Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SSATB
SSATB
International
SSATB
School
Admission SSATB
Industry
SSATB
2
Dear Colleague:
In 2013, The Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB), a not-for-profit membership organization serving 900
private and independent schools in the United States, Canada, and worldwide, published a seminal research report
titled The State of the Independent School Admission Industry. This report chronicled the structure, process, and enrollment
operations and challenges of independent school admission in North America and provoked a great deal of dialogue
about the changing conditions of, and expectations for, admission officers in our member day and boarding schools.
Given our keen interest in learning more about the international school admission industry, SSATB reached out to
ECIS, ISC Research Ltd., and seasoned international school admission professionals to help us disseminate a first-
of-its-kind international schools admission survey. We are particularly indebted to Catalina Gardescu, Manager
of Admissions and External Relations at the American International School of Bucharest, and Nicholas Kent, High
School Principal at Concordia International School Shanghai, for their invaluable assistance in crafting the survey.
Through the survey we sought to provide international school leaders with critical data about the:
• admission personnel, process, and operation within and across international schools;
• cost of tuition and the degree of financial aid offered at international schools;
• challenges international schools face in terms of recruitment and selection of students; and
• key issues relating to governance and decision-making.
As reported by ISC Research Ltd. at the 2015 Association for the Advancement of International Education
(AAIE) conference, the international school student population has grown nearly 400% since 2000, and
the number of international schools has risen from 2,584 to 7,545 in just 15 years. This growth indicates
that admission and enrollment professionals at international schools must be prepared to address not only
the growing competition from other international schools, but must also possess the strategic enrollment
management skills that contribute to school sustainability.
Surprisingly, for a majority of survey respondents, there is no seat at the proverbial leadership ta-
ble. Data reveal that for those leading the admission and enrollment function in their schools, 59%
are not considered senior administrators; 60% have no role in setting tuition; 47% have no role in
setting the financial aid budget; and only 20% regularly attend board meetings. Perhaps even more
startling is that only 29% of the admission leaders responding to the survey make the final decision
about which students get admitted to their schools.
Just as I have challenged SSATB member heads of school to view their admission leaders as their schools’ “chief
revenue and relationship officer,” I request the same of international school leaders. Indeed, international schools are
even more tuition-dependent than their colleague independent schools in North America.
We still have a lot to learn about the booming international school market and hope that these survey results will spark
important and strategic conversations about the function and role of enrollment professionals in international schools.
Perhaps equally important, we hope they will drive needed professional development and training for international
school enrollment leaders.
Heather Hoerle
Executive Director, SSATB
Key
Themes
There is little operational standardization across
international school admission.
Admission at international schools differs widely both in the number (and titles) of staff
members performing the admission function and the level of admission staff interaction with
the board and senior administration. Often, admission at these schools is the responsibility of the
heads or directors, with a majority also working in other roles.
International schools have great variability in tuition and financial aid.
There is a wide range of tuition charged at international schools—with the majority ranging from between
$10,000 USD and $30,000 USD. The majority of schools charge fees in addition to tuition. The awarding of
financial aid varies among schools, with no clear pattern of consistency.
Admission’s influence within international schools is fairly limited.
For the most part, admission plays very little role in setting tuition or determining financial aid budget. Having
a voice or representation at the board level is also limited among international school admission professionals.
Similarly, admission professionals are most often not responsible for making final student admission decisions.
The #1 challenge of international schools is competition from international schools.
The greatest perceived challenge facing admission at international schools is competition from other international
schools in the area. Marketing the school effectively, pressure from boards/heads to meet enrollment numbers,
dealing with economic decline in the area, and enrolling a diverse student body
are also of great concern.
International school admission professionals are hungry
to hone their skills.
International school admission professionals proactively seek professional development to
expand their skill sets and to become more successful in their roles. Opportunities for
skill development in data, communications and marketing, strategic leadership,
finance/budgeting, and student assessment are most requested. Yet, the
ability to hone these skills is challenged by some schools’ lack of
professional development budgets.
Who Responded?
Survey participants were widespread geographically, as well as over segments of interest to the international school admis-
sion community, including not-for-profit and for-profit schools, source of accreditation, year founded, ages supported, and
enrollment size. Small percentages of respondent schools indicated religious affiliation and presence in multiple countries.
Some facts about the 296 international schools whose responses are included in this report:
7%
6%
34%
66%
93% 94%
15%
Enrollment Size
Accreditation
The majority of schools Status
surveyed enroll 301-500 or more than 700 students.
