|
RICHMOND, Ind. — Separating
itself from a negative trend in evidence at many other American
colleges and universities since 9/11, Earlham College this
fall will welcome the largest first-year class of international
students in its history.
According to Musa Khalidi, senior associate
dean of admissions and director of the College’s international
student recruitment efforts, Earlham in August will enroll
43 new international students, a jump of nearly 56 percent
from the 24 foreign students admitted in 2003-04. Overall,
reports Khalidi and colleagues in Earlham’s International
Programs Office, the number of international students enrolled
for the new school year will grow to 95, up 10 (10.5%) from ’03-’04 — not
including 12 students from Japan expected on campus as participants
in the one-year Collaborative Education in Study Abroad (CESA)
program.
Additionally, because of the incoming international
contingent’s geographic diversity, the number of foreign
nations represented by students at Earlham this year will rise
to 46, up from 38 in ’03-’04. In fact, in what
also may be a historic milestone for the College, more countries
than states will be represented on campus this fall. Dean of
Admissions and Financial Aid Jeff Rickey says Earlham, long
regarded as being a “national” liberal arts college,
will count students from 43 states among its approximate total
enrollment of 1,200 this coming semester. Prior to graduation
last May, 47 states could boast of having at least one student
attending Earlham.
The dramatic increase in international student
enrollment at Earlham stands in sharp contrast to what is happening
at hundreds of other colleges and universities nationwide since
the adoption by the federal government — in the aftermath
of 9/11 — of much stricter immigration rules. In survey
results issued last November by the Institute of International
Education (IIE), 46 percent of U.S. colleges reported declines
in foreign enrollment for the ’03-’04 school year,
findings later echoed in a separate report by the Association
of International Educators, known as NAFSA.
“Since 9/11 the rules of the game have
definitely changed,” says Khalidi, himself a Palestinian
who graduated from Bethlehem University in the West Bank territories
before earning a master’s degree at the University of
Notre Dame in Indiana. “It’s certainly a much harder
process now for international students wanting to come here
(to the United States) for college, and logistically for admissions
people I think it’s a big burden.
“You really have to stay on top of every
new rule and regulation being put on us,” Khalidi says. “There
are a lot of clearances that need to be conducted. ”
In an ironic twist, however, Khalidi suggests
the demands of newly implemented immigration procedures like
SEVIS — for Student and Exchange Visitor Information
System, intended to help the government keep tabs on the whereabouts
of visiting students and other foreign nationals — may
actually help account for why Earlham has continued to be successful
in international recruitment when so many other institutions
have struggled.
“There are a lot of factors,” says
Khalidi, “but in the end I think it mostly comes down
to support. Time and time again this campus has demonstrated
itself to be a most welcoming and supportive place. And I mean
genuine support, from the administration, the faculty and the
students. I can’t begin to tell you what a strength that
is for me and for Earlham, to be able to go into a conversation
with a foreign student and say, ‘Yes, we know that applying
for college in the U.S. is a challenge. We know it’s
difficult. But, if you want to come be part of us, Earlham
is going to do everything in its power to help make that happen.’”
By way of illustration, Khalidi recounts the
case of a first-year student from Palestine set to enroll at
Earlham last year. Though Christian rather than Muslim, as
a young Arab male seeking admission to a country so recently
and so seriously wounded by 19 young Arab males (at least one
here on a study visa) the student had much to do to satisfy
U.S. immigration authorities. As a result, his arrival on campus
was delayed from August until mid-October.
“But, that was O.K., because this is
Earlham,” says Khalidi. “Everybody got involved — the
president, the registrar, the student development staff — getting
him moved in, getting him registered for classes, getting him
up-to-date on missed course work, getting him into the community.
“When it comes to involvement with our
international students,” Khalidi adds, “I don’t
have to go begging for help. I don’t have to wait for
help. There are all kinds of people on this campus who come
up to me, who approach me first, offering to help. I’m
telling you, I go to conferences and meetings where we talk
about recruiting international students and it’s amazing
how different we are in terms of that support. Truly, I think
that’s where our success comes from.”
Host already to seven continuing Palestinian
students, Earlham will enroll six more this coming term, says
Khalidi. Meanwhile, two continuing students from Pakistan will
be joined this year by a regional neighbor from Afghanistan,
the College’s first-ever enrollee from that country.
Other nations to be represented on campus for
the first time in ’04-’05, Khalidi says, include
Jamaica, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Swaziland.
Looking for prospective students “off
the beaten track” is another important aspect of Earlham’s
strategy for building a diverse international community, says
Khalidi, who also insists on “flying solo” when
it comes to overseas recruitment, routinely declining invitations
to participate in frequent group tours arranged for international
admissions officers.
There are several advantages, Khalidi says,
although the most important is the impression left with prospective
students that Earlham is unique and “that I’ve
made a special trip just to see them — which is true.”
Many times, too, says Khalidi, his going solo
approach has meant he is the first admissions officer from
America to visit a particular country or region.
“You have to be imaginative and creative
in the recruitment process,” Khalidi says. “You
really get the royal treatment at the beginning and, long term,
people will remember that Earlham was there first. Again, in
many societies and cultures, that can have a tremendous impact,
and that can mean very positive things for the College.”
— EC —
Contact:
Kevin Burke,
director of media relations
765/983-1323
|
