College moves brand recogntion overseas in ‘Far East’ direction

Managing Editor

In an effort to increase international student enrollment, the college looks to push its brand name into China and Vietnam.

“It’s not just going to be one trip that will yield a great amount of students but, an ongoing effort to make connections with international high schools, students and families,” said Dennis Kennedy, director of communications and marketing.

International student advisor Jay Deitchman travelled to China with Linden Educational Services, visiting high schools and college fairs in a handful of cities. “We thought that it was a good fit for the college considering our connections to other four-year institutions in the area,” said Kennedy.

“A lot of things came together to make this trip a very good idea,” said Director of Admissions Mary Claire Bauer. Out of two dozen other colleges across the country, Hudson Valley was the only community college on the ten-day trip.

“It was beautiful because [UAlbany] was on that trip and we were the only community college on that trip so, students that could not necessarily be accepted into [UAlbany] could be guided to look at Hudson Valley,” she said.

Part of the initiative to tackle international student enrollment was inspired by Fulton-Montgomery Community College, which has about 100 international students on its rural campus. While Fulton-Montgomery’s student population is 2,800, Hudson Valley has a population of over 11,000 students and yet, has a little over 30 international students. “It became obvious that we were missing something,” said Bauer.

The college started moving closer to the option of travelling overseas to recruit internationally last spring, when student housing was expected in 2016. While the opening date of student housing was delayed, the college’s plans to move forward with international recruitment were unchanged.

Next spring, Deitchman plans to travel to Vietnam to recruit international students. According to Deitchman’s research, a growing number of Vietnamese students are looking into the “2+2” option (two years of community college followed by two years at a four-year college). “With the emerging middle class, the economy and the recognition of the 2+2 option, community colleges are becoming very attractive to students in Vietnam and their families,” he said.