My return flight from Sao Paulo to Newark arrived this morning at 6am and I don't know where to begin in writing about my trip. I was in Brazil to speak with a group of presidents, senior administrators, and marketing personnel about developing the umbrella brand for all Methodist institutions in the country. We were hosted by the Universidade Metodista de Sao Paulo, one of the largest Methodist universities in the country.

It was absolutely fascinating to hear about the trends in the Brazilian higher education marketplace. The for-profit institutions have moved into the country in a big way. One had a goal of enrolling 100,000 students by 2010. They're already at 140,000 and the private institutions, including all of the Methodist schools, are really feeling it. From the way they described it, Brazil's traditional universities are suffering in competition against the for-profits much more than U.S. institutions. We assumed this is because the lower income socioeconomic group in Brazil is so large and so price sensitive.

Also, in Brazil, the public universities are free. Imagine our entire country having Georgia's HOPE scholarship. Getting into one of the publics is tough but when a student gets in, they always go....again because most of the families have modest incomes but also because the public universities, while free, are also the most prestigious.

The hi-ed adminstrators we met with were well-versed on marketing and branding issues. They don't seem to have the same issues we do about feeling that "marketing cheapens the academy." And, they are very pragmatic; there was a distinct "let's figure this out and get moving" aroma in the air for the entire, day-long workshop. It was an incredible experience. Will write more about the people and the place later.