According to this month’s report from the National Science Foundation (NSF) foreign enrollment in the U.S. went up by 3% from 2008 despite the economic crisis during ‘08/’09.

Foreign Student Enrollment Growth

New enrollments in science and engineering grew by 4 percent, a larger increase than in recent years, but for the period from 2006 to 2009, science and engineering students accounted for a steady share of the foreign-student population, 44 percent.

The number of foreign students enrolled in non-S&E majors has grown only marginally. Between ‘06 and ‘07 business student enrollment grew by 7.8% and between ‘07 and ‘08 enrollment of these students grew 7.2% while the growth was a mere 2.8% between ‘08 and ‘09. For majors like education and the humanities there were decreases in enrollments.

Most of the S&E students come from India and China. In regards to new student enrollment in all majors the numbers were flat. Yet Asia continues to be the predominant buyer of U.S. higher education accounting for 72.5% of new enrollments coming from world.

With new enrollments flat and declining non-S&E what does the mixed picture signify? There is a slow down in enrollment growth overall and it is predicted to continue over the next few years with the weakened U.S. economy and global economy. With budget woes in U.S. states and state universities (Federal Reserve 2009; Nelson 2010) this expectation is further confirmed.

Universities that manage to increase their investment in S&E programs will weather the near term storm. Further those universities that invest in foreign recruiting efforts will gain the opportunity of future returns. Those institutions that hesitate during these times will find themselves struggling to become relevant to the international market purchasing U.S. higher education.

Founders of ELI 360 Enjoy HSU's Convocation

For Ted Presley, founder of ELI 360, and his wife Ellen this month was a great opportunity to celebrate with local students at two partner universities who celebrated the completion of their undergraduate studies. When ELI 360 representatives meet with families in country they always have an end vision for the young university candidate – that of graduation and future careers. “It is always a delight to be able to attend the ceremonies of our graduates because for a moment we are able to enjoy the investment we made during the prior years,” said Ted during a brief visit.

As next year’s students are finishing their high school studies back at home and applying for visas they too will join such students as Cynthia and David who joined ELI 360 and enrolled in one of the U.S.’s top quality universities.

Cynthia Li and David Lee

In the U.S. graduation is an important milestone for young people. It is a moment in time where they can look back and realize all that has been accomplished. This is especially true for international students who have completed their studies in a foreign country. Not only have they been required to work hard in their academic studies but they have had to overcome the challenges of a foreign language and culture. This factor alone enhances their ability to be creative and innovative in their profession. Such research has been highlighted in previous blog posts by Ted.

"International education cannot be seen as an add-on," Martha J. Kanter, U.S. under secretary of education, told college international-education officials.

Over the past few decades, the movement towards “globalization” has been spearheaded by the corporate world of business through the increase of international trade. However, our world is beginning to see how this movement is impacting the international community at all levels. After all, the influence of commerce on society is often far-reaching. Along with the rise of the international business market comes the need for individuals who are well-versed in the international culture. This in turn leads to the emergence of a globalized version of higher education – a trend that has been observed especially in the status of American higher education today.

In the world of politics and policy making, the Obama administration has caught on that the internationalization of American higher education is indeed inevitable. In fact, the internationalization of education has become so crucial that it has begun to trickle down into the secondary and lower education in the United States. Martha J. Kanter, U.S. under secretary of education assured the attendees at this year’s annual meeting of the Association of International Education Administrators that internationalization of education at all levels of education is a key priority of the Obama administration. She told the college international education officials present that “international education cannot be seen as an add-on. It’s not an extra in higher education or K-12.”

The Obama administration is highly aware of the importance of internationalizing education for the American society as they understand that the skills and knowledge acquired in international education are the same skills that graduates need to succeed in a global economy. Ms. Kanter also took the opportunity to remind that attendees that the U.S. Education Department’s proposed overall budget increase was 7 percent, even as other federal departments were likely to see their budgets cut. This is a huge indicator of the priorities of the Obama administration, and should be taken by education administrators as a serious encouragement that they indeed play a crucial role in the continual development of the nation.

