In August 2021, Canadian writer Nicholas Hune-Brown published a deep dive article in The Walrus magazine, The Shadowy Business of International Education. In Nick’s own words “it’s a wide-ranging look at a massive, under-examined industry, following students from rural India, through the unregulated world of education agents, to the colleges that increasingly depend on their fees.”
The Sidney Hillman Foundation supports excellence in journalism in the US and Canada. In March 2022 it announced Hune-Brown as the winner of the prestigious 2022 Hillman Prize for his article. The prize citation states in part:
Hune-Brown’s article was one of the most-read stories of the year from The Walrus. It sparked conversations in college classrooms and amongst post-secondary administrators, invitations to speak at campuses across the country and at conferences for university executives and international student groups. It inspired follow-up pieces in both in mainstream newspapers and in media outlets catering to newcomers, which continue to follow the story.
Hune-Brown brings this many-layered story to life by taking us along on the journey of one such student, Kushandeep Singh. The reader follows Singh’s path from a tiny village in northern India to studying at KPU in British Columbia to Winnipeg, Manitoba adding a deeply personal layer to a sharply focused investigative piece. The power of Hune-Brown’s hard-hitting yet compassionate storytelling, and the breadth and depth of this original investigation truly embodies the spirit of the Hillman prize.
The Sidney Hillman Foundation
How much visibility do you have over your education agents?
So far in 2022 AgentBee has added over 40 detailed reports on incidents of alleged or actual misconduct by education agents to our database. These reports form part of our education agent checking and monitoring solution.
Many of these agents have links to educational institutions in the main international student destination markets – US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Education Agent Monitoring – implement best practice
AgentBee’s education agent checking and monitoring solution supports educational institutions to implement best practice education agent due diligence processes.
Educational institutions can use it to:
- do due diligence on education agents – check new agents before agreeing to work with them, and run regular checks on current agents.
- protect your brand – search on your institution’s name to detect cases of unauthorised agents using your institution’s name, logo or other IP without permission.
Note for institutions in Australia, NZ and Manitoba – our solution supports compliance with your regulatory obligations regarding agent checking and monitoring.