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 recruitment right now and what institutions need to understand about the broader forces shaping it.

The conversation opens with something that rarely gets said plainly: international student mobility is only one part of what international education means. Dr. Aw draws a clear line between student recruitment and the wider field, which spans research collaboration, global curriculum design, and workforce development. For institutions that think of internationalization purely as an enrollment strategy, that distinction matters because the advocacy and policy work being done at NAFSA's level affects all of it.

A large portion of the episode covers how NAFSA approaches advocacy in a politically complicated moment. Dr. Aw's framing is worth sitting with. She doesn't treat advocacy as lobbying in the traditional sense; she sees it as identifying shared interests. "We all want a society that is thriving. We all want humans to flourish. How do we do that, and how does international education play a role in that?" That question shapes how NAFSA makes its case across political lines, and it offers enrollment and recruitment teams a useful model for how they talk about international students' value on their own campuses.

The 2026 NAFSA Annual Conference theme, "Global by Design," runs through much of the conversation. Dr. Aw describes it as a deliberate response to the current political and institutional climate. Internationalization, she argues, doesn't happen by default anymore; it has to be architected. The conference will also address educator burnout directly, treating it not as a wellness side note but as a strategic issue for institutions that are cutting staff while asking more of the people who remain. "You can't work harder if your cup is empty."

On AI, Dr. Aw's position is grounded and specific: the more important question isn't what AI can do, but what it should do. "It's not enough for us to ask, what can AI do, but what should it do?" That values-first framing is increasingly relevant for higher education institutions as they build AI into their student recruitment and advising operations.

The episode closes with Dr. Aw's read on where higher education recruitment is heading over the next five years: destination patterns shifting, financial models under strain, and transnational education making a comeback. She's direct that the sector won't return to what it was. Understanding what comes next starts here.

Who’s in the episode?

Fanta Aw is an award-winning visionary global leader whose career spans over three decades at the forefront of international education, equity, and higher education strategy. As the CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators: the world's largest and most comprehensive membership organization dedicated to advancing international education and exchange, she leads a global network of 10,000+ members from more than 4,500 institutions across 150+ countries.

In her role, she integrates her passion for strategy, people and international collaboration to execute NAFSA's directive to foster global engagement and cross-cultural understanding.

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

International education is a field, not a program: institutions need to think bigger. International education spans curriculum design, workforce development, and research collaboration, not just student mobility. Institutions that still treat internationalization as a recruitment add-on are operating with a narrow lens. The strategic question isn't "how many international students did we enroll?" It's "how international is our institution, at every level?".

Advocacy works when you speak in the language of others' self-interest. Effective advocacy in today's geopolitical environment means starting from shared values, not sector-specific arguments. "We all want a society that is thriving. We all want humans who are flourishing." For institutions making the case to government or community partners for international programs, this framing matters. Lead with what both sides already agree on, then build from there.

Ask "what should AI do?" before building a single workflow. Dr. Aw's challenge to the field is the most practical starting point for any institution trying to figure out its AI strategy: "It's not enough for us to ask, what can AI do, but what should it do?" Before layering AI into student advising, admissions, or communications, institutions should define the human outcomes they won't compromise. The guardrails come first; the tools come second.

Educator burnout is a strategic risk, not a wellness checkbox. Dr. Aw reframed the culture-of-care conversation: "You can't work harder if your cup is empty." International education teams are often lean, carrying complex caseloads across policy uncertainty and shifting enrollment trends. Institutions that don't actively invest in staff capacity and wellbeing will see the impact in retention, service quality, and the loss of institutional knowledge. This isn't soft. It's operational.

The market has structurally shifted: don't wait for a return to normal. Destination country preferences are shifting, financial models for international education are under pressure, and transnational education is re-emerging as a serious alternative to traditional mobility. "The past is the past, and we're not going to go back to the past. Those days came and are gone." Institutions still optimizing for pre-2020 conditions are planning for a market that doesn't exist. The practical move is to audit which of your recruitment markets and partnership models assume conditions that have already changed.

Higher Ed Chats

May 6, 2026

21 minutes

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NAFSA 2026: Global by Design

Who’s in the episode?

Dr. Fanta Aw

Scott Miller

Timestamps & Takeaways

Timestamps

Takeaways

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