Eyad Alfattal EdD Future Directions Essay

CSUSB and International Student Marketplace: An Essay

Written for Admission to the Degree of Doctor of Education in
Educational Leadership at CSUSB

This essay is written as a requirement for admission for the degree of Doctor of Education
in Educational Leadership at California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB). The essay
concerns a challenge facing higher education in America, namely competition for international
students (hereafter referred to as ISs), an area on which I hope to be able to write my future
dissertation study. The study will focus on CSUSB as the study recognizes the pivotal social and
economic roles of CSUSB in the Inland Empire, and will aim at generating data that can
contribute to CSUSB positive regional impact. The following starts with a brief highlight of the
financial contribution ISs bring to the universities where they study and the overall American
economy. Then, issues and trends related to local and global competition on ISs are briefly
discussed. Finally, strategic marketing as a solution is suggested and the draft objective of my
future dissertation study is presented.
To begin with, ISs are important financial resources for institutions of higher education in
the United States as well as the American economy in general. ISs bring foreign currency to the
US, pay higher university fees, rent accommodation and purchase considerable amounts of
goods. According to the US Department of Commerce 1, international students contributed over
$24.7 billion to the US economy in 2012. Although the finances of universities involve
government grants, research grants, donations and contracts, international students tuition fees
remains an important source of revenue. This is particularly palpable in a number of universities
1 Data retrieved from US Department of Commerce official website

http://www.commerce.gov/

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Eyad Alfattal EdD Future Directions Essay

in California, which is the most popular American state destination for international students
with over 112,000 ISs in 2012, equal to almost 15% of the total international student population
in America (2013 Open Doors Report2).
With the positive economic impact of ISs in mind, possibly together with other cultural and
educational benefits, virtually all American universities have been exerting efforts to attract more
ISs. Institutional, logistic and other university variables, however, resulted in what might be
regarded as an unfair distribution. Generally speaking, national universities have a bigger share
than regional ones as U.S. News & World Report data shows. For instance, while almost one
third of New School in New York students is ISs; California State University Sacramento has
only 1% ISs. US News & World Report data also shows that the university with more
international students than any other American university in 2012/2013 academic year is
University of Southern California with 9,269 ISs. This is more than ten times the number of
international students at CSUSB.
Not only does competition for ISs exist locally, but also other major providers of higher
education are in the game. The most prominent are from English speaking countries, the UK,
Canada, and Australia. America has been leading the market as the number one destination with
a total of over 800,000 ISs in 2012/2013 academic year, which is 7.2% increase from the
previous year (2013 Open Doors Report). This increase, however, must not be interpreted
positively to be an American success in promoting American educational system and American
institutions since the increase is a result of a global upsurge in student mobility in recent years
(ICEF Monitor, February, 20143). In fact, ISs constitute less than 4% of the total number of
students in America while it is over 22% in the UK according to the UK Higher Education
Statistics Agency4.
The UKs distinguished success in attracting ISs may partly be contributed to the high
mobility of European students and the UK proximity to this market. This has been coupled by
2 An annual report published by Institute of International Education

retrievable from http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors

3 Retrievable from http://monitor.icef.com/2014/02/summing-up-international-student-mobility-in-2014/

4 Data is retrieved from the official website http://www.hesa.ac.uk/
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Eyad Alfattal EdD Future Directions Essay

strategic UK initiatives including the European Transfer Credit System and Erasmus+ student
exchange programs. On the other hand, the US, Canada and Australia have been more reliant on
the Asian Far East, particularly China and Korea. Canada and Australia have always been fierce
US competitors and sought to improve their services and regulations in pursue of more ISs.
Canada, for instance, has recently adjusted its student visa regulations to make it possible for ISs
to work on and off campus, during and after their studies without needing to go through any
additional paperwork. These new regulations will come into full force in June 2014 and are
expected to markedly affect ISs preference of destination and consequently ISs market shares.
The US market share is already in the decline; it fell from 23% in 2010 to 17% in 2011. Final
statistics on 2012 and 2013 are not available yet; nonetheless, accessible data confirms the
falling trend (ICEF Monitor, February, 2014).
The increasing challenges facing American universities in recruiting ISs have been inviting
these universities to be more involved in marketing which has often been a source of suspicion to
educationalists; it can easily be linked to commercialism and selling, and is regarded as an
intrusion on educational values (Alfattal & Ayoubi

