One of the things the ACE report highlights that the report from IIE does not mention is the need for cultural awareness when fostering potential partnerships with other institutions in other countries. Having studied and worked abroad, and having spoken to many other students and alumni about their experiences abroad as well, it is not surprising to me that the report would highlight the importance of considering the cultural differences and potential conflicts and risks they oppose. Especially since academic freedom, in particular, is so heavily stressed in U.S. higher education. I also have personal experience of how a lack of presence on the part of administration can lead to many frustrations and misunderstandings due to cultural differences that may be hard to navigate and resolve without a third party present. Due to the typical culture of the country I worked in, it was hard for my foreign coworkers and I to properly inform our supervisors of the issues that we encountered. And we felt we were not being heard and out issues were not taken seriously until there were consequences that affect our supervisors as well. So I also think it’s very important that key faculty and staff can form preliminary relationships with the key faculty and staff of the potential partner institution to come to agreement on set standards of practices and cultural differences that need to be addressed.
And while the report seems to focus more heavily on ensuring cultural awareness and sensitivity of the faculty and administration involved in establishing and maintaining the partnerships, ensuring that the students involved are very important as well. There are instances, particularly in the U.S. institutions, where international students and local students voluntarily socially-segregate from each other. At times there may be language barriers, but there’s also the issue of not “fitting in” with local peers due to cultural differences, which defeats the purpose of having an international presence to promote global competency amongst the parties involved. But there has been a number of U.S. institutions like Case Western Reserve University that has begun to offer training for faculty to better serve and integrate the international students into the classroom. Duke University has also created an Intercultural Skills Development Program for all permanent faculty and staff to become more culturally aware and engaging with the growing international population on the Duke campus. More institutions who are aiming to globalize their campuses and formulate partnerships abroad need to keep in mind not only the issues with faculty and staff but also with the students themselves.
Victoria,
You bring up a good point about the students and internationalization. After all, the students are the customers. I agree that schools could do more to encourage students to stop segregating themselves voluntarily. I think it is natural to flock to what you know and what you are comfortable with, but how much of this is defeating the purpose of becoming globally aware through internationalization. It was mentioned in the reading from the American Council on Higher Education, International Higher Education Partnerships: A Global Review of Standards and Practices that international programs should include an orientation for students to ensure students have access to key resources such as housing and student services. It should also be incorporated somewhere along those lines to include that one of the purposes and benefits of internationalization is becoming globally rich and how we all would benefit if we interacted more with one another. Schools and partnerships can include this in their orientation and provide networking opportunities for students. It is interesting how students come from all over the world, and yet many will seek out students from their home country to socialize with.
Deb
Hi Victoria,
I agree that interaction of international students and local students is a key challenge in international education. This is especially true if the school has a partnership with another university abroad because with a robust and comprehensive partnership, it is likely that the student exchange component of a partnership is well established. Large groups of Americans tend to stick together when abroad and the same is true of international students when they come to the US. That is why it is crucial for the international student office to collaborate with other departments within the university and set up events and programs that increase interactions between international and domestic students.
I was at a conference once where an international student advisor told us about a program they had run with international students. They had gotten members of the football team to host an event where they explained the rules of the game and practiced throwing the football. Through this activity international students could interact with American athletes, learn about a sport that is very popular in American culture, and understand the rules if they ever went to watch a game in the future. I thought this was a great example of an internal collaboration between the international student office and the athletics department that had the potential to positively impact all participants.
Kristen
It’s really interesting that you mentioned that some institutions are providing training for faculty and staff who work with international students or who work internationally. These programs and trainings are important. The truth of the matter is that american academic culture and social culture is very different, and international students need time to adjust to the culture shock. Also, if the student is part of an exchange program and gets a negative experience out of it, it could be detrimental for the whole program. So, as an earlier blog post asserted earlier, higher education is for the most part customer service, and this service should not be limited to just domestic students. But, it should be extended to international students as well.