Unbeknown to many, ELI 360 has been working to increase awareness globally towards the importance of internationalization of education at all levels. Our efforts extend beyond bringing college students from foreign countries to our partner universities here in the US in that we are also actively recruiting high school students to consider completing part of their secondary education studying abroad. In addition, ELI 360 is also consistently networking with high schools in the countries we are currently involved in to help them develop a model of globalized education. While this project is still in its developmental stages, ELI 360 is also working towards developing a mentoring program for students in Malaysia starting at age twelve and up to help them discover early on the many opportunities available to them in today’s global economy. These efforts should reiterate to our members our desire to make the globalization of all levels of education a reality in the near future.

* This news release is based on the article “Campus Officials: Globalization is Inevitable, Whatever the Path” by Beth McMurtrie and Karin Fischer published in the February 26 2010 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, page A32.

The 2009-10 Officers of Abilene Christian Universities' International Student Association.

University-bound students today find themselves in a world much different from the one that their parents experienced twenty or thirty years ago. Not only are most university campuses today more equipped and technologically savvy, the student bodies’ themselves have become increasingly diverse and integrated.  Particularly in the case of American Universities, where enrollment of international students has grown steadily over the past five years, university officials have come to accept that globalization is indeed inevitable.

Nonetheless, even though much has been said about the importance and inevitability of globalization in American higher education, a definite model for what this “internationalization” should look like has yet to emerge. Nancy L. Zimpher, chancellor of the State University of New York, one of the country’s largest public-university systems, presented her views on the current state of globalization in higher education at this year’s annual meeting of the Association of International Education Administrators, addressing this issue by emphasizing the importance of vision-setting. She states promptly, “Vision trumps everything.” She argues that strong visionary leadership is required if universities hope to successfully navigate the waters of integrating international efforts in addition to culminating in a globalized model of higher education. Adam Levine, the president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation echoes Zimpher’s sentiments. In his speech, he said that he foresees “some bold universities” leading, and being “popularizers” while “others will hold onto the past and will be destined to fail.” In view of this, Levine challenged international education administrators to “take a lead” in shaping the concept of today’s university, believing that these administrators have been strategically placed to make globalization in the field of higher education a more concrete reality.

Of all the things that were being said at this meeting, the issues that were of the most interest to ELI 360 was that of the position of international students, and the role they have played and will continue to play in the movement towards the globalization of American higher education. Erik Presley, the President of ELI 360 comments, “Universities that are serious about globalization need to start integrating the international students on their campus more and more. This doesn’t just include changing the students to fit the university but to actively learn from one another. The problems that arise from having international students on campus need not be seen as merely obstacles to globalization but opportunities for the university to change and grow.” Erik’s sentiment is echoed by Steven Gist, the Director of Global Markets for ELI 360. He says, “Globalization is all about conflict and conflict resolution. When you bring people who are from completely different backgrounds, you are bound to have disagreements as they bring varying styles to perceiving and handling issues to the table. It is through this process of engaging, encountering and exchanging ideas that all parties involved grow and learn.” In sum, in order for universities to successfully internationalize, there needs to be a relationship of reciprocity established with its foreign students and partners. Learning has to be seen as a two-way street in order to cultivate a truly globalized environment.

International Students at Oklahoma Christian University.

As internationalization grows as a priority for higher education in the U.S., The role of third-party recruiters of international students, such as ELI 360, become more prominent. Zimpher, who championed a project led by Mitch Leventhal, the SUNY system’s vice chancellor for global affairs, to certify and regulate third-party international student recruiters argues that universities international work had to be done in the context of trade and immigration policy. This focus on consultants such as ELI 360 goes to show that international students seeking to pursue higher education need to engage with third-party recruiters who are experienced and credible; organizations that are sincere in aiding both students and universities adapt to a globalized world. ELI 360 prides itself as a company that has years of experience in cross-cultural relations and projects. It is the goal of ELI 360 to be continually relevant as a company that is “committed to the worldwide development of people and ideas for the increased wellbeing of all nations” especially in a future where a globalized world is a reality.

* This news release is based on the article “Campus Officials: Globalization is Inevitable, Whatever the Path” by Beth McMurtrie and Karin Fischer published in the February 26 2010 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, page A32

In fact, in many countries higher education has become million-, even billion-dollar industries, with various institutions drawing crops of intellectually gifted individuals from all continents. Even so, as with most industries, there is a spectrum ranging from leaders within the field to those who have aspirations to follow suit.

