Global Career Compass
Leveraging Education Abroad for Student Career Development & Employability
how the american public views the contribution of international students to our society
In a recently released report by the American Council on Education, https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/International-Student-Inclusion-Success.pdf, there’s some good news:
“About two-thirds (68 percent) of respondents agree that “American college students benefit when they have close and regular contact with students from other countries.” The proportion of respondents indicating agreement with this statement increased by eight percentage points since the 2017 survey.”
And some bad:
“Whether used to inform formal advocacy or to “make the case” to a wider audience on campus and in local communities, narratives that focus exclusively on international student numbers and economic impact are inconsistent with public sentiment and expectations. No matter how the question is asked, the public does
not see a need to increase international student numbers; quantity simply is not compelling in and of itself.”
The report addresses both campus best practices , governmental policy issues and general community engagement with international students. The one “suggestion” in the report I’d comment on is this one:
Provide multifaceted career counseling and advising that allows international students to explore multiple career pathways, and positions them for success whether they remain in the United States, or enter the workforce in another country. Articulate the advantages of hiring international students to local businesses and organizations, and help employers understand and navigate Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT) processes in order to offer internships.
Unfortunately, we’ve known for a long time that interacting with offices of career services is not a priority, for many reasons, for international students. In many if not most instances, new international students are not aware the office exists. Nor do they fully appreciate the overall presence of student support services on their campus.
This report is a reminder of the critical role which NAFSA: Association of International Educators plays in all facets of international student recruitment, advocacy relating to visa issues and in promoting the contribution made by international students to American civic life – and importantly, to local and state economies.
The ACE report provides a nuanced view of public opinion on these issues and in general, offers a positive view of public opinion regarding the presence and contribution of international students in American society.
Trump Continues to Attack Higher Education Institutions and Their Mission in American Society…
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Weaponizing International Education and Student Mobility
This title reflects the new reality we face in the U.S. since January 20, 2025 [the blog itself was written ahead of the 2018 mid-term elections in Mr. Trump’s last term]. I’m proud of my foresight –fragility and challenge are perfect adjectives for this new political moment and his second term.
As we all now know, everything we’ve experienced since the election was predestined in the campaign. But not the scale. Not the confusion. Not the pain to so many innocent federal workers and their families. Not the unmooring of the lives of thousands of humanitarians whose lives were devoted to helping the poor and fighting for justice in the developing world. Nor to staffs in every corner of the federal bureaucracy…And so here I am today; writing to try to make myself feel better by sharing my perspective with followers of my blog. I haven’t been consistent in writing in this space since Covid hit. I have no idea who will read this post.
For readers familiar with or who are working in the field of international education, I want you to know how much respect I have for your commitment and your pursuit of opening doors to the world for undergrads or high school students. For supporting experiential learning in the form of internships or service-learning; and designing immensely creative spaces for students to grow and challenge themselves.
This not in any way a “normal” time. I never would have imagined to characterize a blog or essay as I have here – to suggest that the work of international educators is being weaponized by this new administration; by leaders in the State Department who have twisted the purpose of education abroad and cultural exchange to assess the worth of programs only by whether or not their goals support the political agenda of the President and his minions. To use international students and our visa system as tools to demonstrate how the government – the President- is following through on his promise to cleanse our society of differences, of diverse voices and color. Students, migrants, immigrants, even naturalized citizens – are all thrown into the same boat whose course is guided by hatred and inhumanity.
Enough said.
Lasting Impact of Experiential Learning…With a Student Group Above the Arctic Circle (45 Years Ago!)
Hello to my followers – I’m going to be active once again on my blog this year. Look for more regular posts on the same issues I’ve addressed for many years: education abroad, student career development, international education and its impact on employability – from both a US and international perspective.
If you’re new to Global Career Compass, I hope you will browse through the categories on the right and see if what I’ve written about resonates with you.
