WORKING WITH RUSSIAN AGENTS TODAY 2017 UPDATES ICEF-Vancouver 2017 Association of Russian Educational Advisors (AREA)
ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIAN EDUCATIONAL ADVISORS Year of foundation 2007 Member of FELCA (The Federation of Education and Language Consultant Associations) 19 agencies from different cities (3 years of experience, 3 full-time consultants, legal structure, international education is the main activity) www.studyarea.ru
FACTS ABOUT RUSSIA (BRIEF COUNTRY REPORT OF BRITISH COUNCIL, 2016) The largest country on the planet, spanning nine time zones Population - 143.5 million (2015), the world s ninth largest population (forecast of 142.9 by 2020; 15-19 cohort should experience a boost in the coming years) Russia has the second largest number of US dollar billionaires in the world. Significant income inequality in Russia: the richest 20 per cent of households have annual income almost eight times greater than that of the poorest 20 per cent; The country s top decile of wealth holders owns 87 per cent of all household wealth in Russia (2015)
RECENT YEARS CHANGES IN ECONOMICAL SITUATION 10% drop in gross domestic income in 2015, which weakened consumer demand and discouraged investment Rapid currency devaluation (In 2014, the rouble lost more half its value against the US dollar and the euro and was the worst performer of the year) Although upgraded to high-income status in 2013, the decline in 2015 would see Russia return to upper-middle-income levels
TRENDS
TRENDS
FACTS ABOUT EDUCATION IN RUSSIA 99 per cent of primary, lower-secondary and upper secondary education is funded by the government (age of six to 15) extra costs for private tutors; a large and well-developed shadow sector of private tutors to prepare students for the Unified State Exam and competitive university admissions process. After school students can progress to uppersecondary school, vocational colleges and tertiary education. A third of Russian adults have a technical or vocational education, compared to 10 per cent in the OECD. Only bachelor s programmes are state-funded after the implementation of the Bologna system of education Around 15.4 per cent of students enrol in the private sector The student loan market is not well developed, and more than 50 per cent of full-time students and 90 per cent of distancelearning students work during study.
STUDENT MOBILITY IN RUSSIA Russia has become a major sending country in recent years: in 2013, 50,642 Russian tertiary students headed overseas to study, representing an outbound mobility rate of 0.7 per cent and a 36 per cent increase over 2003-2013 Study destinations for tertiary education: GERMANY (14,525 enrolments in 2014); USA (5,562 in 2015); the UK (4,270 in 2015); Canada (3,166 in 2013), New Zealand (1,010 in 2014); Australia (958 in 2015); Czech Republic (4,379 in 2013), Ukraine (2,930 in 2013), Finland (2,555 in 2012), Belarus (2,128 in 2013), France (3,599 in 2013) Severe impact of economical decline in 2014 on study-related travel: international study agencies report drops of 25-30 per cent in applications in the 2014/2015 academic year, with drops of 40 per cent in language course applications. The high interest in international education means providers who can offer price incentives and have favourable conditions for working during study may benefit.
GOVERNMENT FUNDED PROGRAMS The government is keen to promote student mobility and support Russian students in study abroad and launched the Global Education scheme (Глобальное образование) in 2014. This programme facilitates study in top-ranking institutions in Western countries in fields such as medicine, engineering, and management by providing bonded study grants MORE INFORMATION: http://educationglobal.ru/en/
STRUCTURE OF EDUCATIONAL MARKET Agent-dependant market, almost one thousand of agents Visa is required to the most of the countries It is difficult to have the same marketing strategy for different regions of a huge country
FINDING AGENTS Defining the agents focusing on the market of the country where the educational institution is located and in different regions. WHERE TO LOOK FOR? Workshops, organized with the participation of the professional agents (i.e. ICEF), as well as the activities of the Trade Missions in Russia HOW TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE AGENCY IS PROFESSIONAL? Membership in AREA (FELCA accreditation) www.studyarea.ru IATC certificate (ICEF agent course) and other country-based certification systems (Canada Course, U.S. Agent Training Course) References of other educational institutions
AREA AGENT RESEARCH - 2017 The model of the agency in Russia (based on average numbers given by the respondents, 37 ICEF agents) Number of offices/locations: one (51%) or two in different cities (20%) No specialization on country/level of education: 81% are offering wide range of countries/programs
AREA AGENT RESEARCH - 2017 Agent response to changes in economical situation: Increase of the number of programs offered/new countries 41,67% Increase of the number of remote consultants 30,56% The number of consultants decreased 25,00% No changes made 22,22% Moving the office 19,44% Changes in wage/incentives structure 8,33%
FACTORS OF CHOOSING THE PARTNER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
FACTORS OF CHOOSING THE PARTNER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
FACTORS OF CHOOSING THE PARTNER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION (CONTINUED)
AREA AGENT RESEARCH FOR 2017 Marketing tools of the agents:
AGENTS EXPECTATIONS HOW TO IMPROVE
AGENTS EXPECTATIONS
NEGATIVE FACTORS FOR COLLABORATION Low quality Lack of flexibility Commission delays & declines Delays in replies on requests/concerns Poor testimonials Refuse of commission payment if the program is extended/repeated by direct booking or when the student is applying directly AFTER the referral has been made by the agent Often change of the key country managers or ABSENCE of the responsible representative Personal issues
DIRECT BOOKINGS POLICY YES OR NO Neutral position 25% Negative position 30% Negative if the offers given by direct bookings are better 45%
THE CORNERSTONES OF WORKING IN RUSSIAN MARKET Add value (visa support, more flexible terms & conditions of admission procedure for agents) Be creative (i.e. interesting facts in Newsletters, social-media-friendly materials) Be responsive and personal (maintain the relations with the directors and consultants of the company)
TRENDS IN SHORT-TERM BOOKINGS
TRENDS IN ACADEMIC BOOKINGS
FOUNDATIONS OF THE TRENDS Economical changes 91,43% Changes for low-cost markets 57,14% Marketing campaign changes 28,57% Political changes 51,43% Competition increase 11,43% Direct bookings accessibility 25,71% Visa regulations for students 14,29%
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION! QUESTIONS? CONTACT INFORMATION: Anna Ryzhova, info@studyarea.ru AREA Board member