International Student Affairs

Core duties of international student affairs personnelgenerally include ensuring a smooth transition into adifferent educational system, providing ongoing support in cross-cultural and academic adjustment, offering socialoutlets and leadership opportunities through cocurricularprogramming, and advising on matters relating to studentvisa status.

International Student Affairs

Melinda Wood, Parandeh Kia

Working in international student affairs definitely offers one a window onthe world. Few professionals in the field get to travel abroad as much as theywould like, but the world comes to them on a daily basis. After awhile itbecomes routine to receive exotic gifts at new student orientation and tolisten to foreign accents every day. It also brings world events into sharpfocus when students recount personal stories about losing loved ones in anearthquake, being unable to pay their tuition since their country’s economycollapsed, or grieving for friends who have been imprisoned for their politi-cal beliefs. Incidents that make riveting news are not just stories; they oftencreate crises for administrators who deal with international students in theUnited States and with U.S. students studying abroad.

Primary Functions

Many institutions are keenly interested in internationalizing their campusesby making substantive commitment to various aspects of international edu-cation. Implementation of this goal can take many forms, such as infusinginternational perspectives in the curriculum, committing to send U.S. stu-dents abroad as part of their degree requirements, working to increase thenumbers of incoming foreign students, and creating opportunities for inter-national research. Depending on institutional plans, priorities, and organi-zational structure, the administrative units charged with meeting specificinternationalization objectives are organized in numerous ways.

The most commonly used names for these administrative areas includeinternational education or international student affairs in their titles; theseterms will be used interchangeably in this chapter, though they may not

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, no. 111, Fall 2000 © Jossey-Bass, a Wiley company 55

6

56 THE WORK AND CAREER PATHS OF MIDLEVEL ADMINISTRATORS

mean the same thing on all campuses. These units may be placed within anynumber of institutional structures. For instance, a unit called Office of Inter-national Education or Center for International Student Affairs may behoused in Student Affairs and may encompass both U.S. students goingabroad and students coming from other countries to study in the UnitedStates. Quite often in this model, these two functions are separated into twosmaller units. In other instances, services for international students arelocated in Student Affairs, and education abroad is located in AcademicAffairs. Depending on the size and type of institution, these offices may alsobe found in the graduate division, the admissions office, or an academicdepartment. For the purposes of this chapter, we will focus primarily onunits that serve students coming to the United States because that has beenthe specific career path of both authors. However, realizing that nearly equalnumbers of midlevel administrators work with U.S. students going abroad,we will address issues of both career paths because there are points of diver-gence as well as convergence.

The functions of these units can vary widely. Their core purposes gen-erally include ensuring a smooth transition into a different educational sys-tem, providing ongoing support in cross-cultural and academic adjustment,offering social outlets and leadership opportunities through cocurricular pro-gramming, and advising on matters relating to student visa status. On thestudy-abroad side, additional attention is given to recruiting students andassisting them in selecting an institution in the country of choice, whereasthose who work with international students are spending increasing amountsof time on monitoring immigration policy and student compliance.

In 1998–99 over 490,000 international students were attending U.S.colleges and universities, making up approximately 3 percent of all studentsin U.S. higher education that year (Davis, 1999). Contrary to the popularview that they take resources away from U.S. students, it has been estimatedthat international students contribute roughly $11 billion to the U.S. econ-omy, making international education the nation’s fifth largest service sectorexport (NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 2000). The majorityof students coming to the United States are from Asian countries; are male;and are studying business, engineering, or sciences. Nearly half intend toobtain undergraduate degrees, whereas 43 percent are seeking graduatedegrees. In contrast, just over 113,000 U.S. college and university studentsgo abroad to study. They are overwhelmingly Caucasian and female; mostgo to Western European countries for one academic term (usually asemester or a summer term). Social sciences and humanities dominate thefields of study. This disparity between incoming and outbound students isone of the major challenges in internationalization efforts. Some campuseshave had great success in sending as many as 40 to 90 percent of theirundergraduates abroad, but barriers still limit access, particularly for grad-uate students, engineering students, and students with disabilities.

57INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AFFAIRS

International student service units often interact with campus admis-sions offices, residence hall staff, student health and counseling centers,English language programs, and faculty advisors. Study-abroad services tendto interact with host institutions overseas, financial aid offices, academicdepartments, and registrars or other transfer credit evaluators, althoughthere is a trend to work more closely with student affairs offices, particu-larly in the area of health and safety.

Staffing (Roles and Responsibilities)

The primary role of international student advisors (the midlevel admin-istrators) is to assist international students in adjusting to and succeedingin obtaining degrees from U.S. institutions. This encompasses services andactivities such as the following:

• Orientation for new students• Ongoing advising throughout the year on cross-cultural issues such as

adjusting to the U.S. style of higher education, understanding U.S. medi-cal insurance and health care, dealing with family concerns (for example,spouses and children who do not speak English), and loneliness

• Providing cocurricular programs to offer professional development, lead-ership, and social opportunities

• Preparing students to explore postgraduation opportunities or to returnhome at the end of their studies

• Working with faculty, students, and staff to facilitate an understanding ofcultural contexts by which international students may be operating orcommunicating

An increasing amount of advisors’ time over the past decades has beenspent in dealing with students’ visa-related needs. Immigration regulationsregarding international students have become much more complex and dif-ficult to administer. In addition, government reporting requirements haveincreased, requiring much closer monitoring of student activities and prog-ress. Events such as the Iran hostage crisis, the Tiananmen Square uprising,ethnic warfare in Europe and Africa, and the Asian economic crisis haveoften caused tremendous upheaval in the lives of students from thoseregions, raising concerns about the welfare of loved ones back home andwhether they will be able to return home safely. At the same time, as theU.S. government responds to those situations in the context of global diplo-macy, students may fear for the security of their legal status here. In thesetypes of situations, advisors often interact with both campus and govern-ment officials to assist international students at their campuses.

Similarly, although the routine responsibilities of study-abroad advisorsinclude predeparture orientation for students going overseas (specific cross-


cultural information, support for academic advising and adjustment abroad,and reentry programs for a smooth transition back to higher education inthe United States), they, too, often face intense and complex challenges suchas natural disasters or political events overseas. The parents at home areinvariably distraught as they see dramatic news coverage from far away andoften contact the university study-abroad office for assistance. Internationaleducation professionals frequently act as the go-betweens in establishingcommunication and ensuring that students are safe and healthy. This some-times involves working with the U.S. Department of State or other agenciesand at times may even include trips abroad to bring students home.

The international education profession tends to attract young, enthu-siastic new recruits, many of whom have had a positive international expe-rience of some sort. Many have taught English as a foreign languageoverseas, many have participated in study-abroad programs, some areex–Peace Corps volunteers, and some are former international students whochose to remain in the United States. The field is made up predominantlyof Caucasians and women, though ethnic minorities comprise a highershare of the field than in many administrative areas (approximately 17 per-cent), in part due to the numbers of international students who have stayedin the United States to become international education administrators(NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 1999). The majority ofinternational affairs administrators have at least a master’s degree.

International student services and study-abroad offices vary in size andstructure depending on the institution. Some units are one-person offices,as it were, with little or no clerical support, whereas other offices have adirector, assistant or associate director, several advisors, clerical staff, andstudent help. Offices oftentimes rely on part-time student employees, manyof whom may be international students or study-abroad returnees; thesestudent workers can be invaluable linguistic and cultural resources for pro-fessional staff, although their skills need to be used judiciously when deal-ing with their fellow students. International student affairs offices may alsohost paid or unpaid interns who want to launch careers in internationaleducation.

Among the factors that guide international student affairs administra-tors in following a career path are the stability of their institution andwhether they choose to stay in one place or move between institutions. Forinstance, a newcomer to the field might work in an international livingcenter or residence hall for a year and then take an entry-level internationalstudent advisor position and subsequently move up to become assistantdirector or director. Other professionals may stay in the same institution butchange or add responsibilities when the campus reorganizes; such changesmay include bringing international admissions or an intensive English lan-guage program under the umbrella of a larger international student affairsunit. Still other midcareer administrators may feel that they cannot advancein one institution and so move to a new campus with greater opportunities.


These career paths are substantially similar for both international studentadvisors and study-abroad advisors, though the latter may spend part oftheir careers in private sector organizations that facilitate independentstudy-abroad programs.

