Dive Brief:
- Research from the University of Warwick shows that the mere presence of international students on a campus does not lead to the global skills many schools tout for their student bodies as a result of such diversity.
- The report calls for additional work on cultural integration by facilitating ‘friendship-making’ and the development of communication skills that will truly serve students in the workplace.
- The count of international students on a campus does not directly indicate cross-cultural networking and interaction unless that becomes an institutional priority in policy, according to researchers.
Dive Insight:
The University of Warwick research focuses on higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, but the lessons are transferable to colleges in the United States. The rising number of international students studying here, especially at the undergraduate level, has been touted by institutions as creating cultural exchanges for students who do not study abroad. The presence of international students creates budgetary benefits for colleges and universities because of tuition payments whether cultural integration happens on campuses or not. The question is whether this institutional focus on cross-cultural sharing should be a responsibility of administrators.