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The university could open its new recruiting office in Delhi, India as early as May.

Mary Anne Saunders, executive director of International Affairs , said the university submitted its application to work as a liaison in India at the end of March. The approval process usually takes six to eight weeks, she said.

“The purpose of the office is to recruit students to Kent State and to form relationships with institutions of higher education that would be appropriate partners for Kent State University,” Saunders said.

Saunders said the office will open up opportunities to gain revenue from increased international enrollment, as well as add diversity to the student population.

“India seemed like a natural choice for us,” Saunders said. “They have a huge population of very literate, English-speaking, university-aged students, and it’s the largest democracy in the world.”

The International Office opened a similar center in Beijing 2 1/2 years ago. Provost Robert Frank said the Beijing office has proved to be effective.

“In 2007, we had 100 Chinese students. We have 576 this semester, and we expect that number to keep increasing,” Frank said. “We’ve had very good success recruiting students to the university, and we expect to do the same thing in India.

An eventual goal of the center would be to set up relationships with Indian institutions that would allow Kent State students to travel to India for short-term or semester-long study programs, Saunders said.

If approved, the office will be located in the Nehru Place district of New Delhi. Saunders said the proposed location for the office would put it in “good company” with other university recruiting centers in the area.

Frank said that there are currently no plans to open additional offices in the near future.

“We’ve known for several years that we wanted to be in India, but we waited until our Beijing center was clearly established and off the ground before we went to India,” Frank said. “Before we do another center, we’d do the same type of process.”

Saunders said as with any office, there will be operational expenses, but that it will be self-supporting with student enrollment through the center.

Contact Julie Sickel at [email protected].