2026: Tuesday, July 28 on Zoom!
Sessions will be one (1) hour, including time for Q&A.
Suggestions for proposals include:
- student recruitment or admissions strategies at your institution
- admissions best practices
- addressing the current political climate with prospective students
- advocacy, career prep assistance or integration of your students into the workforce
- “selling” North Carolina to prospective students
Check out the idea generator to find co-presenters
Preferred Deadline: 4 June 2026
Final Deadline: 30 June 2026
The SNC Global Impact Award is given to someone who has performed outstanding service in the field, created positive change at their institution, or otherwise done something noteworthy!
Eligibility
- The nominee must work in the state of North Carolina.
- The nominee must have worked in the field for a minimum of two years.
9:00-10:00 Virtual Fair
Opportunity for education counselors and other vendors to meet with participating institutions in breakout rooms
10:00 Opening Remarks
10:10-11:10 Market Briefings
US Commercial Services Education Specialists from around the world will share about their markets and the resources they offer:
- Colombia,
- Ghana,
- Türkiye,
- Pakistan,
- North Carolina
11:15-12:15 Concurrent Session Block 1
Advising in Transition: How Students Are Rethinking Majors and Colleges in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Siham Ouri, EducationUSA
In the age of AI, students are approaching their academic and career choices with new tools, new questions, and a growing emphasis on adaptability and purpose. This session explores how students are rethinking majors—not just as academic paths, but as skill-building journeys—and how their definition of a “best-fit” college is evolving. Drawing on her advising experience with students in Saudi Arabia, EducationUSA Advisor Siham Ouri will offer practical insights into engaging with international students as they navigate higher education decisions in an AI-influenced world.
Webinars: Making them work for YOU!
Mary Crawford, East Carolina University & Barbara Blaschke, High Point University
Have you struggled making webinars an effective marketing tool for incoming and prospective students? Come learn how to optimize webinars to effectively engage students and improve attendance rates. The keys lie in topic choice, creating content that is interactive and relative to students, and marketing the webinar events.
12:15-12:45 Annual Meeting & Fireside Chat
Enjoy your lunch while we conduct the annual meeting and vote on new board members. Afterwards, join StudyNC Vice Chair, Sami Smith, for a fireside chat on operating in the current climate.
12:45-1:45 Concurrent Session Block 2
Succeeding in a silo: Self & student advocacy in international recruitment
Lauren Holmes, Queens University of Charlotte & Cathy Knudson, East Carolina University
As a one-person team, managing international student recruitment can be both empowering and isolating. This session is designed to explore how to advocate for yourself and for your students as the only (or one of few) voices for international admissions within your department. Through this conversation, strategies will be shared for ensuring international student needs are met through institutional communication, leveraging limited time and budget while maximizing connection, and creating tools for collaboration to maximize time. After attending this session, participants will come away with an action plan for advocacy – making sure their and their students’ needs are met.
From Admits to Arrivals: Driving Yield Through Global Funding Access
Stephen Swan, Prodigy Finance
As global competition for top talent intensifies, institutions must offer more than just academic excellence; they must deliver accessible, student-centric solutions that ease the financial burden of studying abroad. This session will equip international enrollment leaders with actionable insights and practical tools to diversify their student pipelines and drive yield by reducing financial barriers. Participants will gain a clear understanding of how to leverage Prodigy Finance’s innovative funding platform to support admitted graduate students from over 150 countries… with zero cost or administrative burden to the institution. Through case studies, recruitment tips, and data-driven insights, we’ll explore how funding access impacts admissions conversion, how institutions can better position themselves for global visibility, and how to align recruitment goals with student outcomes.
1:50-2:50 Concurrent Session Block 3
Building an Effective Rubric for Assessing International Student Recruitment Events: A Framework for Higher Education Institutions’ Student Recruitment Events
Yasir Ansari, Simpled
This session presents a comprehensive framework for developing and implementing rubrics to assess the effectiveness of international student recruitment events. Drawing from scholarly literature on assessment methodologies, strategic enrollment management, and international education, the proposed framework integrates theoretical perspectives with practical applications. This session addresses a critical gap in the international student recruitment literature by providing higher education institutions with a structured approach to evaluate recruitment initiatives systematically. The session concludes with a sample rubric that institutions can adapt to their specific contexts and strategic objectives.
What Today’s Data Tells Us About Tomorrow’s Sector Stability
Spenser Smith, QS
Join us for a data-driven look at the shifting landscape of global higher education. We’ll share what our latest insights reveal about enrollment trends, student behavior, and market stability—and how institutions can stay ahead by aligning strategy with what the data is telling us now.