The D-word
November 4, 2024
If you talk to any U.S. campus administrator today, most will tell you that they want to diversify their international students. This is a worthy goal, yet what exactly do we mean when we talk about international students and “diversity”? This term is bandied about in a way that assumes that we are all drawing upon a shared understanding of what it means. For the most part, it refers to the varied origins of international students and the desire to move beyond India and China, countries whose students are a large presence on any American campus.
Yet, as I have been learning…
the notion of international student diversity can be complex and nuanced.
When we consider the origins of international students, it can mean geography and where students come from; it can mean what they are studying in the U.S. (which is currently disproportionately skewed towards the STEM fields); it can mean gender and increasing access for female international students (currently, more men than women study in the U.S.); and it can mean diversity across socioeconomic status and social class.
For instance, even though Indians students have long been one of the largest groups of international students in the U.S., there is tremendous diversity across India and amongst Indian students. When my generation of Indian students arrived in the U.S., the ability to study here was still either reserved for the elite or for graduate students whose departments could support them through assistantships (I fell in the latter category). This also meant that most students were from India’s big cities or its handful of world-class institutions like the IITs (the Indian Institutes of Technology). But Indian students in the U.S. today are as diverse as the country they come from.
I recently had the opportunity to delve deeper into many of these issues in a new paper.
There are at least two other aspects to the international student and diversity conversation in the U.S.:
Where international students sit within the larger landscape of Diversity, Equity,Inclusion and Belonging conversations and efforts on U.S. campuses; and how exactly do international students themselves engage with notions of diversity in the U.S.?
Stay tuned for Part II of this issue, where I will unpack these two strands.
In case you were wondering, these diyas (clay lamps) are indeed hand-painted by yours truly.
And speaking of diversity and the rich cultural heritage of the U.S., this past weekend was Diwali, the festival of lights which heralds all the other festivals that are also celebrated with beautiful lights. As a testament to the growing size and influence of the Indian diaspora in the U.S., the White House also celebrated the occasion with remarks by President Biden. Wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali and a season of lights, love, and levity.
Read & Listen!
Four African Students, MIT, and Dreams of a Made-in-America Degree: Arthur Musah on his new film, Brief Tender Light This is one of my favourite episodes of the World Wise podcast. Arthur and I have now engaged in three conversations about the journey of international and African students, and our own journeys as storytellers—he as a filmmaker and I as a writer. If you haven’t yet seen the film, be sure to check it out on PBS.
Sometime ago I had appeared on the Keystone Education Group's Higher Ed Chat podcast to talk about how to attract and retain Indian students and what matters to them. Great to see some of those ideas distilled into this article titled, 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚. Listen to the full podcast episode here.
On the Road…Events, Talks & Workshops
Nov. 11: One of the greatest gaps on U.S. campuses is effectively connecting international students and career options. It is about time that we began to take very seriously the careers and employment success of international students. The International Career Collective is doing exactly this and I’m delighted to provide the opening keynote for their International Career Summit this year. My session is titled, Thriving and Finding Your Power as an International Student.
Nov. 12: In partnership with two clients and partners, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and MPOWER Financing, I will be releasing a new report on the funding challenges that international students face in the U.S. and the implications this has for our institutions to continue to attract global talent. Stay tuned for the release of the report and join us for what promises to be a stimulating discussion on this topic with a terrific line-up of speakers, including international education sector leaders and two international students. Register for the webinar here.
CLIENT & PARTNER SPOTLIGHT!
Given this issue’s theme of diversity, we are featuring one of our newest clients and partner—the Oxford Education International Group—whose portfolio covers university pathway programs, and a comprehensive range of online academic and vocations courses through the OI Digital Institute and English language schools for adult and junior students in the UK, Canada and USA. Oxford International commissioned Rajika Bhandari Advisors to produce the paper, A Lack of Diversity Spells Adversity: Why U.S. Institutions Need to Attract Diverse International Students. The paper focuses on:
Making the case for why it is critical for institutions to diversity both from a sustainability and mission-driven perspective
What exactly do we mean by international student diversity in the context of the U.S.
Trends in student mobility from diverse countries, particularly from the Global South
Strategies and considerations for institutions that are looking to diversify.
Read this blog based on the paper, and the coverage in Times Higher Education, PIE News, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. We also held a webinar with university leaders on the themes of the paper and you can view the recording here.
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