Hello Everyone,
My name is Melissa Fernandez and I work at the CUNY Welcome Center as an admissions counselor. I have been in the office for about a year now and have had some wonderful experiences with international students, which is why I choose to take this class. This will be my last semester at Baruch in the MSED program, but hope to make it a memorable one. I would really like to take my degree and work with institutional research focusing on curriculum development and pedagogy. I look forward to meeting and working with everyone.
Summary on Readings:
I found the overview of the history of international higher education rather interesting because comparing it with the history of higher education in the United States; the struggles were very different even though they had a common goal of bettering higher education. The theme of conflict and religious differences around the world impeding on the cooperation of international higher education has been one that I am very interested in learning about because recently conflict and religion have been creating tension globally. It was interesting to see how the articles were written from different perspectives. As the second article mentions that the U.S is not as educationally international as many of us Americans thought. It is “funny” for lack of a better word to see that other countries would not rank the U.S first as a country to have their students study abroad in. On the contrary we started the Fullbright Program during turmoil to help increase international higher education. The survey that was taken regarding a strategic plan for internationalization left the U.S on the bottom and Europe on the top. Again as an American our society allows us to see this differently. After reading the two articles and trends that were going on in higher education I see that our country is very much closed off from understanding and knowing what other countries are doing in higher education and we focus much more on our attributes than our weaknesses. I look forward to becoming more aware of the countries that are creating initiatives like Russia in increasing their international faculty to 10% and international students to 15% by 2020. I hope that the more of us who are informed about international education could help change the perspective of the U.S to other advancing countries because with more bonds that we have there is an opportunity for more understanding.
Hi Melissa,
Green’s article was somewhat vague. I understood that U.S institutions have a low internationalization importance compared to others; however, it is also true that Green’s article/IAU explanation may not be a good representation of the U.S higher education system.We can also conclude that U.S institutions place a high importance to internationalization depending on their rank. For-example, currently most U.S 4-year institutions offer study abroad programs, job opportunities abroad through partnerships, and institutional based scholarships for study abroad programs. If we use NYU as an example and their branch in Abu Dhabi we can conclude the importance is there. The Oxford article also discussed U.S universities working with Tunisia’s University in Tunisia. The U.S model of higher education, in my opinion will always be important around the globe; however, it will be interesting to know more information regarding the IAU survey, as well as, the colleges universities that participate in some form of internationalization. Could it be that only those institutions with wealth have more opportunities ? Should policymakers enforce internationalization across the board? Or is this just left upon the institution.
Thanks for your post!
Hi Melissa,
In your post you write ” see that our country is very much closed off from understanding and knowing what other countries are doing in higher education and we focus much more on our attributes than our weaknesses.” I agree with your assessment but believe that it is part of a larger issue. Our country’s economy is tied to the ups and downs of the economy in China and the USA government makes sure that their are policies in place to help safeguard our economy as well as policies that benefit both countries economies, globalization is what our government is focused on. Internationalization on the other hand can be seen as countries working together but still having their own identities.
Hello Melissa,
I definitely agree with your post suggesting that America is not fully adept at understanding what other countries are doing in their institutions and failing to develop better mechanisms to enhance their home base. I believe this can be a huge factor preventing international students from applying to American institutions. It seems like other countries have a structure in place, or creating one, in which resources are allocated to ensuring an international student successfully acclimates to campus life and the country. Although American higher education institutions claim they are sensitive to the needs of other cultures and religions, due to recent outbursts on campuses revolving inclusion, clearly they are lacking in that area. Why would a student from another country decide to attend an institution that already has a reputation for making its students feel inferior?
Adia Johnson
Hi Melissa, thank you for your blog!
I found myself chuckling as well when I read that other countries did not rank the U.S first as a country to have their students study abroad in. I wish the article would have delved more into why. Perhaps it may be because other countries realize that the U.S is not as invested in international education and steers their students towards better developed comprehensive programs in other countries like say, Russia or Germany. Also the Oxford article noted that international study happens quite often with neighboring nations – students are not necessarily traveling far. The U.S is far in relationship to Asia, China, India, and Africa – perhaps that is a factor as well? It highlighted in the study that the most mobile students are from Asia, China, and India. Many Chinese and Asian students study in neighboring countries such as Japan and Korea.