The “door has been cracked open” to the previously “taboo” subject of American universities hiring overseas agents to recruit international students, the Chronicle of Higher Education and InsideHigherEd.com both report. The Chronicle notes that few American universities have actually signed deals with such agents; Marlene Johnson, executive director and CEO of NAFSA, notes in the same article, however, that “there’s clearly an acceptance of agents or counselors that there wasn’t five years ago, or even one year ago.”

The Chronicle profiles the history of U.S. universities’ collective view of overseas agents, noting that resistance to them has stemmed from both ethical concerns, as well as laws regulating the recruitment of students domestically:

The use of international recruiting agents is common practice for colleges in Australia and Britain, but there are good reasons why universities in the United States have historically resisted it. For one, federal law restricts incentive compensation when it comes to recruiting domestic students; the 1992 law emerged out of concerns that recruiters would bring in unqualified students in order to collect commissions. While there are no such legal restrictions when it comes to international student recruitment, many have been skeptical of applying different standards offshore. Beyond general questions about the wisdom of commission-based recruiting – there are fears that agents will pass along students who lack the ability to succeed or otherwise would be poor matches for the institution -- there’s also a general concern that agents acting on behalf of a college could engage in abusive or unethical practices or misrepresent the institution, undermining its global brand.

Despite this reported increase in interest and conversation regarding agents, the two articles suggest that the widespread acceptance and use of agents is still far from the consensus:

“I think we’re a long way from making a decision that this is the best model,” says Peggy Blumenthal, executive vice president of the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit organization involved in international exchanges [in the Chronicle]. “I don’t think this is a slam dunk by any means.”