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International Education at Santa Monica College is a comprehensive program that was designed on the EOPS (Extended Opportunity Program and Services) model, where students are recruited from specific areas and services are delivered to a special population in order to enhance student success. The Continuous Enrollment Model, pictured, illustrates the dynamic of the never-ending cycle of recruitment, delivery of services, and student outcomes. Currently the International Education Department operates with a dean and 1.5 directors, an international admissions staff of 3, an immigration coordinator, three full-time academic counseling faculty, 3.5 part time academic counselors, and four clerical staff. The International Education Center is situated in the center of campus with the International Counseling House nearby.
SMC is flexible in its international marketing through recruitment abroad and targeted advertising. SMC’s transfer success, which allows access to the University of California system, California State Universities, and California private colleges and universities, in addition to SMC’s location, makes recruiting easier. At SMC the focus is on a personal approach to admit, welcome and prepare F-1 visa students (non-resident international students) for a challenging educational experience with an emphasis on support and guidance for first semester students so they can successfully navigate the educational process at SMC and reach their individual goals.
Santa Monica College continues to enjoy a substantial enrollment of F-1 visa students as it has for the last seven years. From the years 1997 to 2003 the field of international education and exchange in the United States has been challenged with the international economic decline and subsequent Asian Crisis, a strong US dollar, competition from Australia, Great Britain, and Canada for foreign students, the terrorists events of September 11, 2001, and this past spring the War in Iraq and the SARS virus in Asia and Toronto, Canada. All of these roadblocks have been overcome through the hard work of those professionals who recruit and advise these students at SMC. Ironically, the greatest challenge to the recruitment and retention of F-1 students today is the US government and its implementation of the SEVIS tracking system and the attendant rules and procedures for obtaining a student visa and remaining in status while studying in the United States.
International Educational Exchange is an excellent marketing tool for the United States. Since the founding of the Fulbright Exchange Program after WWII, foreign students, also referred to as “international students,” and scholars have been educated in the US while living among and learning about Americans, contributing their time, their talents and their resources to diversify our campuses and our communities as well as enhancing our local economies.
People who study together tend to build lasting relationships. International students at SMC reap the rewards of experiencing the American way of life, purchasing local consumer products and services, and completing their US education. There is great potential for continuing friendships through business and trade after graduation, which can only lead to friendly alliances between California and its international students’ countries.
In IIE’s Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange in 2001/2002, 193,412 of all foreign students in the United States in 2001-2002 were undergraduates seeking a bachelor’s degree. An additional 67,667 were undergraduates seeking an Associate degree, or 35% of all undergraduate foreign students. “Community college international enrollments continue their strong growth with a 61.3% increase in less than a decade,” the report stated. Needless to say, SMC and its sister community colleges in California benefit greatly from the diverse student body and the contributions these students make to the financial well being of the colleges. California’s economy alone received $1,629,646,919 from the tuition and fees and living expenses paid by the 78,741 foreign students who studied in the state in 2001-02.
SEVIS (The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) was born out of the Immigration and Reform Act of 1996, which intended to track immigrants and non-immigrants alike. Congress designated US educational institutions to collect a fee to pay for the system. However, when educators refused to participate on behalf of the government, the initial tracking program was put on hold. After September 11, 2001, the US government immediately funded the development of the SEVIS program. Every institution that wanted to continue enrolling foreign students was required to meet deadlines, first to be approved to enroll these students and then to issue a new “SEVIS” I-20 (the US Government document designating eligible non-resident international students to attend school) for every foreign student currently enrolled. At Santa Monica College that process meant issuing 2,850 new I-20s between January and June 2003. The timing of this task coincided with SMC’s $5 million reduction in staff and services in the mid-year budget cutting process. International Education reduced its budget 10% losing managers, part-time counselors, and part time clerks. The International Education Center strives to maintain an atmosphere of innovation and strong work ethic among department staff in these difficult fiscal times, while continuing to provide professional and appropriate services for F-1 students despite fewer staff.
As for SEVIS, SMC incurred significant costs in software, in photocopying documents, and in staff time. Once the system becomes more reliable educational institutions will be able to use it to help international students remain in status. SMC has a working relationship with the BCIS (Bureau of Customs and Immigration Services) within the SEVIS government reporting system. The next challenges include dealing with the newly mandated individual interviews that occur at consular posts abroad, including Japan, Canada, and other countries friendly to the United States. It is important to note that in 2001 less than one-percent of all visas issued were F-1 or J-1 (non-resident international scholars), while five million B1/B2 visitor visas were issued that year, with only 20% of those applicants interviewed in the home country.
BCIS, formerly known as INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services), now proposes to collect a fee to pay for the on-going SEVIS system. And then there is the handprint for identification, soon to come. One cannot estimate how many prospective international students who dream of studying in California will just not bother with all these processes and choose to go to school in Canada, Great Britain, or Australia.
Despite all the bureaucratic roadblocks for F-1 students, Santa Monica College remains committed to International Education and the intrinsic value foreign students bring to the campus. The Board of Trustees, the President, and the senior staff of SMC recognize the importance of this educational experience, not just for the F-1 students, but also for the resident students who study with someone from a foreign country. Education is California’s seventh largest export. It is advisable community colleges work together to overcome the barriers that may prevent international students to study in California.
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