economy, the quest for quality, prestige and ultimately income has led some universities to look abroad to bolster their incoming classes. Some of these universities have turned to companies that recruit on behalf of universities in different countries, as the cost of hiring salaried employees is high. Many educational observers, however, are nervous about the motives of recruiting companies and agents, especially because agents can be paid a per-student commission, which may lead them to be particularly aggressive when recruiting. The fear is that some international students may be at a disadvantage when bargaining and comparing offers from competing universities. Sometimes students may find themselves paying more for an education from a comparability lower-quality school.