You may have been busy last night when the PBS Frontline documentary – College, Inc – aired. You can watch the entire 1-hour show online (in the United States) and watch additional extended versions of some of the interviews.

Personally, we were shocked to learn that while the For-profit market has 10% of the student population in the US, it is taking up 25% of FAFSA dollars. It remains frustrating to see students leaving an overpriced program with more debt than they will ever be able to pay back.

This interactive map by the Chronicle of Higher Education shows the increases in enrollment from 1998 -2008 – which are nothing short of amazing feats of sales and marketing.

While you can watch the documentary as its intended – with disdain for the for-profit universities highlighted in it, I suggest also thinking about the marketing tactics used by these universities. Look at what they’re doing. Online, offline, on the subway, in the magazines, and most of all – in their personal calls. Sure, they’re basically doing what amounts to a high pressure sales tactic used in time-share seminars all over Florida, but that personal connection…maybe that’s what you should think about.

So basically what I’m saying is, take what they’re doing, dial it down a few notches, and use it for good. Diversity. Outreach. Engagement. Make it more than just buzzwords on an ad campaign.

US Educational Group announces the Middle East Fall 2010 Tour, you can find more details & register on the USEG Tours website

You might be a little surprised to see that we’re heading to Iraq at the end of the tour – don’t be – the fair in Iraq last January was very successful. More than 17 universities from the US & UK attended the mini-fair in Baghdad and Irbil, and reported intense interest from the students they saw in both cities. With the Iraq Education Initiative pilot program in full swing this is the perfect time for your university to show its commitment to the program and the students it will be sending!

Beirut, Lebanon - October 11th
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - October 13th
Kuwait City, Kuwait - October 16th
Manama, Bahrain - October 18th
Doha, Qatar - October 20th
Dubai, UAE – October 23rd
Amman, Jordan - October 25th
Baghdad, Iraq (Free*) - October 28th
Erbil, Iraq (Free*) - October 30th

There is a visa requirement for US Citizens to Saudi Arabia, Qatar (this is new!) and Iraq. So we REALLY encourage you to make the decisions on your fall travel as early as possible this year!

We have been in Washington DC all work finalizing visas and working on our student brochure for the Fall 2009 student recruitment tour in the Middle East. We will be heading out to the first fair stop, Beirut, Lebanon in October and we want to welcome all the Universities, Colleges and Language Centers who will be joining us on this excellent tour!

American University in Cairo
Arizona State University
California State University, Fullerton
College of the Desert
DePaul University
Diablo Valley College
Emporia State University
Florida Institute of Technology
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Lasell College
Marquette University
Mercer University
Michigan State University Dubai
New York University Abu Dhabi
Oklahoma City University
Pace University
Parsons the New School for Design
Purdue University
Roger Williams University
San Jose State University
Savannah College of Art and Design
Stony Brook University
University of Arizona
University at  Buffalo
University of Bridgeport
University of California, Riverside Extension
University of California, San Diego
University of Central Florida
University of Colorado Denver
University of Evansville
University of Hartford
University of Iowa
University of New Haven
University of Oregon
University of Toledo
Veritas Prep, GMAT Test Preparation
Virginia Commonwealth University
West Virginia University
Youngstown State University

We do have our March 2010 Middle East and Eurasia fair dates up on our site already and encourage you to sign up soon to reserve your space for next year!

March 2010 Middle East student recruitment fair dates

March 2010 Eurasia student recruitment fair dates

The want/do not want relationship between Universities and US News continues with the newly released US News rankings for undergraduate institutions.  After a year of accusations against certain colleges for US News Rankings manipulation, little movement from the “Beyond Rankings” campaign at the Education Conservancy and continual criticism of the methodology used we were wondering would be the year we would hear less about US News rankings?

Well, many institutes had their PR machines ready and waiting for the go ahead time to release their rankings to the world. With the new class coming in this weekend or in a few weeks, its good for a university to use nationally recognized criteria to build the emotional connection with the student.  The increase in niche rankings (A+ schools for B students, Up and Coming Colleges, etc) are really a good way for a locally branded institution to find a way to connect a national audience.

But is the anti-rankings stance showing up on the university websites? A quick review early this morning shows that so far, out of the top 25 ranked institutions, only 5 had the rankings “news” listed on their homepage:

Princeton (#1)

CalTech (#4)

MIT (#4)

Vanderbilt (#17)

University of Virginia (#24)
Maybe its still early, or maybe some institutions want to show that their admissions are about more than just a score, a grade, or a rank.

US Educational Group’s experience in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eurasia has shown us that the US News rankings are not as prized as they are in other regions. Students rarely research institutions through US News rankings, which can be a blessing to some institutions but hurt others without the brand name recognition in the region.

Do you think US Educational Group should play a part in increase student awareness in the region of the rankings? Or do you prefer the student to not ask about the rankings?