Best Practices in Servicing to International Students

Susan Forman, University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleSharon Butler, peer Transfer Ray Kopitsch, Cedar Financial

Best Practices in Servicing to International Students

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International Students: Spending over $20B Annually in the

US!

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Over 750,000 international students send $12B every year to the US to pay for education*

Growing nationwide at a rate of 5.7%Many pay in full – 64% from personal/family sources Bring in another $8B for living expenses

Pay in a variety of ways3rd partyCashCredit CardsU.S. accountsInternational wire

*According to Open Doors 2012 data

The peerTransfer Solution: Iker’s Story

Student from Spain going to Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyWired $50,000 from home country that the Business Office couldn’t identify – where is my money?

Lost $1,000 in the currency exchange processThere has to be a better way!

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Picture Yourself Studying in a Foreign Country…and These are

Your Options:

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A Look at the True Costs for International Students

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What Can You do to Help Your International Students?

Make their payment process easy and inexpensive – keep them happy!

Streamlined processing and posting gives them peace of mind

24/7, multilingual customer support is an asset to your international student

Allows them to do business during their country’s banking hoursWalk them through the process in their native launguageMulti-channels for support matters (Skype, live chat, email, phone)Reduce inbound calls and emails for your staff

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Today peerTransfer is Helping International Students at over 250

Schools

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International Payments aren’t Easy for Schools Either

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Challenges with International Payments

Publicly disbursing banking and routing informationUnidentified paymentsShort balance paymentsMissing paymentsTime spent fielding phone calls/emails9

CHALLENGE: Publicly disbursing banking and routing informationSOLUTION: Student sends funds to peerTransfer

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Student will receive bank instructions in order to make the wire transfer in person, online or over the phone

CHALLENGE: Unidentified paymentsSOLUTION: Captures key student identifiers

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Flexible System allows you to collect the identifiers you need for any international payment!

CHALLENGE: Short balance paymentsSOLUTION: Specifies the exact amount the student needs to send

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CHALLENGE: Missing paymentsSOLUTION: Track the payment throughout the transfer process

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CHALLENGE: Time spent fielding phone calls/emailsSOLUTION: peerTransfer’s 24x7 multilingual customer support

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Multi-lingual support helps guide students and parents through the payment process

Servicing The International Student After Leaving School

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Cedar Financial a TCM Group Company

Understanding the International Student

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International Students Returning Home

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

H1B

F1

Open Doors 2012 data

Understanding the International Student

Primary Sources of Funding

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63%

23%

6%

5% 1% 1%1% 0% 1%Personal and FamilyU.S. College or University

Open Doors 2012 data

Understanding the International Student

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020,00040,00060,00080,000

100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000

International Students: Fields of Study

Open Doors 2012 data

Do not focus or segment the international student collection processCommunication barriersLimited resources to locateLimited knowledge of local environment (socioeconomics, religion, culture, political, etc.) Lack Ability to work around differing time zones

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Challenges & Threats

Challenges & Threats

DO NOT ADHERE TO LOCAL COMPLIANCETraditional agencies using in house or just call centers contacting students overseas.Working with many agencies overseas in individual countries. Doing nothing to cure intl. student debt.

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Current Model Solutions

Build the working relationship between the Bursars Office and the International Student Office (ISO).Intake of the international students & segmentation.Information is crucial for recovery.I-20 FormSEVIS FormVery Important to abide by local laws and customs

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Questions & Answers

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