The title of this column is prompted by a segment I was listening to on my local NPR affiliate station. It focused on the impact of recent decisions to explore for oil on Inuit lands on the North Slope of Alaska [these villages are the most Northern Inuit communities in North America]. As always, there were balanced points of view aired: Inuit organizations which were new to me, business representatives, environmental nonprofits and others. As I listened, it dawned on me that I had heard EXACTLY this same conversation about virtually the same divisive socio-economic and political issues 45 years ago!
Specifically, in the summer of 1978 when I took a group of students and faculty to explore the impact of the newly built Alaska pipeline cutting North-South through the middle of the state. We spent a week in Anchorage and then flew up to Barrow, just 400 miles from the North Pole and the hub of what’s referred to as Alaska’s North Slope. We lived in Barrow for about two weeks.
That’s the context for this piece…that an educational program which I created (with help from many local connections, including the President of the only private university in Alaska, Alaska Pacific University and a fledgling (since disbanded) community college based in Barrow) was so easily recalled in much detail four decades later!
I was leading this group on behalf of a pioneering organization called The Lisle Fellowship (ERIC-EJ911574). The foundational principle for Lisle intercultural programs that had been conducted since 1936 was rooted in the impactful interpersonal learning derived from intense structured experiential learning. There are not many experiences I’ve had that have left as sharp an imprint on both my mind and my heart as this engagement with Alaskan Inuit leaders and their lived life in Barrow.
Of course, the pandemic has forced educators and institutions to develop and implement more virtual educational options — but, will they remain in the memory of today’s students 45 years later?
A Foundational Overview of Research & Findings: Education Abroad & Employability
My colleague, Ann Hubbard and I are both Affiliates of the new Gateway International Group and co-authors of this foundational reading:
“The concept of employability is driving higher education policy worldwide as governments see their economies inextricably linked to a trained workforce. A universal concern has emerged about the effective transition of students to the workplace.”
Published in 2021, this document is a useful up-to-date summary of research on the topic. The pandemic has shifted attention away – perhaps – from a focus on research [for good reason]; however, with the global rebound in student mobility and travel, in general, I wanted to bring this FREE document to the attention of interested readers.
The Fragility of our Democracy and the Challenge Posed to International Educators
I wrote this essay last month -prior to the mid-term elections in the U.S. – for the blog series of The Gateway International Group where I am an Affiliate.
Understanding the implications of the U.S. mid-term elections on international higher education. We can’t afford complacency.
We do not need to learn the results of every local and statewide election on November 8 to imagine their lasting impact on our civil society and political life. Worldwide media coverage of the campaigns and court cases, gerrymandering, efforts at voter suppression, and in particular, the continued influence and impact of the former president’s denial of the legitimacy of the 2020 election, have cast a global shadow on the outcome of this election. We’ve only had two years to turn away from the anti-democratic and authoritarian policies and practices of the last administration; and we are still reeling from the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection and the ongoing legal battles for hundreds who rioted at the Capital. If Trump does run for president again, the normalization of violence, untruths and lies will once again poison our public discourse.
The current campaigns and candidates among the anti-democracy extremists within the Republican Party demonstrate how far we still have to go to protect our democratic institutions and electoral practices. The churn of domestic politics and the uncertainties about the stability of our social and political institutions portend challenges for international educators and the values of our profession. We’ve long assumed an acceptance of the “rightness” of our campus practices and policies to recruit international students and scholars, to provide campus and community models to bridge cultural and linguistic differences, and to widen the door to global travel for study, internships and service.
NAFSA’s advocacy mission statement states: “Global learning leads to a more engaged and welcoming United States, more responsive and participatory government, and a more secure and peaceful world…and advocates for policies that foster the exchange of ideas, a commonsense immigration process…and the evolution and improvement of democratic institutions and enlightened global engagement.”
As we move closer to the next season of presidential campaigning, are we confident these aspirations and values will be upheld and sustained by legislatures, state Attorney Generals, Governors and members of Congress following the outcome of the elections held today? How will we stand up to the challenges facing our campuses and international organizations to foster “enlightened global engagement” as the country becomes ever more divided?