● 0-3 years ● 4-6 years ●7-9 years
●10-14 years ●15+ years
94%
Year Founded
12% 42%
<1900 ● No ● Yes
1950 1975 2000 2015
Gender of Admission Leader Years of Experienc
Admission Leaders
2% 25 %
YEARS
19% YEARS
84%
> 10 < 6
Ages
of admission
Supported 42% have 10 or more years experience 41% have 6 years experience or l
leaders are female
Survey
0-5
91%
6-11
95%
12-14
98%
15-16
93%
17-18
90%
Methodology
This report presents the results of the International
School Admission Industry survey conducted on behalf of the
Source of Accreditation Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB) by Insightlink
Communications (Pasadena, CA). The goal was to collect
IB 58% information from international schools to reveal and determine
admission’s current state and future needs.
CIS 43%
The data for this survey were collected via Insightlink’s web-based
NEASC 20%
survey system. The online survey was sent to 2,146 international
MSASC 9% school admission leaders. 296 replied to the survey for a response
rate of 14%. Data were collected between late January
ADVANCED 6% and early March 2015.
WASC 23% Insightlink
80 S. Lake Ave., Suite 680
CFBT 1% Pasadena, California, 91101 USA
866-802-8095
Other 27% www.insightlink.com
Background/Experience
Job Responsibilities
● School Administration ● NGO
39% While survey participants work in admission, this is not typ-
37%
37% ● Business ● Other
● Classroom ● Finance ically their sole area of responsibility. Only 20% of respon-
● Marketing ● Government
27% dents indicated that they are solely responsible for admission.
The remaining 80% reported a diverse group of responsi-
bilities outside of admission. A majority of international ad-
16% 15% mission professionals report responsibilities, including oth-
10% er administrative duties (64%), marketing/communications
5% (63%), or financial administration (23%) in addition to ad-
mission. Only 19% of international admission professionals
have responsibilities in teaching or advising/counseling.
Job Responsibilities
in Addition to Admission
64% Administrative
Tenure patterns for admission staff at their current schools tend to Tenure at
mirror their tenure in admission. Almost one-quarter (23%) have been Current School
at their schools zero to three years and about the same proportion
(21%) have been at their schools four to six years. About one-in-six
(15%) have been at their schools seven to nine years, nearly one-fifth
(19%) for 10-14 years, and 22% have been at their schools for 15 years 23% 22%
or more.
According to the survey, almost 42% of international school admission
leaders have 10 or more years of experience in admission, while 41% 21% 19%
have six years’ experience or less. However, 59% have been at their
current schools more than seven years, suggesting they have devel- 15%
oped a strong knowledge of the schools’ values and culture.
● 0-3 years ● 4-6 years ●7-9 years
●10-14 years ●15+ years
1
by those in the admission office, along with other school
Assessing/obtaining info on
advancement leaders. Yet, only four-in-10 of the survey
4% 41%
student's special education
respondents are members
needs (when of their schools’ senior lead-
applicable)*
ership teams (41%). Most others are involved with the
senior leadership to at least some extent—but 32% of
2
them report that they have no formal, face-to-face inter-
actions with senior leaders.
Assessing the students 28% 8%
Similarly, the survey finds a significant disconnect between
behavior/character*
the board room and the admission office. A mere 20%
of directors/heads of admission regularly attend board
meetings, while a smaller percentage (13%) present at
19%
3
board meetings only when specifically called to attend.
● I am a member ● I only present to the
Thirty-nine percent
Determining (39%) provide information to the
English of the leadership team. leadership team meetings
when asked.
board but doproficiency
language not usually attend meetings, while nearly ● I am not a member of the
leadership team, but ● I provide the leadership team
one-third (29%) are not involved in board activities at all. regularly attend their info, but do not attend
meetings. meetings.
Some schools have boards that have taken a proactive ap- ● I am not involved with the
4
proach to understanding the role of admission in relation leadership team.
Understanding
to school sustainabilitydifferent
and revenue generation. Thirty-six percent (36%) of responding schools have boards that have an
grading systems of
admission/marketing committee students'
or working group. This proportion varies across regions, school sizes, and countries, from
current schools*
as low as one-fourth (24%) to as high as two-thirds. However, 32% of total respondents indicate that they do not serve on
their school’s admissions/marketing committee or working group—begging the question of why the key admission staffer
is not giving voice to admission challenges, marketing tactics, and other enrollment strategies at the board level.
20%
29 %
13%
60%
retention is needed within schools. Admission directors
must be part of these strategic conversations within their
schools in order to help build enrollment models that are Given amount to work with,
sustainable for their institutions. limited influence on decision
Despite significant responsibility for revenue generation
30%
and sustainability, there is also a disconnect between what
international school admission leaders are accountable for
and what they control. Only a small percentage of interna- Makes requests,
tional school admission leaders have a seat at the leader- not part of decision
ship table when tuition is set at their schools. When asked
10%
about the role of admission in determining tuition, 60%
say they are given limited influence on the decision; 30%
report making requests or suggestions regarding tuition
but are not part of the decision; and only 10% report that Play a
key role
admission plays a key role in deciding tuition.
