Partnerships to Accelerate Globalization on Campus

Y

8

College Students; Foreign Students; Student Recruitment; School Choice; Partnerships in Education; School Holding Power; Study Abroad; Student Mobility; Program Effectiveness; Global Approach; Foreign Countries

Australia; Asia; United Kingdom; Canada; United States

10.1080/00091383.2017.1399004

0009-1383

Bringing international students to study at U.S. campuses is increasingly viewed as the best option to globalize the campus, yet the United States lags behind other countries in providing opportunities for international students, particularly at the undergraduate level. Although the one million international students studying in the United States in 2015 represents an increase of 7 percent over the previous year, these students are not dispersed evenly among the over 4,500 U.S. institutions. There are a number of factors influencing international students and their families as they make choices about where to study. Many of these students are first-generation college students, and often no one in their family has traveled or studied abroad; coming to the United States is a big step for them. Increasingly, parents and families of international students are becoming concerned about possible travel bans, and also about what they learn in the news about hate crimes, guns on campus, and stereotyping that has led to violence on some campuses and in some communities. Given the current state of suspicion and fear from many quarters about those who are "different," some proposed national policies threaten opportunities for colleges and universities to recruit international students. Those campuses that use agents or partner with a company to recruit and deliver students often find that some of the work of enrolling international students can be made less burdensome. The world benefits when colleges and universities partner with experts who know how to provide "added value" to the campus through recruitment and retention of international students. Other advantages to partnering with a known and successful pathway provider include access to regional offices throughout the world that can provide services to visiting faculty and administrators and often set up interviews and meetings that can enhance the campus brand. Internationalization efforts are most likely to be successful when senior administrators and faculty are committed to the goal.

ERIC

13

2018

EJ1168072