Student/Parent Portal
Building Standards, Measuring School International Program Compliance, & Student Safety
Amid growing concerns over the stability of the international education market, building trust between stakeholders should be a top priority. Industry standards provide people and organizations with a basis for mutual understanding and are used to facilitate better communication, measurement, commerce, and execution. These standards are especially relevant in industries that cross national borders. For multi-national organizations, international standards should be developed by experts through a process that is balanced, open, and transparent. Trust is at the heart of establishing best practices where all parties involved seek practical solutions to real-world problems and issues through the following:
Additionally, prospective international students and their families have become increasingly price-sensitive as tuition prices have risen over recent years both at the secondary and college levels. In a new report by US News, price was overwhelmingly the deciding factor that families consider when choosing a school, “Approximately 40% of students turned down their first-choice college because of financial concerns.”
As an industry leader, Cambridge Network has mobilized all its resources to provide families with student-focused services, return value to our parents, build positive industry practices, and increase customer satisfaction and retention.
Student-Focused Services
As a part of our Happy Student Initiative launched in September of 2018, Cambridge Network established new benchmarks for student support services and promoted industry-wide change to meet the essential needs of students. These services include:
- Cambridge UP program, an interdisciplinary online curriculum designed to meet the specific needs of international high school students by developing their study skills and social-emotional growth.
- Personal weekly face-to-face check-ins with our local Cambridge Network Student Development Managers to better support their cultural and academic adjustment during their international exchange experience.
- Newly updated and improved In-Country and Domestic-Based Student Orientations to meet the evolving needs of the parents and students better.
Affordability and Price Transparency
We have also sought to uphold value and affordability for all of our partners and families. Cambridge Network is proud to say the Happy Student Initiative was successfully launched and delivered to our students and families at no additional cost. To further promote our price transparency standards, we continue to work with international agencies partners to maintain fair commission-based recruitment of international students. More recently, we have encouraged our school partners to join in the effort to create a more sustainable and stable industry. Last month, we highlighted recruitment strategies for our school partners to strengthen their international student admissions and retention efforts.
Process and Organizational Stability
As an organization, we have streamlined our administrative processes to alleviate inefficiencies and enhance our organizational stability. We have improved our host and student onboarding processes to allow for smoother transitions into our network and better customer service. Additionally, students are provided greater control in your host selection process, where they can openly choose their intended host families for their homestay. Cambridge Network continues to make advances in our financial processes and reporting to further establish trust with our families and schools.
To better evaluate your international program partners, ask for a Certificate of Good Standing from an overseeing organization like the Better Business Bureau, or request an annual financial summary to verify financial stability.
If you’re interested in growing your international student program, contact Cambridge Network for a consultation today! Follow the link to submit an inquiry form.
Visit our blog section to learn about industry trends, international program best practices, ways to engage students, and more.
