Exploring Messiah's Commitment to International Enrollment

When Wathira Mbage decided to attend Messiah, she knew the number of international students was low, but says it was comforting to know there were at least a few people "just as foreign to American culture" as her. "It would be nice to have more Africans," says the sophomore journalism major from Kenya. "Not necessarily Kenyans, just more people I can identify with."

The total number of international college students enrolled in the United States has increased for the first time this year since 2001 according to the 2007 Open Doors study, an annual review of international education exchange. But Messiah has not followed this trend and instead, international student enrollment has actually decreased to the lowest number in the last six years.

According to Messiah's 2007-2008 Fact Book, an annual compilation of institutional characteristics, the campus context, and trends, out of 2837 Messiah students, 2.1% are international students.

International statistics are not the only numbers falling short in the effort to achieve a diverse student body. The percentage of students from under-represented racial/ethnic and cultural populations is at a five-year low: 6.5% of the student body. *See graph below

Part of the problem resides in the fact that the college is not investing the proper resources and funding into addressing issues of multiculturalism and diversity.

Dr. Lawrence Burnley, the Associate Dean of Multicultural Programs and Special Assistant to the Provost for Diversity Affairs, explains that when comparing Messiah to other Christian schools, our resources and funding in recruiting and retaining international students may appear to be exemplary.

"However," he says, "If we benchmark ourselves against similarly-situated secular schools, we don't often compare."

And compare we should. "If we carry the name Messiah College," Burney says, "we ought to be doing twice as well as secular institutions" at presenting an all-encompassing student body.

Cindy Blount, the International Student Admissions Counselor and Domestic recruiter, agrees with Dr. Burnley. "We're in a crux and are turning a corner," Blount says in regards to the program, "with a little more commitment from the institution, we could see this college become a picture of heaven" in its diversity.

But that 'picture of heaven' is not easy to implement. Blount, whose office is cluttered with travel bags yet to be unpacked, is responsible for Messiah's international student recruitment, recruitment in Northern New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania and handling immigration processes (one immigration case alone can take an entire day's work).

Having just returned from traveling to 14 cities in Asia, Europe, and The Bahamas, she has had to jump back into her domestic responsibilities (explaining the unpacked bags).

"I spend approximately 20 days- 4 weeks- doing recruitment events for domestic students on campus-open houses, scholarship days, and accepted student preview days," Blount explains. That does not take into count the off-campus fairs, high school visits, and info sessions with visiting students.

She also exchanges an average of 100 emails with each prospective international student. Therefore, to recruit her goal quota of 27 international students for the fall of 2008, Blount will have to exchange approximately 2,700 emails. A large feat for one recruiter that has parts of NJ and PA to think about.

"We have the interest," Blount says, "we have the inquiries, but with my other responsibilities, there just isn't enough time."

One of the biggest challenges for some international students is funding. There are no specific scholarships set up specifically for international students, although they do qualify for the same academic scholarships as domestic students.

However, students on F-1 visas (i.e. non-U.S. Citizens/Residents), do not qualify for federal aid. In comparison with other schools, Messiah offers some generous scholarships/aid packages, but even so, money is still scarce.

"Money is the biggest factor," says senior biology major and native of Mizoram, Awma Rinchhuanawma. "Without aid or scholarships, coming to a place like Messiah would be impossible for me because of the currency exchange."

Senior Engineering major Ian Leslie is a self-described 'Indo-Nigerian' (Born in India, lived in Nigeria) and has a similar sentiment.

He got into nine out of 10 picked-at-random U.S. schools of which he applied. "Although some of the schools where I got in were pretty good, I decided on Messiah because it was smaller, and more importantly, gave me the most financial aid."

But getting an international student to attend Messiah is only the first step.

"In the past, we were recruiting, but not taking care of students once they were here,

explains Rhonda Brubacher, the part-time Director of International Student Programs and advisor to ISA/Mukappa and the Rafiki "Friendship" House. "Now we're doing an ongoing orientation class throughout the entire first semester for International students, Third-culture kids, and missionary kids."

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The class involves interested families or individuals in the community who want to connect for mutual friendship and learning with students. Both classes include American citizens who have grown up in a different culture.

When asked if Messiah currently has an environment that fosters a smooth transition for international students, Brubacher says, "there's a lot of work to be done, especially connecting with other offices, staff, students, and educators on campus. It's really more than a part-time position can do well."

Some improvements are being made. Brubacher just did a tutorial for staff at The Writing Center to address the differences in students whose first language may not be English. Other initiatives like this are in the works.