Major Functional Challenges of the Unit

As with many administrative units, one of the great challenges in inter-national student affairs is how to respond to competing demands from mul-tiple constituencies. International education administrators are usually drawnto the field because they enjoy interacting with people, particularly thosefrom other cultures, so they get their greatest rewards from providing directservices to students. At the same time, professionals are required to representthe interests of their institutions and must follow campus policies and proce-dures, even when they may not seem to be in the best interests of their stu-dents. Finally, these professionals end up working extensively with federalregulations and agencies, ranging from the Immigration and NaturalizationService (INS), the State Department, and the Department of Education to theInternal Revenue Service. Thus, developing expertise in highly technical reg-ulatory matters, acting as a midlevel professional in a web of institutionalbureaucracy, and maintaining an appreciation for human interaction and cul-tural diversity all at the same time present an ongoing challenge.

Another challenge in some institutions is the marginalization of inter-national student affairs. Unfortunately, offices that serve special popula-tions, whether they be minority students, students with disabilities,international students, or other groups that appear to be on the peripheryof the institution’s mission, are sometimes treated either as fluff programsthat are nice but expendable or, in bad fiscal times, as a drain on limitedcampus resources. Administrators in these situations should plan on devot-ing time and energy to raising the visibility of their offices and advocatingfor their function’s centrality to the institutional mission and goals. Inoffices that are already overworked and understaffed, this additional respon-sibility can become wearisome but is vital if internationalization is indeedone of the institution’s substantive commitments.

In addition to on-campus advocacy, international education admin-istrators are often expected to be advocates off campus as well. It is becom-ing more commonplace for these midlevel professionals to share informationwith the campus legal affairs or government relations office to educate stateand federal elected officials on issues that can help or hinder campus inter-nationalization activities. For instance, a number of states and the federalgovernment currently believe there is a need to crack down on perceivedimmigration problems; their subsequent actions are likely to hamper cam-pus efforts to attract more international students and researchers. Midlevelinternational student advisors are finding that they need to become moreproactive and much more politically astute in dealing with these situations.


Professional Challenges and Support Systems

Fortunately, international education administrators may turn to sources ofinformation and support for help in dealing with the many challenges of thefield. Professional associations, which are discussed in detail in the follow-ing paragraphs, can provide guidance in defining appropriate standards forinternational education administrators. Associations set baseline standardsof performance and measures of competence that enable the individualadministrator to have a framework that defines professional success.

NAFSA: The Association of International Educators (formerly theNational Association for Foreign Student Affairs) is the primary professionalassociation for midlevel administrators in all areas of international educa-tion programs, with over 8,000 members around the world. It is divided intoprofessional sections for those who work in admissions, international stu-dent advising, study abroad, English as a second language programs, andcommunity programming. The organization is also divided into eleven geo-graphic regions in the United States, each with its own leadership structure,to provide more avenues for networking among colleagues.

NAFSA upholds clearly defined professional standards for internationaleducators. It has a statement of professional competencies and a code ofethics. Because many aspects of the field cannot be learned in traditionaldegree programs, NAFSA provides its members with a comprehensive pro-fessional development program of structured training workshops in the vari-ous aspects of international education as well as regional and nationalconferences. The organization also has an active advocacy arm that assistsmembers in working with their state and federal legislators on issues thataffect international education. In addition, NAFSA maintains a job registryfor those seeking to enter or change jobs in the profession.

NAFSA offers its midlevel and senior members opportunities to takeleadership roles in the organizations, to provide training for others in thefield, and to publish materials for member use. Such activities provide cre-ative and professional outlets for midcareer administrators, especially thosewho may not have similar opportunities for advancement and recognitionon their campuses.

International student services administrators may also be affiliated withone or more of the following professional associations, depending on thespecific duties of their positions:

• Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA)• Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)• American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers

(AACRAO)• NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (formerly the

National Association of Student Personnel Administrators)


• American College Personnel Association (ACPA)• College and University Personnel Association (CUPA)

Professional Literature

Scholarly research in the field of international student affairs is limited.Because international mobility of students is relatively easy within the Euro-pean Union, some research by European educators focuses on internationalstudents and administration of international programs. Periodically, one canfind articles in higher education journals, but few scholarly publications arespecifically devoted to international student affairs. Some journals with aninternational education focus include the Journal of International HigherEducation, International Journal of Intercultural Research, and TESOLQuarterly, though the scope of these publications is much broader than justinternational student affairs.

