Thinking Globally and Acting Locally

1. Thinking Globally and Acting Locally Engaging International Students in Community Colleges Deryl Hatch & Abdul Tamimi NISOD Conference, June 2, 2010 Austin, Texas

2. About your presenters • Deryl Hatch • Ph.D. student, UT Austin • International comparative higher education • Research Assistant at the Center for Community College Student Engagement • Ed.M., Educational Technology, Harvard University • B.A., Linguistics, Brigham Young University • Abdul Tamimi • Ph.D. student, UT Austin • Community college leadership • Dean of Ed. Programs and Org. Development at Lone Star College-CyFair • Adjunct faculty ESL • M.A,. Cross Cultural Studies, University of Houston, Clear Lake • B.S., Healthcare Administration , Texas Southern University

3. Outline of presentation • Brief Overview of Community College Survey for Student Engagement (CCSSE) • Working Definition of International Students, Language Minorities, and Nationals • Overview of CCSSE benchmarks • Engagement benchmark scores of international students • Other Data - Community and Cultural Engagement • Summary - Key Findings

4. Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) • Institutional practices and student behaviors • Research based • Since 2003 (nationally) • Benchmarks (more details later) • Relationship engagement related to student outcomes

5. What do we know of students’ nationality through CCSSE? Useful Useful Problematic

6. Language × Nationality

7. International status, values, perspective • “Nationals”: Majority U.S. residents (*all races) • “Language Minorities”: Bring int’l values (*all races) • “Internationals”: Bring int’l perspective (*all races)

8. How many international students enrolled at your campus? • Less than 5% • 5 to 15% • More than 15%

9. Grouping colleges by distribution of internationals and language minorities Percent of Respondents Frequency Decile Groups of Colleges: ~66 Each Percent of National Majority Students (of all races)

10. Questions • Among the different groups at your campus, which do you think is most engaged? • Why? • Which group benefits the most from having international students at your campus? • What questions do you have?

11. How do colleges compare in student engagement? Within colleges?

12. Benchmark: Active and Collaborative Learning • What do you think is happening? • Collaborative learning happens more with people like you • Collaborative learning depends on college/class size • Community resources available to int’l students

13. Benchmark: Student Effort

14. Benchmark: Student Effort • Principal cause for such a separation? • Language barriers • Student motivation • Enrollment requirements for immigration status

15. Benchmark: Academic Challenge

16. Benchmark: Academic Challenge • Why are there different levels of academic challenge across types of colleges? • College size • Type of international students enrolled • Big city life and complexities vs. small town

17. Benchmark: Student/Faculty Interaction

18. Benchmark: Student/Faculty Interaction • International students a bit higher than nationals, but same small difference across the board. Why? • Simply a function of college/class size • Instructors engage all kinds of students equally • International students more often full time, approach faculty more

19. Benchmark: Support for Learners

20. Benchmark: Support for Learners • What’s going on here? • At small, rural colleges, int’l services serve fewer students • At large, urban colleges, more community resources; less dependence • Other?

21. Community and cultural engagement • GLONACAL: • “The simultaneous significance of global, national, and local dimensions and forces” • Marginson and Rhoads (2002) GLONACAL • Global • National • Local

22. Does experience at this college contribute to understanding of others? GLONACAL • Global Dimension? • National • Local

23. How often do students have conversations among students of different backgrounds? GLONACAL • Global Dimension? • National • Local

24. How often do students have conversations among students with divergent views? GLONACAL • Global Dimension? • National • Local

25. National dimensions of higher education • CCSSE is largely focused at the individual and institutional level. GLONACAL • Global • National Dimension? • Local

26. How often do students participate in college sponsored community based projects? GLONACAL • Global • National • Local Dimension?

27. Does experience at this college contribute to involvement in welfare of the community? GLONACAL • Global • National • Local Dimension?

28. How many hours do students spend in college sponsored activities? GLONACAL • Global • National • Local Dimension?

29. Key findings of CCSSE benchmarks • CCSSE – “Research shows that the more actively engaged students are — with college faculty and staff, with other students, and with the subject matter — the more likely they are to learn and to achieve their academic goals.” • International students are among the most engaged groups on campus • International students bring different perspectives • National students appear to benefit most from international student enrolment

30. Q&A and next steps • What will you do with the data and findings? • How are you going to involve your international students to ensure active engagement at your campus? • What do these findings suggest as hypotheses for research?

31. References • Chaves, C. A. (2003) Student involvement in the community college setting. ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges, EDO-JC-03-02. • Marginson, S., & Rhoades, G. (2002). Beyond national states, markets, and systems of higher education: A glonacal agency heuristic. Higher Education, 43, 281-309. • McClenney, K., Marti, C. N., & Adkins, C. (2006). Student engagement and student outcomes: Key findings from CCSSE validation research. Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin, Community College Leadership Program. • Pfaffenroth, S. (1997). Clarifying institutional policy toward international students: A community college self-study model. Princeton, NJ: Mid-Career Fellowship Program. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED409945) • Romano, R.M. (2002). Internationalizing the community college. Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges. • Szelényi, K., & Chang, J.C. (2002). ERIC Review: Educating immigrants: The community college role. Community College Review, 30(2), 55-73. doi: 10.1177/009155210203000204 • Zhao, C., Kuh, G.D., & Carini, R.M. (2005). A comparison of international student and American student engagement in effective educational practices. Journal of Higher Education, 76(2), 209-231.