Beyond Borders: International Student Recruitment at HBCUs

Morehouse College has been educating students for over 150 years, but its approach to international student recruitment looks nothing like a legacy institution playing catch-up. Candace Bazemore, Director of Digital Strategy and Transformation at Morehouse College, lays out how an HBCU's identity can become the engine of its global recruitment strategy, and why the standard playbook often doesn't apply to mission-driven institutions competing for international talent.

The conversation starts with a question that shapes everything else: how do universities recruit international students when they're known primarily to a domestic audience? Bazemore's answer is rooted in identity, not volume. Morehouse doesn't market itself as an Atlanta college. It frames itself as the "World House," a place where students come to develop the character and connections to make a global impact. That framing gives international recruitment a coherent purpose: if you're building future leaders for the world, you need students from the world.

Regional targeting follows from that mission. Bazemore describes an outreach focus on Africa (Ethiopia, Nigeria, and broader West Africa), the Caribbean, Europe (UK, France, Germany), and Latin America, driven by diaspora affinity rather than by pure enrollment-market data. The institution partners with Keystone Education Group to reach markets it couldn't penetrate through native channels alone.

The episode also explores the friction HBCUs face internationally. Prospective students sometimes ask, directly, why HBCUs still exist in 2026. Bazemore's answer: campus experience is the most effective counter to that question, and virtual touchpoints are the closest substitute. Morehouse's value proposition isn't framed around academic prestige alone; graduates from the institution earn an average of over $70,000 in their first year, and Bazemore cites that return on investment as a consistent part of the pitch to international families weighing the cost.

Who’s in the episode?

Candace Bazemore is the Director of Digital Strategy and Transformation. Candace is a higher education MarTech leader and digital marketing strategist with deep expertise in leveraging technology, data, and creativity to drive measurable growth. She's a specialist in building scalable strategies that integrate AI, marketing automation, and data-driven insights to deliver results across digital and omni-channel campaigns.

Scott Miller is the host of Keystone Higher Ed Chats and the Executive Director of Keystone's international division, bringing over 11 years of EdTech experience to conversations about global education.

After graduating from DePauw University, living and working in different cultures showed him that stepping outside your comfort zone doesn't just broaden your horizons; it reshapes them entirely. That belief in the transformative power of international experiences brought Scott to Keystone in 2010, where he's spent over a decade (and counting) helping higher education institutions reach students worldwide.

On Keystone Higher Ed Chats, Scott speaks with thought-leaders in the industry about what he's most passionate about: how education changes lives, how cultural experiences broaden perspectives at any age, and how Keystone's mission—connecting students with their ideal higher education institution—makes those life-changing moments possible.

Timestamps & Takeaways

Timestamps

Takeaways

Lead with alumni voices, not institutional messaging, for international outreach. Candace Bazemore makes the case plainly: "What is the best example of why a student from another country should come here is hearing from a student or an alumni from another country." At Morehouse, alumni-led outreach is the primary international recruitment channel, not because it's cheap, but because it converts. Institutions building international pipelines should identify international alumni by region and equip them to speak on the school's behalf before investing in institutional ad spend.

Target regions where prospective students have a natural cultural connection to your institution. Morehouse doesn't scatter its international recruitment. It concentrates on Africa (Ethiopia, Nigeria, West Africa broadly), the Caribbean, Europe (UK, France, Germany), South America (Brazil, Colombia), and Canada, all places where students of African descent can find affinity with the institution's mission. The lesson for other institutions: identify where your identity and values already resonate, then build outreach infrastructure there rather than broadcasting everywhere at once.

Anchor your recruitment pitch in graduate earnings, not prestige. Morehouse's core pitch to prospective students and families is outcomes-first: the average senior earns more than $70,000 in their first year after graduation, and the institution is cited as one of the top universities for upward mobility in the country. Bazemore frames it directly: "You give us four years, we help set you up for the next 40 years of your life." That's a specific, verifiable, emotionally resonant claim that doesn't require applicants to already know the school's reputation.

Get skeptical prospects on campus; explanation rarely beats the experience. Morehouse still encounters international audiences asking "why do HBCUs still exist in 2026?" Bazemore's answer isn't a talking point. It's a campus visit. Misconceptions dissolve once a prospective student walks the grounds and meets the community. For recruitment teams dealing with awareness gaps or active skepticism in new markets, this points to a concrete strategy: prioritize in-person touchpoints and campus immersion programs over written materials or webinar-only outreach.

Build a multi-channel virtual outreach stack before expanding to new markets. Morehouse's international outreach toolkit runs through three channels in parallel: the Keystone virtual college fair platform, a Tiger Talks webinar series hosted by the international recruiter, and event tie-ins (a Caribbean golf event and a Bahamas football game). None of these require a physical recruitment office in the target market. This kind of stacked virtual presence lets lean teams maintain consistent touchpoints across multiple regions without proportional headcount increases.

Higher Ed Chats

May 13, 2026

25 minutes

NAFSA 2026: Global by Design

Dr. Fanta Aw has spent more than 30 years in international education, visited over 70 countries, and today leads NAFSA: Association of International Educators, an organization with 10,000+ members across 150 countries. In this episode of Keystone Higher Ed Chats, she joins host Scott Miller to discuss what's actually driving international student recruitm...

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Beyond Borders: International Student Recruitment at HBCUs

Who’s in the episode?

Candace Bazemore

Scott Miller

Timestamps & Takeaways

Timestamps

Takeaways

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NAFSA 2026: Global by Design

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