Hi, I’m Victoria Tsang. I am currently in my second semester of the MSED program. I am a full-time student with a graduate research assistantship with Professor Michael Williams and an internship with the Baruch Honors Office. I graduated in 2014 as a Macaulay Honors Scholar at Baruch College with a BA in Graphic Communication and a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies of New York City. I have studied abroad twice during my undergraduate career. The first time was at the City University of Hong Kong for a semester and the second time was at the Florence campus of the Lorenze de’ Medici Institute for a winter intersession. Following graduation, I worked for 10 months in Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Institute of Education (which might soon be renamed as the Education University of Hong Kong) as an International Tutor. My experience abroad has influenced my interest in international higher education.
During my final year of undergrad, I did some research on what opportunities were available for me to go abroad to work or study, which is why I was not surprised when I read Altbach and de Wit’s essay about how politics and economic development had influenced the trajectory and purpose of international higher education cooperation throughout history. Many of the programs I looked at always mentioned the chance to be an ambassador of the U.S. and helping to strengthen the ties between America and the host country. It was also interesting to read Green’s essay and compare it to what I learned in my Intro to U.S. Higher Education and Student Services class from last semester. Again, I was not really surprised to learn that though the U.S. higher education system boasts being the best, internationalization is not always that important on the agenda of many institutions in the U.S. In my previous courses, I learned that while there maybe an influx of international students, there was not always the proper support services to fully serve those students. And in terms of sending our own students abroad, funding the study abroad office was not always on the institution’s agenda or budget. Also from experience studying and working in Hong Kong, in a country were there is a low number of institutions to serving an ever growing population of students, the practice of sending their local students abroad is not surprising since the demand is much higher than supply.
As for Oxford’s International Trends in Higher Education 2015 report, it was interesting to read about what other countries are actually doing to promote internationalization in comparison to the U.S. The partnerships forged between countries as explained in the report support Altbach and de Wit’s assertion that politics and economic development is the driving force of international higher education cooperation. The appeal of an international experience to potential employers in other countries is very much in line with how study abroad programs attract students in the U.S. to study or research abroad. This was a heavily pushed statement that I encountered when I was researching opportunities to go abroad. And I was fascinated to learn that, like in the U.S., MOOCs have taken a decline in popularity internationally and that there is a push to have more open access worldwide to research and other scholarly materials through the internet. Some of the trends in the report, like expansion programs and partnerships between different countries, will most likely continue but are also very susceptible to any political changes in either country in the partnership, because education is typically greatly tied to politics and the composition of those in the governing body. All three readings had a wealth of information and I am looking forward to what the future readings will bring for the course.
Hi Victoria,
Of all things you said in your blog, what resonated most with me was the comment about study abroad programs mentioning the chance for students to be ambassadors between the host country and the United States. The idea is not particularly surprising, but the semantics is interesting. Using a word such as ‘ambassador’ implies some type of political motive, whether it is intended or not. I wonder if the countries in which the programs are affiliated have strong ties with the United States (obviously there is some type of relationship if there is an exchange program, but how close may vary). You noticed the word choice, but I suspect most college-aged kids just want to leave the country and have new experiences; they are probably not that concerned about strengthening ties or anything of the sort. Still, for funding purposes, I am sure that the programs must promote their services in better ways than “Come to our college and get drunk in a new country!”
You make a valid point that the reason why so many students from Asia are studying abroad is that there might not be that many universities or institutions of higher education in the region. In the case of China, the young people population is over whelming and this is driving the demand of higher education. In addition, it might be that students are not getting the quality of higher education that they might want from the universities in their country. Many countries, again like China, still have in censorship which poses an enormous barrier for higher education in fields such as journalism and politics. The young people in China might be a little more progressive than their ancestors who are in favor of censorship and would want to “escape” (granted they have the money to study abroad). So, the higher demand of higher education in Asia and the liberal-minded youth want to leave oppressive governments could be the driving force for Asian students.
Hi Victoria,
Like B. Levine, the part of your blog that struck me the most was your journey in searching for a study abroad experience in your final year of undergrad and the weight of potentially being an ambassador in a foreign country! I think that as a student, especially a traditional aged undergrad college student, those blurred political implications thrust upon a student is a heavy burden to carry. Was that offsetting for you?
I do not think that a student should be asked to strengthen ties between America and the host country. For arguments sake, let’s say a student that would like to study abroad is an excellent student but has an unsavory reputation for bad manners, interpersonal skills, etc. Is he/she now not a good candidate because they might reflect the U.S in a bad light?
Hi Victoria,
Thank you for sharing all your international experiences! You have had an array of amazing experiences. I like your experience tutoring in Hong Kong after graduation, I looked into teaching english abroad programs upon graduation and always saw myself teaching in Thailand! I still think one day I may take a sort of “gap year” from higher education and teach somewhere different!
You brought up a great point of US institutions not always having the proper support services and resources to support these international students. I definitely agree. I took a course over the winter through Western Kentucky University and we discussed a lot about how US universities wish to internationalize their campus and host big recruitment campaigns; however, when the students get here, there is no system in place to support the success of these students. Internationalization of a campus does not just involve recruiting more international students – colleges need to integrate these students into their campuses, have designated support services, educate and train their faculty on how to internationalize their courses and in turn their students, etc.