Making the Most of International Education Week

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Bucknell, Higher Education, International Education, Internationalization

The State Department has been designating one week in November as International Education Week (IEW) for the past few years. This year the dates for International Education Week are from the 15th to the 19th of November. Institutions (educational and otherwise) across the United States are observing IEW by organizing various events. A list of these events can be found on the State Department’s website (linked above).

Bucknell University is celebrating International Education Week 2010 with renewed vigor this year as well. The Office of International Education and International Student Services are collaborating with other departments to present the most complete picture possible of the importance of international education.

For me, the planning of this year’s IEW events at Bucknell has been an interesting journey to say the least. While there are many programs being presented to the relatively small campus community, it remains to be seen to what degree the students, faculty, and staff will participate in these. One strategy that the two offices have employed this year is to rely heavily on existing energies within student organizations and academic departments to drive the programming efforts. For example, the four International Movie Nights are each sponsored by a different student organization, and the International Education Week Photo Contest is being run in collaboration with the Peer International Educators group. Having these partnerships has allowed the organizing offices to use their limited resources more efficiently.

I am looking forward to being a part of this year’s IEW at Bucknell and cannot wait to report on the level of student engagement throughout the week. I hope that on November 20th, I will be able to say that the efforts to internationalize Bucknell, and US higher education institutions in general, are clearly justified.

Check out Bucknell University’s International Education Week page on facebook!

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Helicopter Parenting: A First Class Thing…

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Bucknell, Community College Transfer Initiative, Community Colleges, Elitism, Helicopter Parents, Millennial Generation, Socioeconomic Status

The term ‘helicopter parenting‘ is not new. In fact, for those in the field of student affairs, this term is part of daily life. However, the term is often used in conjunction with the closely affiliated term ‘millennial generation‘. While the terms represent popular phenomenon, they are by no means universal. The qualities associated with parents that hover, and their children – the millennial generation – are also closely associated with the socioeconomic class of the families that these parents and children are part of.

In her new book, Parenting Out of Control: Anxious Parents in Uncertain Times  (New York University Press), Margaret K. Nelson explores the roots of helicopter parenting, or “parenting out of control,” finding a strong correlation between parental involvement and social class.

An interesting interview with the author can be found on the Inside Higher Ed blog. I am also very curious to find out what advantages, if any, do first-generation students have in terms of learning and development because of the absence of helicopter parents. This is something I will try to explore to some extent in my study of the Community College Transfer Initiative at Bucknell University.

Financing Social Mobility

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Bucknell, Community Colleges, Financial Aid, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Transfer

The number of students enrolling at community colleges is on the rise. This increase is accompanied by an increase in the proportion of all undergraduate students that attend community colleges. Currently, almost half of all undergraduate students are enrolled in community colleges. However, opportunities for even the most talented of low-income students remain limited. Opportunities for these students to transfer to selective four-year institutions are few and far between. In fact, the number of such opportunities is shrinking. (Dowd & Gabbard, 2009)

While some efforts are being made by a select group of highly selective four-year institutions, much more can be done. A coordinated effort from highly selective institutions has the potential to significantly increase the number of low-SES transfer students by reaching out to talented community college students, educating high school and community college students about financial aid, and actively working on their respective campuses to break down cultural barriers.

The failure to take the initiatives described above would mean that the existing cultures at elite four-year colleges would be preserved. This would neutralize the role of elite higher education institutions as vehicles for upward social mobility.

The lack of diversity in the socioeconomic backgrounds of students will also hurt the overall ability of institutions to truly diversify their student bodies and provide an education that nurtures the institution of critical thinking, promotes the understanding and acceptance of differences, and above all prepares students for success in the world that they will enter as graduates.

Transferring Offers Path Into Selective Colleges

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BCCSP, Bucknell, Community Colleges, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

New doors open for community college students as economy swells their ranks.

By Marion Callahan

OF THE MORNING CALL

August 30, 2009

Amanda Baranowski had her heart set on Lehigh University. But the Nazareth Area High School graduate, who ranked 17th in her class, planned one stop before heading there — community college.

”It was financially appealing, close to home and easy to commute,” said Baranowski, 22, who graduated with honors from Lehigh in May and is now employed as a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Baranowski is part of a growing number of high-achieving students who are opting for community college before moving on to four-year universities.

Responding to the soaring enrollment at community colleges, some public and private colleges are beefing up recruitment efforts, or in some cases, opening doors that were once considered shut to those going the community college route.