MESSAGE
| DATE | 2017-04-25 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout of NYLXS] Ignoring the local student
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http://www.chronicle.com/paid-article/College-Leaders-Agree-on-the/21
College Leaders Agree on the Benefits of Internationalization
Many leaders see international students as vital to their institution's
mission, although they vary in their approaches to creating ties abroad
A generation ago, college administrators eager to enhance their
institution’s international profile might have set up a handful of study
abroad programs and sought to host a few overseas students each year.
These limited initiatives were often delegated to international programs
offices that were understaffed and under-resourced. Those days are long
since past. On campuses large and small, urban and suburban, public and
private, university leaders increasingly understand the importance of
raising the international profile of their institutions and preparing
all students with the attitudes, skills, and knowledge that will serve
them well in a rapidly shrinking world.
A booming population of internationally mobile students has created new
streams of potential degree-seekers for higher-education institutions.
With more and more universities around the world offering courses and
degree programs in English, these students have a growing number of
options from which to choose. For many, the United States, long the most
popular choice for overseas students, remains their preferred
destination. According to the annual Open Doors report from the
Institute of International Education, in 2015-16, the most recent
academic year for which figures are available, the number of
international students in the United States exceeded one million for the
first time.
International students have become a ubiquitous and increasingly
important part of the U.S. academic landscape. Today, most university
leaders, even at institutions whose historic mission was to serve their
local communities, agree that the internationalization of teaching,
research, and service is central to their educational mission. According
to Judy L. Genschaft, president of the University of South Florida, “It
is our responsibility to educate our students for the future world. Not
just the community, not just America, but the world.” The University of
South Florida initiated a partnership with INTO University Partnerships
in 2009 and, since then, has seen international enrollments grow
five-fold, to more than 5,200 foreign students in the fall of 2015,
according to Open Doors.
A recent survey of university presidents by The Chronicle of Higher
Education revealed that university leaders believe that boosting their
international profile will yield significant dividends for their
institutions. Nearly all respondents agreed that the very presence of
international students on their campuses provides a benefit to their
domestic students, enriching their experience and broadening their
horizons. They also overwhelmingly agreed that geographic and academic
diversity within the student body was important to their institution.
Nearly 90 percent of the respondents viewed a significant international
student presence on campus as an effective means of building a global brand.
In addition to these significant but often unquantifiable dividends,
international students have of course brought more tangible benefits to
institutions as their numbers have increased. Nearly three-fourths of
the university presidents surveyed said that international students are
an important means of generating significant income for their
institutions. For the surrounding community, the spending power that
overseas students bring can also be transformative. According to the
Institute of International Education, international students are
estimated to contribute more than $35 billion annually to the U.S.
national economy.
With such clear benefits, it is little wonder that 80 percent of the
college presidents surveyed want to increase their institution’s
international student enrollment over the next decade.
However, although university presidents are united in their desire to
increase international student numbers, the strategies they plan to
employ vary considerably, with no single method enjoying overwhelming
support. Fewer than half said they were planning to increase recruitment
and admissions resources and would seek to build relationships with
international counselors. Others cited an intention to build
relationships with overseas alumni or to host admissions events abroad.
Setting aside financial aid awards for international students was also
mentioned. Fewer than a third said they planned to work with a
recruitment agent, while just 13 percent said they planned to hire a
third-party vendor. Notably absent from the range of strategies the
presidents identified were any references to innovative new approaches
that might reflect evolving enrollment realities and address the
challenges of attracting a sustainable stream of globally diverse and
academically promising students.
Responses to other questions in The Chronicle survey further underscored
the need for universities and their institutional partners to come up
with innovative solutions to the challenges presented by increasing
internationalization. When asked about impediments to boosting
international student numbers on their campuses, more than two-thirds of
college presidents said that the main challenge their institution faces
is the requirement for additional support for international students.
Just over half cited insufficient internal expertise and resources as
their main challenge, while a third said that their faculty and staff
are not sufficiently prepared to handle the challenges that come with
teaching and supporting international students. Effectively integrating
international students with domestic students is viewed by nearly 20
percent of presidents as their biggest challenge.
The survey results did not explore in depth what additional resources
college presidents believed their institutions would need to increase
and better serve their international student populations. These could
potentially include more scholarships, enhanced tutoring and advising
services for international students, and additional English-language
instruction.
One of the most startling results from the survey was that almost half
of the respondents said that they, and not the international office,
were responsible for their institution’s overall international strategy.
Indeed, the overwhelming majority of presidents surveyed said that at
their institutions they had sole responsibility for public-private
partnerships as well. A little over a third reported that enrollment
management was responsible for international strategy, and just 11
percent of the presidents said that this responsibility was delegated to
an international office. The fact that the international office at so
many universities appears to be out of the loop in leadership decisions
about the internationalization strategy is surprising and complicates
the challenges confronting institutions as they internationalize. These
efforts will clearly require concerted effort across the board and
international offices should ideally be playing an important role in the
process.
Another potential impediment to increasing international is that,
although university leaders and administrators are united in their
recognition of the importance of internationalizing, this awareness does
not always extend to university board members. More than half of the
college presidents surveyed said that their own boards would prefer that
their institution focus on serving local students.
The results of the survey clearly demonstrate a need for comprehensive
planning on the part of institutions to attract and better serve the
growing population of international students. This will require
institutions to explore new strategies and innovative financing models,
such as public-private partnerships
With university presidents in such a uniquely powerful position to
initiate strategies and decide the path their institution will take to
attract more international students, they need access to a wide range of
information on leadership development and best practices in
internationalization. For third-party players seeking to carve out a
role in this process at individual institutions, the message is clear:
While their ultimate partners in a day-to-day working relationship may
end up being administrators in the international studies and admissions
offices, their first port of call when forging strategic partnerships
with institutions should be at the top, in the president’s office.
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive
http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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