In a recent blog for Campus Compact, Eric Hartman, Executive Director of the Haverford College Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, plainly states: “Our inability to see ourselves as a nation is expressed not only in our ignorance of racial and ethnic diversities and their shifts, but also in our collective commitments to insist that certain regions are irrevocably “red” or “blue.”
We do not usually address the fact that international educators are caught in the middle of what one writer refers to as the “diploma divide” (Eric Levitz, “How the diploma divide is remaking American politics,” New York, Oct. 19, 2022) which is fostering a widening cultural gap in the country. As Levitz puts it, “…college graduates in general-and Democratic college graduates in particular-tend to have different social values, cultural sensibilities, and issues priorities than the median non-college-educated voter.” Those in the Republican party who support and foster candidates out of step with democratic principles consistently prey on this divide (even as their leaders and spokespersons are predominantly college-educated). This polarization affects the practice of international educators and the successful implementation of internationalization policies at our educational institutions (for more on this divide, go to this story in the Chronicle of Higher Education: https://www.chronicle.com/article/college-is-a-dividing-line-in-politics-heres-what-you-need-to-know?cid2=gen_login_refresh&cid=gen_sign_in).
Professionals in my generation have fought the good fight to sustain and grow the field of international education for the past fifty years. However, we never faced a time in our political culture as intimidating as this time. A time when the basic principles of our democratic culture are being questioned and challenged. A time when our colleagues abroad are worried about our ability to play a leading role in world affairs, in scientific, educational and cultural exchanges, in supporting the open dialogue they came to expect from our faculties, in welcoming students into our communities on and off-campus.
We can’t afford complacency. We will soon learn just how much there is to be done.
The aftermath of the election, the fragility of democracy and the challenges facing international educators
This is a blog just up for a new international consulting practice which I’m connected to as an Affiliate. There’s a lot of content on the Gateway website. Check it out.
Marty
The Future of NAFSA: Association of International educators
Although retired, I have maintained my membership with NAFSA; in fact, I’ve been a member since 1977- over four decades. Many followers of my blog are also members or perhaps know of the association and its preeminent work in the field of international education. It is the largest organization of its kind in the world. In recent years, annual conferences usually have had upwards of 9-10,000 participants. That is, until 2020…
Some of my oldest friends are a result of my ties to the mission of NAFSA . I built my reputation largely as a result of my collaboration with campus and organizational colleagues whom I met and worked with as a result of my participation in NAFSA conference programs and sponsored domestic and international activities.
All this is to say how sad I am to have received a message today from the NAFSA Board President and the CEO. In part, it said: “Our inability to host two consecutive in-person conferences, due to COVID-19, has drastically reduced NAFSA’s revenues and operating budget. We were forced to reduce positions at the NAFSA office; positions filled by colleagues we have worked with side by side for years. Combined with reduced revenue from membership dues, the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected NAFSA’s finances.“
This is not a shock; we’ve been aware of lay-offs and furloughs on campuses and with organizations- faculty and senior and mid-career administrators – all year. I knew a good number of the staff NAFSA laid off.
If you are working in the field of international education, anywhere in the world, and unsure whether you intend to register to attend the upcoming NAFSA annual conference [https://www.nafsa.org/conferences/nafsa-2021], please re-consider just how important your support is in 2021. Many professionals are at academic institutions or with organizations who have been forced to cancel their staff professional memberships.
This is merely a nudge. NAFSA plays an extremely critical role as an advocate with Congressional leaders to impact both our domestic and international policies with regard to the flow of students and scholars as well as funding for longstanding stalwart programs like the Fulbright program. Some readers may not realize that well over 1 million international students study in any given year in all 50 states – on urban and rural campuses, at four and two-year institutions.
I believe it’s in the national interest to sustain the work of NAFSA.
Think about it. Please. And if possible, register at nafsa.org to attend the NAFSA conference taking place this June 1-4.
Journal Posting 11
Thanks for posting about your internship experience in response to what Davina Potts wrote on my blog. I’m glad her research and analysis helped you to think in a purposeful way about the meaningfulness of your internship.
-Marty Tillman
Global Career Compass 