A series of videos on resources and support systems for prospective and current international students and a new report titled “Career Pathways for International Students” were recently added to the trove of ACE resources covering a range of topics related to international students.
Three video postcards produced in collaboration with EducationUSA feature interviews with regional education advising coordinators from EducationUSA speaking about the needs and experiences of international students interested in studying in the United States from Ecuador, Malawi, and Mongolia. The interviews are intended to provide useful information to U.S. higher education professionals who seek to gain perspectives on how the pandemic has impacted these students and their needs.
The career pathways report, published with support from the Charles Koch Foundation, looks at how international graduates of U.S. institutions fare in the job market and how their career trajectories are altered as a result of their study-abroad experience. The author, Anna Esaki-Smith, co-founder and managing director of Education Rethink, summarizes existing research, identifies gaps in existing data, and concludes with a list of specific research questions for further study. Declining international enrollment rates in the U.S., exacerbated by the pandemic and the previous administration’s visa restrictions, plus enhanced recruitment strategies from competing host countries, all create an urgent need to provide U.S. colleges and universities with data to support successful recruitment and enrollment yields, the author writes. Building on this report to provide data on career prospects for international students in the United States is one way to do that.
Another important aspect, as highlighted in “Toward Greater Inclusion and Success: A New Compact for International Students,” which ACE published in February, is for higher education institutions to establish lifelong relationships with international students and to ensure that they not only thrive academically and socially while on campus, but are also well prepared for careers and life upon graduation.
The attitudes of the U.S. public towards international students also impact campuses’ ability to foster a welcoming environment and sways policy decisions. In Episode 46 of ACE’s dotEDU podcast, David Winston of the Winston group discusses the data he helped collect for the issue brief “International Student Inclusion And Success: Public Attitudes, Policy Imperatives, and Practical Strategies” and how leaders can make the case for the positive contributions international students make to the U.S. economy and college campuses.
Finally, ACE’s Mapping Internationalization on U.S. Campuses Survey assesses the current state of internationalization at U.S. colleges and universities, analyzes progress and trends over time, and identifies future priorities. It is the only comprehensive source of data and analysis on internationalization in U.S. higher education. ACE is currently collecting data from campus leaders for the next iteration of the survey, which is conducted once every five years. To find out if your institution has completed the Mapping Survey, complete the inquiry form here.