ICEF and NAFSA: Association of International Educators have announced a strategic partnership to grow and diversify the international student population in the U.S. by strengthening international enrollment management practices and expanding opportunities for high-quality professional development. The collaboration includes a special programmatic focus on effective utilization of education agents during the NAFSA 2025 Annual Conference & Expo and a new ICEF agent networking event to support U.S. colleges and universities seeking to partner with agents for the first time.
"We are delighted to announce this new strategic partnership with NAFSA," said Markus Badde, CEO of ICEF. "Our shared vision and commitment to improving industry standards while continuing to drive internationalization will support the growth of the sector and, most importantly, provide better outcomes and opportunities for future international students."
This development comes at a pivotal time for international education in the U.S. While there has been robust recovery in international student enrollment in the post- pandemic period, the projected 15 percent decline in the number of domestic college-age students beginning in 2025 poses a significant challenge to higher education institutions.
“This partnership represents NAFSA and ICEF’s shared commitment to growing and diversifying international student enrollment and reflects the importance of institutions’ strategic partnership with student recruitment agencies in achieving that outcome,” said Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA. “These joint endeavors, combined with our organizations’ continued advocacy for welcoming policies and practices through the U.S. for Success Coalition, will ensure that a larger and more geographically-diverse population of international students may bring their talents to U.S. campuses, classrooms, and communities.”
Leveraging the collective expertise and global reach of both organizations will directly benefit the sector as a whole. Together, NAFSA, the world's largest and most comprehensive association dedicated to international education and exchange, and ICEF, the leading market-neutral organization facilitating connections and improving standards for international student recruitment, have significant global reach and influence in the international education industry. This includes thousands of policymakers, senior stakeholders, and student recruitment professionals, making the partnership a powerful force for positive change in the sector.
Professional development
Both organizations will facilitate access to each other's selected courses and offer benefits to their respective members and learners. NAFSA members will receive preferential rates for ICEF Academy's Working with Education Agents course, while those accessing NAFSA's Essentials of International Credentials Evaluation course through ICEF Academy will enjoy similar benefits. Both courses are designed to help educators enhance their skills and knowledge in strategic international student recruitment, and this joint initiative will directly benefit educational institutions in the U.S. and around the world.
New ICEF event leverages field’s largest and most comprehensive annual convening
The NAFSA 2025 Annual Conference & Expo in San Diego, California will feature a pre-conference workshop and a special programmatic focus on working with agents, created by the ICEF Academy and ICEF Monitor teams. An inaugural agent networking event, ICEF USA will also take place immediately following the NAFSA conference. This new event will enable U.S. institutions to apply the knowledge gained from the conference sessions in pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings with quality ICEF-accredited education agencies from over 90 countries, helping them to expand their international student recruitment efforts and diversify their student body.
About ICEF
At the heart of the international education community for over 30 years, ICEF leads the way in raising industry standards with a global network of thousands of ICEF accredited agencies and certified student counselors who have graduated from ICEF Academy, our professional development platform. We connect screened agencies with international education and service providers through our unrivaled B2B networking events around the world, and inform strategic international student recruitment through our market intelligence arm, ICEF Monitor. www.icef.com.
About NAFSA
Serving more than 10,000 members and international educators from more than 4,300 institutions and organizations in more than 170 countries, NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange. Visit us at www.nafsa.org/press. To learn more about our advocacy efforts on behalf of international education, visit www.nafsa.org/takeaction.