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by
Michael Moreau,
English
and Language Arts divisions
These are some of the enticements prompting students with fledgling English
skills and varying degrees of financial support to come to Glendale
College from such diverse countries as Kenya, Japan, South Korea,
Indonesia, Taiwan and Russia. The top three countries of origin for
students attending GCC on F1 (student) visas are Japan, South Korea and
Taiwan. And while Glendale isn’t Santa Monica or San Francisco, it’s
the community college of choice
for many of the nearly half-million foreign students who choose to
attend community colleges in the U.S. each year.
Out of 1,166 community colleges in the country, in 2000 Glendale
ranked 36th in numbers of students on F1 visas, with 540
enrolled. This semester there are 520.
In 2000, Santa Monica registered more than 2,000 foreign students
and Pasadena City College had 1,000. Santa Monica, which ranks fourth in
numbers nationwide, recruits aggressively and “waves the banner of the
beach and all,” said David Nelson, GCC’s Director of International
Recruitment and Outreach. (Santa Monica said it had 3,074 international
students enrolled in the fall of 2001.) Pasadena, with the Rose
Tournament and other attractions, doesn’t have to recruit so much, he
said.
Nelson and others on campus look at the International Student
program as a win-win operation. The students benefit from receiving a
good preparatory education, with many of them improving their English
skills enough to go on to four-year universities, and the college
benefits from the money generated from the students.
International students pay $134 per unit plus other fees above
the basic $11 per unit tuition. And the entire $134 comes directly to
GCC. This means that for each of the 520 students now enrolled with F1
visas, the campus collects more than
$3,000 for a yearly total approaching $2 million, “bringing us
considerable discretionary income,” according to Larry Serot, Vice
President of Finance.
From year to year international students make up only 3 to 4
percent of the student population on campus, but Jewel Price, Dean of
Student Services, believes they are the cream of the crop. In the
1999-2000 school year, 61 international students graduated from the
college and last year 51 graduated. This represents 10 percent of F1
students enrolled, a far higher percentage than the roughly 4 percent of
graduates in the overall population.
The graduation numbers are high, Price says, because “these
students are under stricter rules than other students. They have to go
full time, and they have to complete their studies in a certain time.”
There are no numbers for transfer rates for international
students, but Price is certain that they are higher than the 5 to 6
percent for the general population.
Unlike Santa Monica and Foothill, which is in Silicon Valley,
Glendale doesn’t look at the International Student program as a growth
industry. “We try to make it grow along with the student body at about
3 percent,” said Price.
But Nelson does travel two to three months a year, particularly
throughout Asia, to promote the GCC program, recruiting students at
institutions such as foreign language schools where English is taught.
This year recruiting may have to be a bit more aggressive because of
September 11.
“September 11th certainly hasn’t helped
[enrollment],” Nelson said.
“It’s the first time in years we’ve had any kind of drop
off of foreign students,” said Price. Part of the reason for the drop
is that enrollment has fallen at the language schools that students
attend in their home countries. But it’s also harder for foreign
students to get F1 visas in the aftermath of September 11. Our State
Department is taking a harder look at student applicants and is less
inclined to honor applications than before the terrorist attack.
Both Nelson and Price say there is a misapprehension promoted by
the news media that the terrorists were here on F1 visas and by
extension that international students are potential terrorists. In
reality, according to Nelson, the one terrorist who was said to be on a
student visa was really on a technical training visa that allowed him to
go to flight school.
Another myth that Nelson tries to dispel on trips to South Korea
is that the L.A. area is dangerous for Koreans. This is a holdover from
the riots of 1992 when Korean businesses were targeted by vandals. He
tells groups he meets with there that Glendale is a safe city far
removed from the focus of violence of 10 years ago.
He tells potential students that “we’re close to L.A.
and the studios, and the beaches. You can get a taste of
everything, but we’re not in a risky area.”
The Wall Street Journal ran a story in April that accused
community colleges of “fudging the facts to attract foreign
students.” Foothill Community College, which ranks in the top 10 in
the nation in numbers of international students, was called to task for
claiming transfers to Harvard and Yale that were denied by the Ivy
League schools.
Glendale, too, was cited for a paragraph on its International
Students Web page that said the college has an articulation agreement
with Stanford University. An articulation agreement, according to
articulation director Dave Mack, means that the transfer campus has
agreed to accept all the general education courses taken at the
community college and to admit the student as a junior. Stanford denied
having such an agreement with Glendale. In fact, Mack said, “Stanford
doesn’t have an articulation agreement with anyone.”
That statement was placed on the Web site before he came to
campus, Nelson said.
Since the Journal article ran, the site has been revised. It now
says that GCC has articulation agreements with many of the UC campuses
and Cal State campuses, which Mack says is erring on the side of
caution. He says GCC has agreements with all the UC and Cal State
campuses. The site also now cautions: “It is important for prospective
applicants to check with their academic advisor to see which four-year
universities and colleges Glendale C.C. has formal transfer agreements
with.”
Nelson says the Journal article was slanted against the community
colleges and failed to point out the positive features of international
programs. “It gives students here an opportunity to interact with
students from other cultures, and it also provides recognition for the
college.”
Izabella Babayan, a student from Armenia who is completing her
studies at Glendale this spring, says “I like this area and I love
this college.”
Babayan studied English in Armenia and worked as an interpreter
before a cousin who lived in Glendale urged her to come to GCC. Although
there are many Armenian students on campus, as an Armenian she is among
a minority of International Students. She came with an F1 visa, and
although she lived with her cousin for a short time, the cousin moved
away and Babayan has been on her own for most of the three years she has
attended the college.
She now shares a one-bedroom apartment with another student in
Montrose.
It hasn’t been easy for her, but she has immersed herself in
her studies and student activities. She has served in several positions
in student government—Senator of Administration, Vice President of
Administration, Vice President of Student Organizations—and has also
worked part-time on campus.
But she said that “it’s difficult to be away from your family
and on your own. And it’s expensive. I received a lot of scholarships.
That’s how I could do it. I also tutor. I received my work permit.”
(After a year, F1 students can apply for a permit that allows them to
work 25 hours a week.)
In the fall, the 25-year-old plans to transfer to Cal State
Northridge to major in business law. It will cost her twice as much as
GCC to attend Northridge as an international student, she says.
“I think the best thing to do if you come from a foreign
country is to get involved,” she said. “Don’t isolate yourself. I
like to learn from and experience other people. You learn a lot about
yourself.
“I love it. I have had a great experience here.” &
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