Recruitment of international students in Canadian higher education: factors influencing students' perceptions and experiences

Working with education agents is common for many Canadian higher education institutions (HEIs) to recruit international students due to the key role education agents play in bridging the international students with foreign HEIs. The purpose of this study was to explore international students' perceptions and experiences with education agents, thus collecting feedback from international students, revealing potential issues, and suggesting improvements in HEIs' recruitment strategy. An online survey combined with a paper format survey was distributed to current or recent international students across Canada. Two scales were used to measure participants' perceptions and experiences with education agents. A total of 385 participants completed the survey. Findings revealed that nearly half of the participants used education agent services during their application to Canadian HEIs. However, their perceptions and experiences with education agents were not positive. Participants described practices of double-dipping by agents and the more participants paid agents, the less satisfied they tended to be. The outcome of this study highlights issues in the recruitment of international students, identifies strategies to regulate agents' practices, and strategies to better support international students. These findings can be used by Canadian HEIs to improve their recruitment strategy and create a better working relationship with education agents to support the transition of international students to Canadian HEIs.