Our highlights from the CIS Global Forum on International Higher Education Admission & Guidance provide a clear snapshot of the overarching themes and challenges facing the global admissions and guidance community.

It’s that time of year when we have the great pleasure of celebrating the outstanding work across our community of universities and schools each year via the CIS Higher Education Awards. We present them during our CIS Global Forum on International Admission & Guidance. 

Ten CIS schools and universities conducted sessions with their international students to understand better the pressures they face when making the transition from secondary school to university, especially in relation to moving across countries and cultures. Explore the three themes emerging from this CIS project so far.

As students explore and research their next steps beyond secondary school in the midst of the pandemic, we work with our members to support the best possible outcome for those who are interested in international higher education opportunities. Here's how our 2021 virtual University Exploration Days are proving to be a great solution.

Our university members questioned international school counsellors during our recent webinar series about how to best connect with their students at this uncertain time. Here are their tips and advice.

How has the pandemic changed how secondary school students worldwide are learning about their university options and defining when and where to enrol at university? Through panel discussions in a recent webinar series, we've gathered a wealth of insights from international school counsellors worldwide.

Learning and adapting can bring both discomfort and opportunities. We take a look at the opportunities we discovered as 2020 adjusted our path. From delivering sensitive content virtually in our child protection workshops to addressing our biases in anti-racism workshops, and helping students on their pathways to university.

"I remember reading the CIS website’s promise of ’Shaping the Future of International Education’ and I thought 'Wow, that sounds exciting; I would love to contribute to that, but what would that look like in practice?'" A year later, Nico Evers is our Director of Higher Education Services and reports on his first CIS Summit of University and School Leaders and how we're doing on that promise. 

One of the highlights of our CIS Global Forum each year is the celebration of outstanding work across our community of universities and schools via the Higher Education Awards. This year, amid such a challenging time, it gives us enormous pleasure to celebrate, recognise, and thank our award recipients for their exemplary service in the international admission and guidance community.

The pandemic has brought uncertainty, loss and hardship to many students graduating from high school this year. We share five ‘big ideas’ emerging in transition programming in the context of the Coronavirus. Plus key findings from a recent survey of 134 high school counsellors across 52 countries, links to research, resources and more.

It's been a strange start for Nico Evers in his new role as CIS Director of Higher Education Services. He has established himself by bonding with his new team via video and quickly identifying where to focus his efforts and contribute to our community of schools and universities. Hear more from Nico.

There's been a recent surge of online learning activity as schools and universities around the world look for solutions to continue their teaching, learning and student support while institutions close due to the outbreak of Covid-19/coronavirus. While this surge will help to protect the well-being of their students, these institutions now face the additional challenge of how to protect students while they learn virtually.

When our university members seek out students from CIS member schools, they want to diversify their own campus with students who want to continue their development as global citizens. Consequently, some of our university members actively incentivize students from our school members with scholarships, grants and other attractive opportunities.

Earlier this year I was invited to attend a gathering of university presidents from around the world as they considered trends and shared strategies to Reinvent Higher Education. We examined issues set to impact academia, government, and the private sector as the future workforce continues to be buffeted by change.

We belong to a community of problem-solvers, people who are keen to improve the quality of international education. At our second Summit of school and university leaders we looked at admissions reform, global citizenship and work-readiness, and supporting well-being across and beyond education.

In business, we sometimes adapt existing terms for strategic or marketing purposes. In this post, Juan-Camilo Tamayo discusses the emerging use of the term “clients” by some of the admissions and counselling community in the place of “students” and “families”. 

The topic of student mental health and well-being is broad, complex and highly sensitive so we are careful and privileged to work with experts from a wide range of associated specialist fields. Their expertise covers forensic psychology, medical practitioners, writers, activism, editing, nursing, safeguarding, researching, workshop design, and clinical psychology. Several of them will be sharing their insights and practical strategies with our community in November ...

Read these four great examples of actions being taken by our university members to strengthen student support services with a focus on well-being. Thanks to our colleagues at the University of San Francisco, Erasmus University College, Ryerson University and Leiden University College for sending us these examples.

It's not always easy to find guidance or resources to help support students making the transition from school to university, so Katie Rigg has pulled some together, with particular focus on international students. She outlines six important approaches to consider along with resource tips and useful links for each.