Friday, February 25, 2022

Could "Super agers" help?

As the broad population of the U.S.A. ages, questions are being raised about acquiring and retaining talent that is essential to all sectors. Recognizing the negative impact of age consciousness, segregation, and denigration is an important place to start. Beyond this entrenched and system view, higher education has the immediate problem of employing faculty and staff who are even older than the population at large. One way to address the problem of maintaining the higher education workforce, one that relies on advanced education and seasoned levels of intellectual capability, is to hire "super agers" who would have, or already have, retired.

I'll own it - I am a super ager. I've been "semi-retired" for seven years and have remained active in a modest level of consulting and a lot of publication, coaching, and mentoring that has been immensely gratifying. My involvement is quite similar to reports of other academic retirees. I hope that my contributions during these "semi-retirement" years have been helpful to others and have continued to build the capacity and literature for internationalization, student affairs, and leadership learning. As I have gradually slipped further out of substantive engagement, social media continues to reflect a world that I miss and in which I seem to lack relevance.

I could have been part or full-time employed during this time, no question. However, the number of hours I am willing to put in is limited by my personal desire to enjoy family, music, and volunteer work in which I'm involved. Using myself as a possible example, the questions super agers and those who might need them in their workforce might ask include:

  • How could "work" in higher education be fashioned that would allow super agers greater flexibility and control?
  • How have super agers willing to work kept abreast of contemporary issues so that their contributions would be relevant and timely?
  • What generational barriers need to be addressed in order for super agers to be both confident and humble and those with whom they work authoritative and responsive?
  • Who could broker the talent of super agers as reinforcements to the workforce in ways that brings value to higher education and its various initiatives?
There are probably lots of other questions but these are a start. One dean offered advice on the questions academics should ask as they begin to consider what's next after full-time employment. Central to the question of employing "super agers" is offering flexibility for those who might have retired as well as those who are just looking for new opportunities - "allow your talented faculty and administrators to go, and be flexible and open to them coming back."

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Serving international students

With the decline of COVID, colleges and universities around the world are getting back to business. A central part of that business is restoring student enrollment, with international students often being a full-pay portion of that pool. The questions involved for institutions to be successful include; 1) how to recruit international students and 2) what are they looking for?

Inside Higher Education, in cooperation with TOEFL, compiled several articles related to recruiting international students. Readers can download the collection, "Recruiting International Students in a New Era," after registering contact information for subsequent follow up. The collection includes topics such as legal issues, online learning, navigating vaccine requirements, free speech while studying abroad, and the unfolding resurgence of study abroad popularity.

The second part of recruiting international students involves the all-important issue of experience. Language acquisition is likely an important reason for students to study in specific locations; although English dominates instruction in many countries throughout the world, multilingual models are attractive to some students. Language is important not only as a tool of instruction but also as the means to establish relationships. This leads to the central question of whether or not students studying abroad enjoy a quality of learning that causes them to recommend it to peers back in their passport country. Key to this issue is intervening with all institutional faculty and staff to help them understand that the deficit view through which many view international students has to be turned around. Instead of assuming that international students have language problems, are socially inept, or are unprepared in various ways, international students should be assumed to have agency for themselves and given room to exercise it. In the COVID era, providing flexibility to international students is also important, including extension of on-line study options all the way through the 2022-23 academic year.

Responding to the "what are they looking for," it is clear that international students are very interested in the link between degrees and employment. Making this link is closely tied to working after graduation, with some countries making this easier than others. The UK took "working after graduation" to a new level by providing 2-year work visa to graduates of top universities around the world. Fortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the expanded work visa approvals.

Research with over 1,000 international students from 100 countries studying in the U.S.A. indicated that the return on investment isn't as direct as international students would like. Forty-nine percent reported that the value was worth the cost, 41% wanted to work in the U.S.A. for several years, and a whopping 71% indicated they would have stayed in the U.S.A. to work had it been easier to obtain post-graduate employment. Government policies related to Optional Practical Training (OPT) in the U.S.A. is key to international students having opportunity and, by this research, this option must be widely available in order to continue to attract international students to the U.S.A.

Policies clearly impact the flow of international students into U.S.A. institutions. In addition, initiatives that help international students feel more included change the dynamics of belonging that impact the individual international student as well as their family and others who will want to know about their experience. An often overlooked issue is graduation ceremonies, which finds some international students alone in a sea of enthusiastic supports for their classmates. The University of Rochester created a cadre of "stand-in" families to cheer international students on as they graduate to make sure that they left on a positive and "I matter" note.

Recruiting, retaining, graduating, and work training for international students are central issues for any country desiring to hold their numbers or increase them. Competition among host countries is intensifying as the demographics among the sending countries shifts. An example is the intent of India's IITs to increase international student enrollment at the same time as the number of prospects in India represents the new wave of exported students. These shifts will require new recruitment targets and diversify international student programs. And, just incidentally, it's not just the numbers - more importantly, it's the value that international students bring to the institutions where they study and the potential contribution they can make if allowed career training opportunity after graduation.

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Administrative sabbaticals - I had one and it worked!

Advocating the "sabbaticals could provide the mutual reset we all need," Melissa Richards proposed that administrators could potentially benefit from the sabbaticals that faculty assume as part of their privilege of serving in academia. I had one when I worked at Miami University, taking a semester to teach a leadership course at its Luxembourg campus and writing a book - Deeper Learning in Leadership. Richards' suggestions of what administrators could do during their sabbaticals duplicates my own experience but she neglected to address outcomes.

