Kent State connections
Despite the apparent trend of declining foreign student enrollment, Kent State is one university refusing to submit to the decline. “We are seeing in effect here at Kent State, in a post-Sept. 11 world, that we’ve bucked our trend from other universities,” McKown says. “Our international numbers have actually increased the last few years.”
About 3 percent of Kent State’s student body is international, McKown says, with two-thirds being graduate students and one-third undergraduates.
Within five years, the university increased its spectrum of international students by more than 20 countries, according to McKown, making the total of represented countries more than 100.
Endless interpretation arises with these statistics, as the university administration wonders about what would have been had Sept. 11 never occurred. “One has to think about what would have happened if the restrictions hadn’t been placed with international students,” McKown says.
The increase in numbers has actually hit a plateau this year, a feat that Nieman says begs the question, what is Kent State doing differently from so many other institutions?
“My best guess is that it’s several areas,” Nieman says. “Students will not stay at an institution where they don’t feel comfortable. So having a safe environment, having a university environment that helps them meet their goals and helps them have a certain quality of life is a place you don’t want to leave.”
The international students will play an important role in the future, Nieman says, as Kent State confronts a series of steps to become a nationally recognized leader for its research and academic strengths.
“When we strive to join that upper tier of institutions, we automatically accept that obligation to become more globally connected and internationally active,” Nieman says. “As we look forward to much broader horizons, (international students) are going to be part of that process, and they’ll be the key to help us get there.”
The Burr is produced by students at Kent State University twice per academic year.No part of The Burr may be reprinted without permission.