One country seeking to emulate the traditional higher education powerhouses is India. Traditionally, the task of educating India’s youth has long been that of the federal government. However, in recent years, the private sector has realized the shortcomings of a federal education system, particularly on the university level. In view of this, a crop of exceptional and accomplished Indian businessmen has risen to the task of increasing the opportunities for and quality of education in India. Fueled by a vigorous sense of patriotism, and well-funded by their years of industrial efforts, these Indian businessmen are setting up universities all over the nation with hopes of raising the current Indian college-going rate of 12% – a rate that is shockingly low compared to most other developing nations.

NIIT University's Campus Wall. The entire campus will cost a whopping $44-million when completed.

What is truly amazing about these business executives is their willingness to “put their money where their mouth is.” Most of them are paying to establish these institutions of higher education out of their own pockets. Pawan Agarwal, a senior civil servant and author of Indian Higher Education: Envisioning the Future, comments, “For these guys, education is not a business, and they would continue to support it even if operating expenses aren’t covered”. Such is the commitment of these businessmen to the cause of educating their fellow countrymen that they would willingly make sacrifices to fund these universities. For example, Rajendra Pawar and Vijay Thandani, the owners of the multinational computer-training and consulting company NIIT have said that they will absorb nearly all the expenses during the first few years of running NIIT university – this project is no small venture seeing that they estimate the cost of completing the university within a decade to stand at an astronomical $44-million.

Rajendra S Pawar, founder of NIIT University and chairman of NIIT Techonologies.

These industrialists see their efforts in developing the private higher education sector as offering “an alternative” to the current public higher education system that they believe is misguided. Graduates from the public universities in India are often encouraged to “think narrowly” and “learn passively”. As a result of this, only 10% of them are employable. To add insult to injury, so to speak, even the better students don’t have a well-rounded university experience. Using the liberal arts model of education, these “university planters” seek to remedy the “maladies” of the public higher education system by offering the students of their universities a holistic education. Mr. Pawar intends to develop a wide range of programs at his NIIT University in order to provide its students with a broad base of knowledge, he says, “A mechanical-engineering student will also study some literature and social sciences. And a psychology student will also study some mathematics and economics because it is important.” He adds, “We believe that in the 21^st century, the distinction between science and the arts has to go”.

As more of our world begins to realize what Mr. Pawar and his associates believe about the importance of gaining a holistic education, ELI 360 is pleased to have championed the cause of liberal arts education throughout the past few years. Our partner universities are some of the most exceptional institutes of higher education, offering an education experience that is founded on a wide-base of knowledge – with a rigorous emphasis on intellectual, professional, psychological and spiritual development. Students that enroll in these universities can count on the fact that they will receive more than a diploma upon graduation, and that they will truly be equipped to face the world, regardless of whatever field they may enter.

Once again, Mother Nature has brought the world to a standstill. On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake ripped through Haiti. This tiny Caribbean nation is home to an estimated nine million people. About 80% of them live beneath the poverty level with 54% of them living in abject poverty. What has truly caught the attention of the world is not the force of the earthquake but the deadly aftermath which has already reached an estimated death toll of 200,000.

Financial Times

Relief and financial aid is pouring in from all directions with many major Western nations, including the United States, donating funds as well as providing humanitarian efforts. One of the major obstacles being faced by relief workers is the sheer number of dead bodies that need to be recovered from the rubble. Most of the city lies in desolation with the damaged infrastructure making it extremely difficult for relief work to be carried out.

Charles Dharapak - AP

According to The Washington Post, the grim process of counting the dead has been complicated by the breakdown of government institutions, including the collapse of hospitals and morgues. Many people are still buried under collapsed homes, hotels and government buildings, making a final count premature. The large amount of collapsed buildings is said to have been caused by a failure to comply with architectural safety standards.

