American universities
beckon on the world
By Iyioke
Saturday,
September 15, 2007
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•Bush
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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It’s uncanny but true. The drive to attract foreign
students to American universities is on the upsurge. So too
is the record-setting push to send American students abroad.
Why? The world needs America and, yes, America needs the world.
No institution typifies this emerging reality more than Hyperlink
"http://www.msu.edu" Michigan State University (MSU).
Records at the office of admissions show a record number of
international admissions for the 2007/2008 academic year.
Already, the 2007 target has surpassed the 2006 fall semester
by more than 36 percent. That represents an increase of 44
percent over the targets for 2004 and 2005.
The sharp gain results from MSU’s aggressive efforts
which included travelling abroad to organize recruitment fairs.
Eight out of 10 countries with the highest number of those
admissions are from Asia, with Korea (32.3 percent), China
(20.4 percent) and India (13 percent) leading the way –
a skew that should be addressed to include more students from
other parts of the world. Nonetheless, Nigerian student enrollment
leads the rest of African countries by far.
Currently, two identical bills in the US Congress lend support
to the idea of actively engaging the world, courtesy of the
late Senator Paul Simon (Michigan Democrat) Study Abroad Foundation
Act of 2007. The goal is to increase the number of American
students studying abroad to 1 million per year in 10 years.
The program would include a competitive grants program for
colleges and universities, and make study abroad opportunities
more diverse in terms of participants, fields of study, and
destinations.
Mirroring each other, sponsors on both floors cited the foreign
policy challenges facing the United States as a central reason
for the need to expand Americans' knowledge of other cultures
and foreign languages. The Bills focus attention on encouraging
more students to study abroad in nontraditional destinations,
especially in the developing world.
Interestingly, the message that has long been close to MSU’s
mission has now formally entered foreign policy. MSU’s
accomplishments in study abroad programming are renowned.
With more than 230 programs offered throughout the academic
year in more than 60 countries across all seven continents,
it is easy to see why MSU ranks No. 1 among all public universities
in the U.S. for study abroad, according to Open Doors 2006,
the annual report on international education by the Institute
of International Education.
MSU is constantly developing new ways to gain greater understanding
of the world. For instance, it seeks to strengthen and internationalize
the on-campus experience for students. This will enhance the
international learning competencies that reflect the knowledge,
attitudes, and skills essential to any MSU graduate living
and working as a global citizen anywhere in the world.
Every summer, the newly admitted freshmen get a chance to
attend seminars at selected countries abroad. All participants,
regardless of location or track, will engage with the history,
culture, and/or politics of the site and make comparisons
back to the United States. With this they learn to think about
problems and problem-solving from multiple perspectives.
Known internationally as a major public university with global
reach and extraordinary impact, MSU has been advancing knowledge
and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research,
and outreach. MSU was founded in 1855 on the ideals of inclusiveness
and accessibility. Today it has more than 45,000 students,
4,500 faculty and academic staff, 6,000 support staff, all
drawn from around the world. In addition, MSU has approximately
400,000 affiliated alumni worldwide.
International undergraduate enrollment has spiked so high
in recent years that in 2005 McDonel Hall, an upperclassman
dorm, designated its fourth floor as International Language
and Culture Residence. The McDonel cafeteria displays flags
that represent its residents' homelands.
There were more than 3, 526 international students from more
than 125 countries at MSU last year. About 40 percent of MSU's
graduate students are international students. MSU also hosted
1052 visiting scholars from 59 countries this past year.
Overall, the visa situation for international students seems
to have improved since 2002 and 2003 when the U.S. Department
of State was not prepared to implement new anti-terrorism
security measures needed after ‘9/11’.
MSU is situated on 5,200 park-like acres in East Lansing,
Michigan. It is one of the most beautiful campuses in the
world and includes thousands of trees, ample green spaces,
outstanding architecture and the Red Cedar River snaking right
through it. People here enjoy the scenic beauty of campus
throughout Michigan’s four seasons.
Once on campus, students are able to choose from a wide variety
of programs of study. MSU features more than 200 undergraduate
majors, many of which are rated among the best in the world.
International students can easily find their niche on campus,
in part because of MSU’s extensive support network that
includes the Office of International Students and Scholars
and the African Studies Center. Also, with more than 550 student
organizations, there are a range of opportunities for students
to find like-minded peers.
MSU provides the most accommodation for students in the U.S.
Each of the 23 undergraduate residence halls and the apartment
housing areas offer cable and Internet access, gyms, caller
ID, voice mail, etc. Most halls have ATMs and computer labs.
Residential students can customize when, where and what they
eat, including international cuisines. What’s more,
many scholarships are available to international students,
including the Global Neighbors Scholarship and Global Spartan
Scholarship Award.
Iyioke, a former writer for The Guardian Newspapers
(with “Aike Iyioke” as pen name), wrote from the
U.S.
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