The contributions of student affairs professionals are essential for
moving the internationalization of higher education from vision to
reality. As internationalization accelerates on U.S. campuses,
administrators rely on student affairs and student services personnel to
do more—not only to serve more international students, but to help all
students develop global and intercultural competencies.
Those are some of the findings released this week by ACE's Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement (CIGE) as part of CIGE’s final report in a three-part series on internationalizing the co-curriculum, Internationalization and Student Affairs.
Internationalization and Student Affairs examines the following aspects of student affairs and internationalization:
- Student Affairs on the Front Lines of Internationalization
- Internationalization of the Student Affairs Profession
- Student Affairs in the World
Student affairs divisions can help institutions advance their goals
for internationalization and students’ global and intercultural learning
in a variety of ways:
- Contributing to strategic plans for internationalization (e.g., as a member of the internationalization leadership team)
- Providing services for an increasing number of international
students—as well as greater numbers of immigrant, multicultural, and
multilingual students
- Supporting study abroad returnees with re-entry, and finding ways
for them to share their international experience for the benefit of
others on campus
- Facilitating interaction among students of different cultural backgrounds
- Collaborating directly with faculty members to create experiential learning opportunities
- Staffing education abroad programs or branch campuses
- Modeling global and intercultural competence for students
A globally aware and culturally diverse staff who engage
constructively with colleagues different from themselves, who exhibit
curiosity about the world and who seek out new global experiences can
send a powerful signal to students that these qualities are valued in
the campus community, the report found.
To help student affairs personnel meet the shifting demands
associated with campus internationalization, professional standards, job
descriptions and student affairs preparation programs are changing and
entirely new international student affairs roles are emerging. Student
affairs professional associations also support internationally focused
professional development and networking.
As higher education institutions worldwide become increasingly
connected through student exchange, branch campuses, joint degree
programs, and professional associations, the student affairs profession,
too, is becoming more global. Part three of the report addresses the
challenge of adapting U.S. models of student affairs to new cultural
contexts.
The report is part of CIGE’s Internationalization in Action series,
which seeks to provide guidance to institutions engaged in
internationalization, and features institutional strategies and good
practices gathered from participants in CIGE programs and other experts
in the field. Previous installments are available here.