In response to this tragedy, Ted Presley, founder of ELI 360 believes that this disaster is a timely “call for global leaders with a sense of ethics to rise up.” What has occurred in Haiti should serve as a reminder for all nations around the world that much of the loss of human lives in Haiti could have been prevented. When all people in all segments of societies comply with approved standards, guidelines and laws, the world becomes safer for everyone. Furthermore, when all people enjoy a decent standard of living, the temptation to “cut corners” is decreased. A similar earthquake of 6.9 magnitude hit the state of California in the U.S. with only 63 casualties. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake)  In view of this, the fight against global poverty is one that needs to be urgently taken up by global leaders who understand this as an ethical and humanitarian responsibility.

“This tragedy also serves to highlight the importance of education as the answer to increasing the wellbeing of a culture and a nation,” said Erik Presley, President of Eli360. He believes that what Haiti needs lies beyond the rebuilding of the nation’s infrastructure. What she needs is “an opportunity to develop the mental and intellectual capacity of her people.” Unfortunately, the current illiteracy rate of the Haitian population is around 45% as compared to the US illiteracy rate of 1%.

In the press release, the founders of ELI 360 expressed their deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this tragedy. The President urges “all individuals associated with our company to offer support to the Haitian relief efforts in whatever means possible – especially in financial support, and much prayer.” ELI 360 has elected to contribute to a non-profit called Leadership International.

In a recent survey, ninety percent of senior management who reported studying abroad during their own careers also reported a hiring or promotion strategy that actively sought out and rewarded study abroad experience. – Report prepared by: Robert Gutierrez, Sr. Manager; Rajika Bhandari, Director Research and Evaluation

While research in higher education finds that U.S. students are a minority in the study abroad or international education industry 30% of senior leaders surveyed reported participating in at least the short-term study abroad arena of international education exchange. ELI 360 believes there is  a strong correlation to these facts. International education provides career-relevant skills that impact the future opportunities of today’s young people and should be part of their education strategy.

An independent nonprofit.

Respondents also provided concrete suggestions for how companies can better recruit students with international experience, including for example:

• Working more closely with study abroad offices to enhance recruitment possibilities
• Providing corporate-sponsored internships or scholarships, and
• Increasing international opportunities and assignments for new and existing staff.

To download the full briefing paper, “The Value of International Education to U.S. Business and Industry Leaders: Key Findings from a Survey of CEOs,” visit International Institute of Education website post.

October 1, 2009

The death tolls from two powerful underwater earthquakes less than a day apart were expected to continue climbing as residents of the islands of Samoa and the Indonesian island of Sumatra began to dig out from the natural disasters that tore through their cities and villages.

The earthquake that struck western Indonesia on Wednesday killed at least 200 people in the coastal city of Padang alone, according to news reports.

Mother and Daughter stare at the devestation. - by James Wray

Thousands more were believed trapped in an estimated 500 buildings that toppled or were damaged in the quake, measured at magnitude 7.6.

“This new development for our company will give us the ability to grow our service offerings and solidify our reach in the Asia market. We will be able to improve our various services to our university and high school partners,” said Ted Presley, founder of ELI 360.

‘Manipulating,’ Er, Influencing ‘U.S. News & World Report’ Ranking Systems

FROM the:

June 3, 2009 Inside Higher Education

ATLANTA — Higher education’s love-hate relationship with college rankings was on full display here this week at the annual forum of the Association for Institutional Research, where — despite the continuing campaign by some campus presidents to marginalize rankings — campus number crunchers were treated/subjected to at least a half-dozen sessions on the subject.

“We have been criticized for not fulfilling the mission of a public land-grant institution,” Watt responded. But “we have gotten really good press. We have walked the fine line between illegal, unethical, and really interesting.”

Catherine Watt, former institutional researcher and now a professor at Clemson University

As is common at this gathering of self-described wonks, some of the sessions (like the one on using Microsoft Excel to adjust raw rankings data) were practical to the point of being arcane, but most aimed to defend, dissect or debunk them. Officials from U.S. News & World Report and the Times Higher Education Supplement were on hand to tell the men and women who in many cases are responsible for submitting information about their campuses how their rankings were evolving and what might becoming down the road.

One session, however, revealed more than any other the extent to which the rankings, for all the protestations to the contrary, influence colleges’ behavior. A presentation by Catherine Watt, the former institutional researcher and now a professor at Clemson University, laid bare in a way that is usually left to the imagination the steps that Clemson has (rather brazenly) taken since 2001 to move from 38th to 22nd in U.S. News’s ranking of public research universities.