With regard to professional rather than scholarly publications, NAFSApublishes a journal, International Educator, which addresses current eventsand policy issues in the field. Although International Educator focuses moreheavily on practice than on scholarship, it increasingly relies on new researchto inform policy and practice discussions. Another key source of useful datafor international student affairs professionals is Open Doors, an annual com-pendium of demographic data and trends in international education pub-lished by the Institute of International Education (IIE). In addition, IIE andNAFSA both publish professional papers and monographs on various top-ics in international student affairs. However, scholarly research conductedand published by professional associations is limited. Policy studies andprogram assessments based on scholarly research are greatly needed but arestill a relatively new arena. Graduate students in search of thesis or disser-tation topics with real-world applications will find fertile ground in inter-national education administration.

Tips for Those Interested in the Field

Develop an appreciation for cultural and human complexity. This includesbeing able to view the world through multiple perspectives simultaneously.It is especially helpful to develop your skills in translating cultural contextsfor others and to hone your communication skills, especially listening. Spe-cific ways to develop these skills follow.

Engage in an international living experience. Travel, work, or studyabroad. This will help you develop empathy for others who are grapplingwith a new culture. It will also help increase your tolerance for uncertaintyand ambiguity—skills that all administrators need to survive. If you can notgo outside of the country, at least engage yourself in meaningful activitiesin culturally different communities in your area.


Study a language. You may never actually use another language on aregular basis while working in international student services (unless yourjob includes travel abroad), but it will increase your empathy for other lan-guage learners who struggle to express themselves in a new idiom, both athome and abroad.

Obtain hands-on experience. Do an internship in an international stu-dent services or study-abroad unit. Start developing the technical and reg-ulatory knowledge that pertains to your intended career, for example, visaregulations for international students in the United States or financial aidfor study abroad. Get some experience in mediation or conflict resolutionthrough a community organization.

Get an advanced degree. Help advance the profession by conductingsound scholarly research and sharing it with others in the field. Some popu-lar fields of scholarship are area studies, intercultural studies, educationaladministration, and college-student personnel, though many fields have rel-evance to the profession.

Career Paths of the Authors

Author 1: Melinda Wood. I had my first taste of international adventurewhen my father, who was in the U.S. military, was assigned overseas. Iattended a U.S. Department of Defense high school in Okinawa, which atthe time was a U.S. protectorate and now is the southernmost prefecture ofJapan. I was there during a time of great political turmoil—the Vietnam War,right before Okinawa reverted to the Japanese government. Toward the endof my senior year of high school, armed marines accompanied our schoolbuses from one military base to the next to protect us from angry dem-onstrators who did not want their small island drawn further into U.S. geo-political aspirations abroad. At the same time, my family, like many militaryfamilies in Okinawa, had a number of Okinawan friends, and we enjoyedgetting involved in life off the military base. Thus, I was acutely aware ofthe divergent roles one plays as an individual and as a representative (will-ing or not) of one’s nation.

During my university years I realized that I wanted to live abroad again,so I obtained a master’s degree in teaching English as a foreign language. AJapanese classmate helped me to find a teaching job in Japan, where I stayedfor nearly three years. I lived in a city that had relatively few foreigners, soI became used to being a minority and a novelty. The greatest shock of thatexperience was returning to the United States and finding that my reverseculture shock, as it is sometimes called, was far more intense than theprocess of adjusting to Japan. I continued to teach English to immigrants,refugees, and pre-university foreign students to maintain my involvementwith people from other countries and cultures.

Later I worked with a homestay program, placing international studentsin U.S. families’ homes. Then I got my first job as a university foreign studentadvisor, combining my previous experiences in teaching, service, and admin-


istration. Little did I realize that the institution was in economic crisis and indanger of closing its doors in the near future. Fortunately, I worked for adirector who was both creative and astute, which allowed her to parlay thecrisis into an opportunity to reorganize. The international education officewas merged with several others, and I became a more generalized student ser-vices administrator. Most of my duties were still with international students,but I was better able to learn how student services form an integrated unit.

