Apples to Apples (and Oranges): Benchmarking in IE

Changing student demographics and countries of origin. The inevitable comparisons with the 2019–20 academic year. Career changers and unpredictable hiring dynamics. Adjusting policies and procedures for a new normal.

As international education moves beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, international educators are looking to a familiar source for information and guidance: each other.

“We rely on each other in a unique way in international education,” says Jody Pritt, EdD, director of international student and scholar services at Georgia State University. “It’s essential to our field—we can’t do this in a vacuum. We’re benchmarking so we can see if we can find some semblance of commonality among us, because it makes the student experience better.”

Benchmarking allows international educators to understand whether their institution is serving students well, following best practices, correctly interpreting complex regulations, and remaining competitive in recruiting international staff.  Dana Brolley, MEd, director of international services in the University of Idaho’s International Programs Office, succinctly captures the importance of doing so: “We’ve had the loss of experience of people in the field and a number of significant changes at institutions around the world. We almost have to start over and question our assumptions.”

Why Benchmark?

The present-day interest in benchmarking reflects, in part, the dramatic changes in the international education workforce. “We’re seeing a lot of transitions away from international education,” says Charter Morris, MA, director of international student and scholar services at the University of Alabama. “We’ve lost a lot of intellectual property,” Brolley adds.

Despite the current needs