Moving Past the Agent Debate

The last three years have seen a number of developments in the debate about the role of agents in recruiting international students to U.S. schools and colleges. The State Department reaffirmed that its Education USA advisory centers would not work with agents, an international education fairs group (ICEF) promoted increased standards for agents, a group was formed to accredit agents in the United States and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) issued a discussion paper on agents in 2011 and more recently, the International Student Recruitment Report this year. And there were frank exchanges of views in the trade press, including NAFSA’s International Educator magazine.

The discussion about international student recruitment agents is a re-staging of one the eternal debates of public policy. It is a debate between prohibitionists and licensers: two different ways to govern people’s economic activity. In this case the activity to be regulated is the marketing of educational services or the recruitment of international students. It is time to look past these two old business models, and their estranged friend the unregulated free market, as none of them seem to fit the complex world of trade in knowledge services. But to do that we need to understand the issue at hand.

What Are Agents?

At dispute is the legitimacy and behavior of agents. What is an “agent?” It is usually somebody who officially represents somebody else in business or who provides a particular service for another person. What do agents do? They inform and guide