The number of international students in U.S. colleges hit its peak (approximately 900,000) during President Obama's last year in office. There are different methods for estimating the number, but it seems to have been decreasing since then.
What's your favorite anecdote about an international student? Do you wish your college had more of them?
I wish we had more. The bottom has dropped out over the last few years. Some of this is due to national-level politics, but only some; we instituted a couple of new policies around the same time that were intended to keep students from hanging out here for a semester and then immediately transferring elsewhere, but seem to have had the unintended effect of completely cutting off enrollment from the country that used to supply the majority of our international students.
ReplyDeleteIf the attacks on immigrants and foreigners -- initially largely political, but I fear this will provide cover and increase the number of physical attacks -- continue to increase in number and severity, it will be unethical to recruit further students to study in the US.
ReplyDelete- an immigrant who wishes he had more options at this point.
Our program attracts students from pretty much everywhere, and it's great. If I could have two wishes, it would not be for more of them, but for better institutional understanding and support for them (they are very often susceptible to financial issues / suffer when the exchange rate does something dramatic), and for BU to reconsider how it thinks about student success. Specifically, a student who graduates from our program (or any program in Batshit U.) is considered successful if he/she finds a job in the country. If a student moves abroad, it's a strike against the program and his / her advisor.
ReplyDeleteThis totally ignores the fact that many of our international students get great jobs in their own or third countries, or go on to pursue advanced studies in prestigious programs.
I don't have a favourite anecdote, but I was touched a few years ago when I was sick and a former student somehow heard about this and got in touch...his father is apparently a well-known doctor, and the ex-student said that if his father could be of any help, just to let him know.
I agree that international students have cultural and social benefits for the institution (and the country).
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, racist individuals use 'foreign' students as an excuse to be racist (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-23/fact-check-fraser-anning-university-places-international-student/10147364)
Still,
in some countries the understanding of the economic benefits of international students has moved beyond general altruism to where some post-secondary administrations/governments are actively increasing the number of international university students because they can charge those students enormous fees/tuition
Instead of allocating proper resources, the international students are seen as money to 'subsidize' the local students.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/international-students-universities-ontario-tuition-1.4199489
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/09/universities-rely-too-much-on-foreign-student-fees-auditor-says
https://www.businessinsider.com/foreign-students-pay-up-to-three-times-as-much-for-tuition-at-us-public-colleges-2016-9