Similarly, admission directors have a limited role in setting
the financial aid budget for their schools. According to the
survey’s respondents, 44% have limited influence on financial aid budget decisions; 47% have no influence regarding
financial aid decisions; and only 9% report that admission plays a key role in deciding the financial aid budget. Given
admission’s direct role in managing awards, the slightly increased role in financial aid budgeting over tuition setting makes
sense; the low level of influence does not.
47% 44% 9%
Have limited influence Have no influence Play key role
on financial aid on financial aid in financial aid
budget decisions budget decisions budgeting
Recruitment Activities
and Their Effectiveness
Unlike independent schools in North America, only a small proportion of international schools are actively engaged
in outreach activities designed to attract and refer students to their schools. Sixty-four percent (64%) of respondents
said they make no visits to the human resource offices of the companies with whom they are closely tied, though larger
schools and those in China are slightly more likely to do so. Sixty-three percent (63%) do not visit any corporate relo-
cation companies, and that same proportion make no visits to feeder schools.
Visits to HR offices
Effective
of companies Marketing Tools
School fairs Most Effective
3%
Marketing Tools
9%
2 % 15%
Referral from 5%
5% Current Family Referral from
??% 53% Current Family
7 % 15
%
64%
7%
Referral from 15
%
Previous Family
● Zero Referral from
??% Previous Family
●1
●2
Visits to ●3
Visits to corporate
feeder schools relocation
● 4 School Tour
companies
??% School Tour
● 5 or more 14%
1% 15% 2
%
5% 5%
Videos of
9% 63% campus/ 8%
63% Videos of
campus life Campus/
6% ??% 8%
Campus Life
Relocation
agents Relocation
Since it is clearly not active outreach, ??%
what marketing tools do international Agents
school admission directors use and find most effective? The survey results
indicate that international schools regard referrals from current and previous
Human
families and school tours as the most Resources
effective recruitment tools. Perceived Human
Managers Resources
effectiveness is much lower for campus??% videos, relocation agents, HR manag-
Managers
ers, social media, and viewbooks/newsletters/magazines. Given the role of the
school tour, it is not surprising that according to survey respondents, at least
Social Media
seven-in-ten applicants visit the school ??%
before acceptance.
Social Media
8
Many international schools indicate the use of additional tools to connect
8
with prospective families and to raiseViewbooks/
the profile of their schools with key
audiences, including alumni events in the U.S.; hosting of national and regional
Newsletters/ Viewbooks/
Magazines
events on campus; the rental of school??%facilities to other groups; special pro- Newsletters/
Magazines
grams including summer camps, festivals, and school fairs; student ambassador
programs; and advertising on local radio.
Standardized
assessments
plication requirements, widespread
test scores
interviews
interviews
Candidate
In-house
use of a single, standard application
samples
Teacher
Writing
records
Parent
is not evidenced in the data. About
half of the international schools
reporting (51%) have their own
school-specific online application form, yet use of a “common application” form—i.e. one form that can be used to
How is FA budget set?
apply to multiple schools—is rare among international schools. The international school admission community might
wish to consider use of a common application to standardize and simplify the application process for their highly mo-
bile students and families.
45%
Assessing Applicants
The greatest applicant assessment challenges at international schools are
assessing special education needs (29%), determining the level of English lan-
guage proficiency (25%), assessing behavior/character (22%), and differentiating
Set as % of tuition
h the relative strength of the student’s current school’s academic program (21%).
n glis c y
E n 25%
i c ie Given the great interest in international schools by the global community, it is
Flexible based on goals/need
o f
Pr of no surprise that more than three-quarters
20% of international schools (77%)
require an English proficiency test. Yet, nearly half of the schools reporting
(43%) use an assessment that was created in-house, while others accept the
Don't know
12% 5%
1%
Enrollment Management
The Challenging Competition and the Growing International
Environment School Market
According to ISC Research Ltd.’s annual update given at the 2015 AAIE
conference, the international school student population has grown nearly
Competition from
other international
schools in area
1 400% since 2000, and the number of international schools has risen from
2,584 to 7,545 in just 15 years. Therefore, it is not surprising that compe-
tition from other international schools in the area, marketing the school
2 Marketing
school effectively
effectively, pressure from boards/heads to meet enrollment numbers, and
dealing with economic decline in the area are cited by admission officers
as their greatest challenges.
3
Pressure from
board/head to meet
enrollment numbers
Other factors, such as enrolling a diverse student body, limiting the num-
ber of students with learning differences or ESOL students, and the de-
clining number of eligible students in the area, are secondary challenges
4 Economic decline
in area faced by international school admission teams.