I believe that outcomes for the administrator and the institution are the most important part. Teaching in Europe allowed me to travel, experience other cultures, and have a reflective and productive intellectual interlude to punctuate the routine of my administrative responsibilities as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs. When I returned, I incorporated broader international ideas into my ongoing teaching, advising, and mentoring which benefitted the University. The unfortunate part was that Miami did not tap me for ongoing support of, or refinement of, their internationalization initiatives. I tried but my attempts to be involved in the "cocooned" office of international affairs were unsuccessful. Even after leaving Miami University to serve as Assistant Vice President for Faculty & Student Services for Qatar Foundation, and returning on visits back to the U.S.A. to campus to offer my assistance, nothing happened.

In retrospect, my sabbatical was in 2005 when internationalization as a pervasive and integrated element of students' learning had not emerged yet. The opportunity was there but the administrative segmentation of international programs put up a barrier that Miami ultimately did not attempt to bridge. My hope is that in 2022 Miami is approaching administrative sabbaticals (if they still allow or have expanded the opportunity) in a way that looks more carefully at multiple outcomes of such a rich experience, one treasured by faculty that could be important to administrators and the institution as well.

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Handbook of International Higher Education, 2nd Edition

Addressing "important issues such as leadership, the values that drive internationalization, the increasingly important connections between internationalization and intercultural competence, and the roles of students, staff, and faculty in shaping internationalization" (p. 464), the Handbook of International Higher Education, 2nd Edition is an essential resource to all educators. The editors define internationalization as a broad commitment that infuses international perspectives throughout higher education institutions, impacting all students through a variety of encounters and experiences.

The overview webinar of the Handbook provides a summary introduction that may entice you to purchase the book. As the editors indicate, internationalization must go beyond the movement of scholars and students around the world by advocating that international awareness and dexterity must be a shared educational objective for all. The "Preface" indicates that "this comprehensive revised publication provides ideas from around the world for those seeking to enhance the quality of the three core functions of higher education: teaching, research, and service to society, with mobility of a minority of students, staff, and programs as only one of the many dimensions of internationalization and not the only or even main one" (p. xv).

Chapter 15, "The Student Affairs Profession" (Roberts, D.L., Ammigan, R., Roberts, D.C., & Leask, B.) would likely be of interest to those in student affairs roles or those who wish to understand this particular element of higher education settings. Through a brief introduction to this area, the authors explore the emergence of student affairs as a field, implications of professionalization, enhancing the experience of international students, and the importance of collaboration.

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

ACE takes on Carnegie Classification

After the debacle of proposed relocation to Albion College, Carnegie Classification oversight is moving to the American Council on Education (ACE). Aligning the two non-profit organizations, neither of which have a vested interest in advancing themselves, is a much more appropriate way of creating aspirational expectations for higher education institutions. Ted Mitchell, president of ACE, said "Together, we are eager to work with the field to create a broad suite of classifications that will paint a more three-dimensional and nuanced picture of institutional achievement."

The Carnegie universal and elective classifications are important to distinguishing the unique purposes of the variety of higher education institutions available throughout the U.S.A. and world. As the two organizations join together to "better reflect the public purpose, mission, focus, and impact of higher education," it will hopefully become much more obvious how higher education contributes to the social and economic welfare of students and communities. In fact, conversation is already underway about the possibility of injecting social mobility and racial equity into the Carnegie criteria.

The ACE and Carnegie partnership may also be effective in countering the impact of the U.S. News rankings so often used by students and their families to determine institutions in which they might have interest. The U.S. News criteria tip toward individual benefit and criteria that reinforce elitism, which don't serve the broader benefit of society. A more wholistic view, which ACE and Carnegie advocate, would include economic and social mobility that serves both individuals and all who value enhancing quality and access.

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

George Washington University's struggle with contested speech

One of the more interesting cases of contested speech emerged from George Washington University's condemnation and then reversal regarding posters depicting Chinese athletes in the 2022 Winter Olympics committing human rights violations. The GWU Chinese Students and Scholars Association "called the posters 'seriously racist' and said they 'insulted China'" which led GWU President Mark Wrighton to release an email saying, "Your reaching out to me directly is much appreciated, and we are working to have all of these offensive posters removed as soon as possible."

Wrighton subsequently reversed his condemnation and labeled the posters as political commentary rather than racist in nature. "These responses were mistaken. Every member of the GW community should feel welcome and supported, but I should have taken more time to understand the entire situation before commenting."

This case demonstrates the very difficult position campus administrators face when contested speech emerges. There is pressure to act quickly in condemnation of speech that offends any group on campus, especially if the group is influential (as full-pay Chinese international students surely are). However, as campuses strive to fulfill their role in cultivating the insights and skills essential to democracy, tensions around critical thinking and fostering an open marketplace of ideas will inevitably emerge.

Monday, February 7, 2022

Student Affairs in Higher Education - 3rd Edition

The International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS) published the Student Affairs in Higher Education: Global Foundations, Issues, and Best Practices (2020) as a free resource available through the Deutsches Studentenwerk. As the title conveys, the purpose is to provide foundational perspectives, identify current issues, and offer practices for international educators to consider.