Call my agent: how to work constructively with education agents

As university counsellors working in the international arena, we are all aware of the role that education agents play in global education.

Universities use agents to find students; agents need to place students to earn commission. It’s a symbiotic arrangement. The commodity is the student, and an agent needs to have access to students to maintain the relationship (and income).

As Joni Mitchell didn’t sing, I’ve looked at agents from both sides now. What I mean is that before becoming a university counsellor, I worked on the recruitment side, finding students for British schools and universities. In my recruiting role, most student interactions came through introductions from education agents, either directly or via their education fairs.

And now, in my role as a university counsellor, education agents make great efforts to engage with me as a conduit to my students and their families. On a personal level, I have to say that I seem to be far more popular now that I am on the counselling side than I ever was when I was a recruiter or a teacher.

The two types of education agents

I know that many university counsellors wince at the mention of agents, seeing them as at best an irritating distraction and, at worst, undermining our work in finding the best-fit options for our students. And, to be fair, I inwardly (I hope) groan when a parent tells me that they are using an agent or an independent counsellor to “help them” find the best university for their son or daughter.

However, my experience of working closely with agents in my previous work life has helped me to leverage their skills and contacts to complement my role.

Looking at the role of an agent from a recruitment point of view, it seems to me that we can divide agents into two distinct camps: those who focus solely on getting the best commission rates and whose “advice” is based on a “let’s make lots of money” ethos, and those who genuinely care about presenting the most appropriate options for students and who see long-term reputation and word-of-mouth recommendations as a better business model. Getting the latter on board to provide advice, practical help and expertise can greatly benefit our students.

The key is to get to know the agent and to ensure that they fully understand the role that we would like them to play, as well as how they can also benefit from a close relationship with our schools.

Agent secrets

Here are some ways in which a relationship with an agent can be useful:

Bringing universities to your school

A good agent relationship is a great way of bringing universities to the school for university fairs or careers events. This raises the agent’s own profile with the universities (though remember that most universities work with multiple agents and cannot support them all by attending every event or education fair, so they have to select which ones to prioritise). And universities welcome personal introductions to schools, and the chance to build up relationships.

Arranging talks by academics

If an agent has a good personal relationship with a university, they can use this to get visiting academics to deliver subject- or career-specific talks to our students.

I find that these are far more effective in guiding and inspiring students than those presentations that involve a hard-sell approach (“Our university was ranked number eight in the world for chocolate cake in the student canteen”).

Providing country-specific advice

Counsellors in international schools are under pressure to be experts in admission processes and visa issues in multiple countries. Therefore, being able to call on advice from country specialists can save so much time and help to avoid mistakes.

Facilitating back-up plans

Being able to put in place a Plan B for a student who might not be confident of achieving the required grades or scores for their offers can be much easier if there is a quick and easy communication path between us and the universities. For example, agents can help with putting in place an alternative course or route into a particular university as a back up if things don’t go to plan.

Arranging university visits

Agents can arrange for counsellors or our students to visit universities.

Agents of change

Of course, you have to find agents you can trust, and who understand what the school wants. I make a point of attending as many education fairs as I can, as much to get to know the agents as to meet universities.

I sometimes invite agents to visit our school, so they can get to know us. But I decline any requests for them to give a presentation or to meet students or parents unless it is to deliver specific information on a complicated topic – such as fees or visas – for a particular country.

I know that some counsellors will be wary of engaging closely with agents, and that others will over the years have built up close relationships with universities and so don’t need the help of a middleman.

But for younger schools, newer counsellors or those who are the sole school counsellor, working selectively with a trusted and understanding agent means you’ve got a friend to support your work.