Cash Cows and Enough “Con” to Go Around: Academic Dishonesty among International Students and Institutions of Higher Edu

1. Cash Cows and Enough “Con” to Go Around:Academic Dishonesty among International Students and Institutions of Higher Education Dennis Sjolie Associate Prof. of English Coordinator of ESL/TESOL University of South Dakota

2. What are “cash cows”? • To satisfy diversity, globalization goals, and student numbers, some higher educational institutions from the US to the UK to Australia unethically and despicably admit percentages of international students to provide revenue, filling university coffers until they ultimately fail and are sent home, leaving space for the next “herd” to enter.

3. History of international students in US universities: • Older universities “report foreign students among their class rosters since the late 1800s. • From the 1950s onward, numbers of international students in US colleges and universities continued to rise. • 1971/1972 enrollments dropped 3% to 140,126. • 2.4% decline in 2003/2004 brought the number of international students in the US to a total of 572,509.

4. History of international students in US universities International students increased by 3% to a total of 582,984 in the 2006/2007 academic year. In 2012/2011, the number of international students in the US reached 723,277, a 5% increase from the previous year.--with these “students and their dependents contribut[ing] more than $20 billion to the U.S. economy”(Marklein, 2011).

5. Major challenges faced in recruitment of international student in the US: • “Wider educational opportunities at home; stiff competition from other host countries; rising U.S. tuition costs; and complex process of adjustment to tighter screening of visa applicants” (Allan Goodman, president and CEO of the Institute of International Education (IIE).

6. Leading countries of origin: • China, the top country of origin for international students, sent 157,558 undergraduate and graduate students to the USA, up 23% from the previous year (2010) (Marklein). • The next highest-sending countries include South Korea, India, Canada, and Taiwan; countries that, together with China, have students comprising half of all international students in the US.

7. Positive note to American students the diversity international students provide across the U.S. is vital to those many American students whose relatively isolated campuses offer little or no contact with global and multicultural populations. seeks to counter ignorance and provide a model that proves globalization and international collaboration actually works.

8. Thedownside emerging in the conversation pertaining to international education: • Failure: the unethical practices and procedures enacted by hosting colleges and universities. • Failure among international students: false expectation.

9. College prep agencies “Some consultants will promise the world…and they’re fundamentally preparing students to fail. …they’re fabricating a whole life story. Students will start to believe in the lie.” (quoted from Winn, p. 2). College prep agencies create ghost-written essay in perfect English, manufacture awards, adjust transcripts and, and, for the right price, hire “ringers” to take SAT exams. (Winn, 2012)

10. Routine subject of study-TOEFL Foreign students focus on studying to pass the TOEFL exam. “They think the goal is to pass the test” (Patricia J. Parker). “They’re studying for the test, not studying English” (in Bartlett & Fischer, p. 5). Result is failure to improve actual English proficiency skills.

11. False expectation-English proficiency • Recruiting many low English proficient students. • Routine subject of study vs. living form of communication: victims of passive learning attitudes realized in lower language proficiency (Lescano, 1995; Yang, 1996). • Stress for impulsive attempts to translate language 24 hours a day.

12. Motivation • The combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the language (Gardner ,1985). • Results in better learning effectiveness and efficiency in a give-and-take environment between students and instructors.

13. Challenges that undermine international students’ study abroad experiences • Academic Experiences. • Social Experiences. • Psychological Experiences. Each contributes to overall success or failure ratios of students involved in study abroad programs and international education in general.

14. Fail to make the grade • Caused from lack of preparedness of students. • Leads to stricter admission standards from schools, hoping to decrease failure rates. • Results in certain U.S schools choosing to abandon ESL programs.

15. U.K. and Australia • Falling standards in higher education in U.K and Australia due to large intake of foreign students admitted primarily for their financial contributions (“Two Studies on Academic Performance…” 2005). • Questionable English ability; over-filled classes; diverse learning styles; and racial issues--primarily problematic and contributing to the alleged falling international standards.

16. Dishonest “Many academic dishonest students come from countries where “the climate for academic integrity is not strong” (Gary Pavela). “…college application fraud will continue as long as the risks are low and the rewards are so high” (quoted in Winn, P. 3).

17. Students who arrive unmotivated and disinterested • Flirting with failure, swamped by obstacles and challenges soon to prove insurmountable even for those students working desperately to succeed • How many more become so after facing the reality of living abroad? • How many simply disappear through the cracks of higher education, disregarding visa issues, educational stipulations, and so forth?

18. Failure need not be a trend • Institutions recruiting students need to explain the academic policy and “traditions of academic integrity” (Gary Pavela). • Some institutions such as the University of Virginia interview international applicants “either in the home country or via Skype” (Bartlett & Fischer, p. 10). • Other universities have contacted the services of outside evaluators to review and score applications.

19. References Adams, V. (2007, December 11). Holy cash cow: Is it right for UK universities to admit students with poor attainment simply because they pay big fees? The Guardian. RetrievedAugust 18, 2008 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/dec/ll Bartlett, T. & Fischer, K. (2011, November 3). The China conundrum. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://chronicle.com.ezproxy.usd. edu/article/Chinese-Students Clement, R. & Kruidenier, B.G. (1985). Aptitude, attitude and motivation in second language proficiency: A test of Clement’s model. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 4,273-291. Fenner, L. (2007, June 29). International students welcome in America, officials say United States seeking ways to make more financial aid available. Retried August 18, 2008, from http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/june/2007 Fischer, K. (2009, November 16). Number of foreign students in U.S. hits a new high last year. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from http://chronicle. com/article/Number-of-Foreighn-Students-/49142/ Gardner, R.C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.

20. International student enrollments declined by 2.4% in 2003/04. (2004). Institute of International Education Network. Retrieved August 18, 2008, from http://opendoors.iienetwork.org International student enrollments rose modestly in 2009/10, led by strong increase in students from China. (2010). Institute of International Education. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from http://www.iie.org/en/Who-We-Are/News-and-events/Press-Center International student enrollment in U.S. rebounds. (2007, November 12). Retrieved August 18, 2008, from http://opendoors.iienetwork.org International student enrollment increased by 5 percent in 2010/2011. (2011, November 14). Retrieved October 24, 2012, from http://www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/ Press/Center Lescano, A.A. (1995). The remedial English project. English Teaching Forum Online, 40-41. Marcus, J. (2011, October 6). Foreign student rule-breaking: culture clash or survival skills? Times Higher Education. Retrieved October 24, 2012, from http://www.timeshighereducation. co.uk/story.asp

21. Marklein, M.B. (2011, November 14). More foreign students studying in USA. USA Today. Retrieved October 24, 2012, from http://usatoday30usatoday.com/news/education/story Poyrazli, S. (2005). International students at U.S. universities. PSI CHI: The National Honor Society in Psychology. Retrieved August 18, 2008, from http://www.psichi.org Riedel, K.G. (1989, September). New goals for teaching language: An experience in under- graduate programs in Spain. Hispania, 72, 774-779. Stern, H.H. (1983). Fundamental concepts of language teaching. London: Oxford University Press. Two studies on academic performance are released in Australia and the U.K.: Are international students making the grade? (2005, September 7). The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education. Retrieved August 12, 2008, from http://www.obhe.ac.uk/news/sample 404.html U.S. educational opportunities for foreign nationals. (2007). Retrieved August 19, 2008, from http://gonorth.org