During the 2017 EnglishUSA IEP Stakeholder’s Conference, I had the honor of presenting on a panel of esteemed colleagues from ACCET and CEA regarding the challenges IEP were facing. Our industry was in the second (some may say third) year of declines in enrollments, and the international data was just catching up to what the majority of us knew – students were not coming to the US.
While I was slated for 15 minutes to provide my “wisdom”, the session quickly went over, and I was left with only a couple of minutes to distill my presentation to the most salient points. My summation was to quote from book of Ecclesiastes that there was nothing new under the sun – we have been through enrollment shifts before and we will again. But the decade plus of growth has quickly come to an end.
Some may point to regression towards the mean, others will identify the shift in economy with the fluctuation in exchange rates and oil prices, while many will highlight the political changes. Still, though, even our own profession recognizes that despite the external forces at play, innovation and competition have altered the traditional models of recruitment and academic prep.
Yes, these changes have been painful – many of lost jobs, schools and departments have closed, institutions have abandoned international efforts altogether – but they have also fostered innovation and renewed focus on the core of US higher education. Sophistication with Pathway Models and Transnational Education are but a few of those efforts, along with the growth (albeit slow) of participation by domestic students in Education Abroad.
Pride, though, is what comes to mind, as institutions seek to bring learning to students no matter where they may reside – online and in-country delivery – and to unite their educational campuses and communities in the common good with the You Are Welcome Here Campaign.
Now, we are two years removed from that conference and we may have yet to see the “bottoming-out” of students coming to the US. The future, as always, is uncertain. But there is promise – and it is not merely hope. There may indeed be nothing new under the sun – but our passions for international education are at an all time high as we shine light on the value and importance and impact of enabling the global citizenry.