The Funnel
While the admission funnel has long been the way admission offices track
Enrolling a diverse
student body 5 a student’s journey from prospect to matriculant, there are a variety of
important factors that are changing the way traditional funnel data are uti-
Enrollment limits on
lized in the admission process. While the singular function of the funnel is
6 number of students
with learning style
to provide predictive statistics, the data have become more challenging to
differences
manage and to use in predicting enrollment. For example, inquiries across
most independent schools in North America have dropped dramatically
Limits on number
of ESOL students 7 as “stealth” applicants use schools’ websites to research institutions. As a
result of this, applicants no longer need to self-identify as interested par-
Declining number ties until the application is in hand. Yet, the funnel is still a relevant tool for
8 of eligible students
in area admission offices seeking to track funnel statistics. Likewise in international
schools, eight-in-10 (81%) in this survey are doing this type of tracking.
Enrollment Restrictions
Some international schools must adhere to enrollment restrictions from local governments seeking to preserve their
own education systems. However, nearly two-thirds of international schools (63%) report that there are no enrollment
restrictions imposed by their host country, while others have restrictions on the number of in-country passport holders
(16%), don’t allow in-country passport holders at all (7%), or have some other restriction (14%). Restrictions are most
widespread in Asia (57%). According to ISC Research Ltd., though its clientele varies from country to country, the company
reports that generally, “Four-fifths of the pupils they teach around the world are locals... Thirty years ago, just a fifth were.”
Quotas, on the other hand, are developed by schools’ boards and are designed to limit nationality/language group dom-
inance—thereby creating diversity and advancing schools’ missions. Admission officers who do operate with quotas
must balance those parameters while still driving demand for the school. In this survey a relatively small proportion of
international schools responding (22%) have a quota system for students from particular countries or language groups.
Quotas are much more common in Asia (31%), especially in Thailand (62%).
Budget
The theme of “accountability but no control” extends to the admission office’s budget. Only 37% of survey respondents
are given admission office budgets to manage. Regardless of who manages the budgets, they vary widely as a percent-
age of international schools’ overall budgets. About one-fourth of schools responding (24%) indicate that no distinct
admission budget exists. At nearly one-third of schools (30%), the admission budget is 1% of the total school budget,
while at nearly one-third of schools, the admission budget is 5% or more of the overall budget. At 8% of schools the
admission budget is 2% of the total, and at another 8% of schools it is 3% of the total. Overall, admission budgets tend
to be largest on a percentage basis for schools in Asia. How admission budget money is allocated and the extent to
which it is spent in each area varies among those
responding to the survey.
About SSATB
SSATB is a not-for-profit membership association that provides
unparalleled leadership and service in meeting the admission assessment
and enrollment needs of schools, students, and families.
Contact
Trish Frazzetto, Director of Marketing and Communications
Phone: 609-683-4440 ext. 262 • Email: tfrazzetto@ssat.org
Suggested Citation
Secondary School Admission Testing Board, (2015).
International School Admission Industry. Princeton, New Jersey.
Access
Online access to this report can be found at:
www.admission.org/intl-admission
SSATB homepage for admission professionals:
www.admission.org
Conclusion
The data in this report indicate the need to evolve the work of admission within the international school commu-
nity. Admission directors need to advocate for themselves to join board discussions; to partner with the head of
school on clearly defined metrics; and to develop competencies in business analytics, finance, and marketing. A
critical component to this is a strategic plan for professional development growth.
Professional Goals and Objectives
Professional development resources for admission professionals are available from a variety of resources. SSATB
offers free on-demand professional development on www.admission.org. More than 400 articles, reports, videos,
and webinars are available for you and your team to utilize to improve business analytics, finance, and marketing
competencies. Commit to the following professional goals:
1. Become a data expert on market and admission industry trends; demonstrate ROI.
2 . Create an internal PR campaign to market your department’s vital contribution to the school’s
financial model.
3. Consistently communicate data about about campus-wide enrollment and industry recruitment
trends to school leadership.
4. Advocate to play a key role in the financial aid and tuition-setting processes while working
on financial and data skills.
Acknowledgements
SSATB relied on colleague organizations and their leaders to help outline the survey, as well as see to its wide
distribution among their member schools. We offer a special thank you these organizations, listed below. This
survey could not have been completed without their valuable input, insight, and support.
A special thank you to Richard Gaskell, Director for International Schools, at ISC
Research/The International School Consultancy.
Association of
International Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA)
Schools in Africa Peter Bateman, Executive Director • Mary Jo Heatherington, Director
ECIS
Kevin Ruth, Executive Director