Influx of international students expected in the near future
Steffen Feldman came to Utah State University from Germany in the summer of 2001 to work on his master’s degree in business administration, leaving behind friends, family and a successful consulting business.
Feldman chose USU over other universities because it takes less time to get the degree he wanted, he said. He enrolled and passed the 18-credit Accelerated Business Core, which fulfills the majority of the requirements to start the master’s program.
However, his plans changed when a low GMAT score barred him from admission into the program despite attempts to appeal to the dean. He is now studying at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., which accepted him after taking into account his other qualifications such as a master’s degree in landscape architecture and high GPA, Feldman said.
“The whole atmosphere here is a little bit more friendly,” Feldman said of his new school.
Compared to other universities, USU has been behind in international recruiting and international student services, said Craig LaRocco, interim director of the International Student Office.
But in the next year, after strengthening the infrastructure on campus, the school will be ready to increase the number of students through active recruiting outside the United States, LaRocco said.
“This university is on the verge of something,” he said.
Currently, a proposal has been made to integrate the international offices on campus including the International Student Office, the study abroad program and the various departmental international student services, LaRocco said.
Representatives from the offices hope that working together will help develop a better recruiting strategy. They will target countries with sound economies and political stability to bring in more students, he said.
More active recruiting should begin in November, which would allow time to get Visas and other documentation, LaRocco said.
Before a larger number of international students can be accommodated, more services will need to be in place. More staffing in offices, more representation in the administrative bodies on campus and scholarship programs to help pay tuition are just some of the things on the “wish list,” LaRocco said.
International students pay three times the amount of tuition in-state students pay, so when tuition increases by a small amount for in-state students, international students must pay a much larger amount, he said.
“Not much incentive is there,” Fahima Afroze, president of the International Student Council, said. “No scholarship at all is provided to internationals. They have to start working and their grades deteriorate, which makes parents not happy.”
There are plans to create an international student endowment, and the project is underway, LaRocco said.
But Afroze said there is more that could be done.
“I’m willing to bet that if certain things were advertised, a lot of people would be willing to fund international students’ education. Nothing so far is done,” Afroze said.
Janice Kuang, a finance and economics senior from China, said the International Student Office takes “good care of us,” but there is room for improvement.
“There need to be more opportunities for international students to get scholarships. I have good grades, but it’s difficult to get a scholarship anyway,” Kuang said.
Many international students look for ways to help themselves financially through the university such as taking a job with their department, which will often waive the out-of-state tuition.
Bharat Jadhav, a graduate student in computer science from India, said, “I don’t know how information flows in our department. I don’t ever see the job information.”
Many students come to USU because of its good reputation abroad, the research, the professors, specific programs and the safety of the valley, LaRocco said.
“In the quiet of this valley, education is enhanced,” he said.
Khudrathulla Kammur and Manish Rangneuar, also from India, both said they chose USU over other universities they were admitted to because “it was the best.” The professors and research going on at USU were the main attractions.
To be more appealing, more needs to be done to improve the Web site and the catalog to be more internationally friendly, Afroze said.
“They hardly do much to attract the international community. Schools on the east coast give so many opportunities to international students. All the international community flocks there,” Afroze said.
One of the major problems she has seen is the lack of legal services available, Afroze said.
She was misdiagnosed by a doctor and is still suffering from the repercussions of a surgery from two years ago, but was unable to afford legal assistance, she said.
The legal advice center in the Taggart Student Center wasn’t able to help her, either.
“A strong, legal advice service is important. International students need to have something reliable to count on, so they count on the school. It’s hard to reach out in the community. Anything we do can mess up our visa status. We can get into trouble very easily. We need a strong advisory system,” Afroze said.
Another issue for international students is being accepted by the student body, LaRocco said.
“International students tend to group together with themselves,” he said. “I’d like to see that cycle broken. We need avenues to make it happen. I’d like to see the council [International Student Council] take active roles in moving into broader circles.”
Afroze said international students often don’t feel comfortable jumping into activities with the American students.
“We need your help. A lot of international students can’t adapt very well,” Afroze said. “We need a much more extensive help network for international students.”
She said she would like all students to participate more in the activities planned by the council, which welcomes everyone, not just international students.
More interaction between American and international students would help everyone, Afroze said. It would help break down cultural barriers and some of the misconceptions individuals have.
“People find out I’m Muslim and ask if I’m a terrorist,” Afroze said.
She said she also gets comments about different aspects of her religion like polygamy and the rights of women.
“Islam gives more rights to women than any religion, it’s just badly interpreted because of the men,” she said.
Faculty, students, staff and especially front-line services need to have some international experience, LaRocco said. As the United States becomes more and more global, it becomes increasingly important to have this experience.
“We are in a global society, and as a result, I feel students need to have international experience in the classroom,” LaRocco said.