2012). Marketing, however, is not

necessarily so as it is a multi-value process and not merely about selling and promotion. The
concept of marketing involves identifying the nature of what is required by the clients [students
and other stakeholders] and then ensuring that the school gives ultimate priority to supply that
product [program or other services] and maintain its quality (Davies and Ellison, 1997, 4). The
market has the force to improve education since one of the intended benefits of increased
competition and choice is to motivate schools to develop a closer relationship with students and
become more responsive to their needs (Bagley, Woods and Glatter, 1996). In fact, these
arguments are in line with the currently adopted political view of education; after General
Agreement on Trade in Services, GATS, of the World Trade Organization, WTO, the global
direction taken by governments worldwide has been favoring a market-oriented, financially
independent, higher education. Since then, UNESCO position papers5 have acknowledged that
higher education is best administered as a service in the market. Congruently, the American
higher education system has faced continual cuts on state funds and has been more engaged in
entrepreneurial activity.
5 Retrievable from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/resources/publications-and-communicationmaterials/publications/

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Eyad Alfattal EdD Future Directions Essay

The common feature of all education marketing definitions is the investigation of students
needs requirements and desires and the satisfying of those needs (Ivy and Naude, 2005, 405).
The analysis of students needs is often done through a marketing tool referred to as the
marketing mix. The marketing mix represents the base of strategic marketing plans as it not only
reflects students needs but also constitutes a number of controllable variables that an institution
may use to produce the response it wants from its various publics (Ivy and Naude, 2005, 406).
The design of my future dissertation study may use the most highly cited marketing mix,
Kotler and Foxs (1995), the most recent Mayers (2014), or will develop its own. The study
objective will be to collect and analyze data that will add to our understanding of the bases of ISs
American university options prioritizing and choice. This will provide insights for CSUSB
program planning, promotion and recruitment efforts. The study is expected to provide
marketing strategy and recommendations for actions that can help in sustaining and promoting
CSUSBs ISs resources.
To conclude very briefly with, in this essay and after I illustrated issues related the positive
impact of ISs, I discussed challenges facing American universities in recruiting ISs. I
demonstrated how local and international competition is escalating and argued that strategic
marketing is more than ever necessary. I concluded by my draft plans to possibly use one of the
established marketing mixes for the design of my future dissertation study which will aim at
finding out more about the bases of ISs selection of American universities. The study will have
applicable finding to share with all American institutions of higher education but will focus on
and will be of particular relevance to CSUSB and other universities in the Inland Empire.
By studying for the Ed.D. degree program at CSUSB, I hope that I can build on my
previous experience as a leader of education in a number of international contexts. Having
served as a teacher, teacher trainer, education quality coordinator, director and principal at
schools, institutes and universities in Syria, England, and Turkey is not enough. The Ed.D.
program will educate me on the American education system, to which I am very new, and will
provide me with an opportunity to achieve my objective of having the knowledge and skills
needed to be a distinguished leader of international education at American universities.

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References

Alfattal, A. & Ayoubi, R. M. (2012) Understanding consumer buyer behaviour in the EFL market: A case study of a
leading provider in Syria, Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, Vol. 5 (4),
pp.237 253.
Davies, B. and Ellison, L. (1997) Strategic Marketing for Schools: How to Integrate Marketing and Strategic
Development for an Effective School. London: Pitman Publishing.
Ivy, J. & Naude, P. (2005) Succeeding in the MBA Marketplace: identifying the underlying factors, Journal of
Higher Education and Policy Management, Vol. 26 (3), pp401-418.
Kotler, P. and Fox, K. F. A. (1995) Strategic Marketing for Educational Institutions. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice
Hall.
Mayer, B. (2014) The Role of Product in the Higher Education Marketing Mix, Retrieved on 04/20/2014 from
http://www.thelawlorgroup.com/pov/review/v-xx-i-2/role-product-higher-education-marketing-mix-0

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