This was no accident. When President James F. Barker took over the South Carolina institution in 2001, he vowed in his initial interview to move Clemson into the top 20 (a distinction that many research universities covet, but few can achieve, given that most of those already in the top 20 aren’t eager to relinquish their spots). Although many people on the campus were skeptical, Clemson has pursued the goal almost single-mindedly, seeking to “affect — I’m hesitating to use the word ‘manipulate,’ ” Watt said — “every possible indicator to the greatest extent possible.” She added: “It is the thing around which almost everything revolves for the president’s office.”

That statement was among the first at Watt’s session that provoked murmurs of discomfort (and more) from the audience — there would be many more as she described the various steps Clemson had taken to alter its profile in order to improve its U.S. News standing.

The easiest moves, she said, revolved around class size: Clemson has significantly increased the proportion of its classes with 20 or fewer students, one key U.S. News indicator of a strong student experience. While Clemson has always had comparatively small class sizes for a public land-grant university, it has focused, Watt said, trying to bump sections with between 21 and 25 students down to 18 or 19, but letting a class with 50 rise to 70. “It’s manipulation around the edges.”

Clemson has also transformed its admissions standards, more or less ceasing to admit full-time, first-time undergraduates who are not in the top third of their high school classes, and constantly re-assessing its SAT average throughout the admissions cycle, Watt said, so that admissions officials know whether they “have to increase the SAT score in the next round” of students.

Bringing about other changes has been harder, Watt continued, as she described what she called the “more questionable aspects of what we’ve done.” The university has ratcheted up the faculty salaries it reports to U.S. News by about $20,000, which it has achieved by actually increasing spending (paid for largely through increased tuition) and by altering the way it relays the data to the magazine’s editors.

In reporting institutional financial information to the magazine, she said, Clemson runs “multiple definitions to figure out where we can move things around to make them look best” in the rankings. Academic expenditures are emphasized and administrative overhead minimized wherever possible, within reason, she said. The university has encouraged as many alumni as possible to send in at least $5 to help bring up their giving rate, and hired a firm to find disconnected alumni.

And to actual gasps from some members of the audience, Watt said that Clemson officials, in filling out the reputational survey form for presidents, “rates all programs other than Clemson below average,” to make the university look better. “And I’m confident my president is not the only one who does that,” Watt said.

Taken together, the changes have had an impact on numerous U.S. News indicators: the proportion of freshmen who were in the top 10 percent of their high school class has risen to 42 from 34 percent; student to faculty ratio has dropped to 14:1 from 16:1; the retention rate of freshmen has climbed to 89 from 82 percent and the graduation rate to 78 from 72 percent. And as those last few results show, Watt said, many of the changes Clemson has made have helped students.

But many of the administrators and data analysts in the audience were clearly troubled by Watt’s description of Clemson’s approach, especially as she pointed out that the university has grown more exclusive (fewer than 10 percent of its undergraduates are first-generation college students) and has “favored merit over access in a poor state,” sending tuitions rising.”To me it’s a little unsettling what you’re doing,” said one audience member. “You had a perfectly good institution” before.

“We have been criticized for not fulfilling the mission of a public land-grant institution,” Watt responded. But “we have gotten really good press. We have walked the fine line between illegal, unethical, and really interesting.”

“You’re pandering,” said another, who was especially troubled by the idea that the university would produce multiple versions of its salary data. “It can be confusing, uninformative, hard to keep straight, and I’ve always been very vigilant about not doing that. It’s a very dangerous activity,” the administrator said. “How can you possibly justify doing that?” he asked Watt.

“To do anything else is not an option,” she said.

“You mean you’re just following orders?” the questioner asked.

“Yes.” (A spokeswoman for Clemson did not respond to e-mail messages late Tuesday seeking a response to that assertion.)

Not everyone was troubled. “I love” your approach — “it’s pragmatic and forthright,” said another audience member. “It’s so common [for colleges] to ignore U.S. News, and yet when they drop, they complain.”

Watt admitted at several points in the presentation that she was trying to contain her own “cynicism” about her institution’s approach, but she recounted a comment that a colleague had made “People don’t have this as their official vision,” she quoted, “but by God it’s their unofficial vision.”