Number of international students on the rise

This spring, 45 international students are enrolled at CSC. That's a 137 percent increase from the 19 who were taking classes in fall 2006. In addition, the students represent 18 countries.

The staff and faculty at CSC are working to gradually increase the number of students from other countries who are enrolled at CSC, said Carl Cousin, the student services counselor for CSC Extended Campus Programs who assists international students.

"This is great for CSC because it's exposing a lot of the students to people from different countries," he said. "Both the international students and students from nearby learn a lot from each other."

The number of countries represented in the student body has grown from five to 18 since spring 2003. CSC continues to be a popular choice for students from Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, with 10 and seven students, respectively. In recent years, eastern European countries have become a big draw for the institution. This fall, six students from Russia were enrolled. Other nationalities on the list are Australia, Armenia, Bahamas, Botswana, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Ecuador, Ghana, Germany, India, Jamaica, Japan, Turkmenistan and the Ukraine.

Cousin said one factor in getting more international students to enroll has been the decision to divide the pool of waiver money that's available to them. In past years, CSC has awarded 20 full-tuition waivers to international students. The waivers have been split to create 40 half-tuition waivers.

He also said the college has taken a more active approach to attracting international students since Dr. Gary White was hired in fall 2006. White, who is dean for the School of Business, Applied and Mathematical Sciences, began encouraging faculty and staff to look into of a number of programs for international studies soon after his arrival.

Five students this year are enrolled in the International Research and Exchanges program. IREX is an international nonprofit organization providing leadership and programs to improve the quality of education, strengthen independent media, and foster pluralistic civil society development. The students take courses in history and government to become familiar with the United States.

Other programs include the U.S. Department of State's Junior Faculty Development Program, and IREX's University Administration Support Program. CSC also has reaped benefits of recent partnerships with the National Agricultural University of Ukraine and Voronezh State University in Russia.

Some of the students come to CSC for athletic opportunities. The Eagles' track and field team, for instance, recruited four student-athletes from Jamaica last year.

Cousin said one of the big factors in attracting potential international students to CSC is making timely responses to their inquiries. He said the enrollment process for international students can be challenging. For instance, verifying financial documents for one student was a challenge because she and others in her home country typically shy away from banking because of widespread corruption in the industry.

Cousin said that the program is not only a benefit to CSC, but the entire Chadron community. For example, he cited a popular student-led program this year that paired fifth-graders with pen pals in Turkmenistan. The children have been exchanging e-mails and videos with their counterparts overseas.

"Bringing these students to Chadron State can be difficult, but it's a win-win for all of us when they get here," he said.