My next career move was to become associate director of a student ser-vices unit in a different institution that was comprised of almost equalnumbers of domestic students and international students. Subsequently, Ibecame director of the office. Thus, in about ten years I had risen fromentry-level international student advisor to director of a student servicesunit. There had been a few lateral moves and title changes and one move toa new institution, but basically I had covered nearly the full spectrum of theadministrative ladder in one decade. Subsequently, the entire office wasdownsized in a budget crisis, and its duties were dispersed through otheradministrative units. Perhaps in larger institutions there would be alterna-tives within the bureaucracy to which one could move or advance, but notin my personal experience.

Since leaving that position, I have been working in a number of short-term university jobs using my international education background whilecompleting my doctorate in higher education administration. My intentionis to return to full-time employment in university administration, perhapsin international education or another area where my international back-ground will be an additional asset.

Author 2: Parandeh Kia. My first venture overseas was my trip fromIran to the United States for the last year of high school, at the tail end ofwhat was the largest influx of Iranian students to the U.S. I spent a year ina high school in Iowa’s corn belt, where I learned a great deal about the lan-guage and culture of the country, far removed from the cosmopolitan life ofthe two coasts. Along with a high school exchange student in my class, Iwas one of the two foreigners in town. Our presence was embraced withwarmth and great generosity as we engrossed ourselves in the life of ourrural surroundings, religiously attending Friday night football and basket-ball games, paying close attention to farm news, and answering naive ques-tions about what our respective countries were like.

After that first year of learning about the United States, the tide turnedwhen I entered college and Iran was in the grip of an Islamic revolution. Theevents of the following few years greatly altered the life of many Iranians liv-ing in the United States. Along with thousands of my peers, I recall showingup dutifully at the INS district office in Omaha with all my papers intact,reporting in, like the good farm girl I’d learned to be, long before I understoodwhy and how that process was considered unconstitutional. I continued incollege, thanks to the grace of and emotional support from many people,while I earned a living at various jobs, ultimately finding myself in a studentworker position on campus at the international center. I stayed in school


because there was really nothing else that I could do—being an Iranian in theUnited States continued to be a liability in the aftermath of the hostage crisis.

I started my professional career in an entry-level advising job workingwith international students. Because of my interest and success in program-ming, I was promoted to assistant director. After a few years, it became clearthat even though in my role as an international student advisor I had oftencrossed into and succeeded in other areas of student affairs such as residencelife, student activities, and career advising, my institution would always seeme as working with international students—which clearly was not valued ashighly within student affairs. There was to be no opportunity for professionalgrowth unless my supervisor in the international office left or I moved on.

I moved to a small college as a director to set up an office working withinternational students. I believed I had located an opportunity for devel-oping an international office that included international students as well asAmericans going abroad. I came to realize that faculty involvement in studyabroad was offered as a token preretirement junket for a faculty memberwith long, close ties to the administration. There would not be much roomto develop programs for international students as the numbers were smalland commitment seemed lacking. Thus, I chose to move to a new positionat a large state school that combined study abroad and services for inter-national students and scholars. I worked in the latter area with majorresponsibility for immigration and advising of scholars.

My next move was to a major research institution that had enjoyed alarge international student population for years but provided no major ser-vices or support for this group. I had a chance to develop a program and wassoon promoted to a directorial position, which I currently hold. In sub-sequent years, in part because a large number of our graduate students areinternational students and in response to the growing commitment of theinstitution to improving the quality of student life, a new position as an asso-ciate dean in the graduate school was created, and I was promoted to fill thatposition while continuing to direct the services for international students.

References

Davis, Todd. Open Doors 1998–99. New York: Institute of International Education, 1999.NAFSA: Association of International Educators. “The Way We See It.” Report of the

1998–99 NAFSA Membership Survey. [http://www.nafsa.org]. 1999.NAFSA: Association of International Educators. “International Education Factsheet.”

[http://www.nafsa.org]. 2000.

MELINDA WOOD is assistant to the chancellor at the University of Hawai‘i–West Oahu.

PARANDEH KIA is associate dean of the graduate school and director of inter-national student services at California Technical School.

International Student Affairs

Documents

Transcript of International Student Affairs