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Volume 41, Issue 3
September 30, 2003
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September 30, 2003
Enrollment increases despite
loss of international students
Durrell
Williams
Contributing Writer
Most people don’t have to look much farther than the parking
lot to realize there has been an increase in enrollment at MCC.
However, although overall enrollment has seen continuous growth, the population
of international students has dropped dramatically.
Only five years ago, in the fall of 1998, the enrollment figure was under
23,000. Today that number has surpassed 27,000.
Associate dean of student services, Joni Grover, said she believes that
with the rise in tuition at state universities, it’s only natural
that students look to the community colleges for higher education.
Grover also said she believes enrollment numbers will continue to grow
steadily in the years to come.
Community colleges attract a variety of students, more diverse than many
universities, which may be a factor in MCC’s growing population.
MCC is currently developing plans to handle the increase in students.
“We have no plans at this time to put a cap on enrollment; the college
welcomes the increase,” Grover said.
She added that a bond proposal for 2004 could lead to another campus.
One thing is clear at this time: MCC is getting larger, and will only
continue to grow.
However, MCC has not seen a rise in enrollment of all students.
Over the past couple of years the college has actually seen a considerable
drop in international students.
Since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, international travel as a whole has
been down in the United States.
At the time of the event, there were 100 countries represented on the
MCC campus.
Now there are about 50.
The largest decrease of international students occurred among Arabic students.
The school had dozens of students from the Middle East prior to Sept.
11.
Only a handful remains.
Director of international education, Gailynn Valdes, said she believes
that the events of Sept. 11 are a determining factor in the drop, but
also believes that with the increasing difficulty students face when trying
to obtain an international visa, decrease is to be expected.
After Sept. 11, a new system, Student Exchange Visitor Tracking System
(SEVIS), was adopted.
This system is responsible for tracking the locations of foreign students.
As a result of new regulations, all male Arabic students seeking an education
in the United States must be photographed, fingerprinted, and questioned
before they can even be considered for an international visa.
North Korean students are also subject to the same process of admission.
Currently, there are no North Korean students attending MCC.
Valdes said that both students and faculty have treated Arabic students
at MCC well.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case at other places in the United
States.
Despite the lack of problems at MCC, the nation’s drop in international
students has affected enrollment at the college.
These new restrictions on visas do not affect students who were born in
other countries, but have US citizenship.
The rules are also not as tough on students who do not hail from Muslim
regions.
Furthermore, a charge now exists for applying for a personal international
visa, and if denied, no refund will be given.
There are many other subtle differences that have been implemented since
Sept. 11, which serve to further complicate the process students must
undergo to apply for an international visa to study in the United States.
These tough visa laws only apply to students who want to enter the country
to study.
Any other tourist entering the country does not have to go through a personal
interview, or many of the other procedures that students must face.
Only 5 percent of the visas issued in this country are student visas.
Valdes said that MCC will continue to see a decrease in international
students if the regulations are not changed.
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