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A STUDY TO ASCERTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY AND FACULTY OPINIONS ABOUT FOREIGN STUDENTS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES AND PRIVATE COLLEGES OF THE MIDWEST
Abstract
Purpose in the Study. There were four purposes: (1) to determine the status of administrative policies for foreign students' admissions on the campuses of four-year public and private universities and colleges of the Midwest; (2) to measure the opinions of faculty members toward foreign students on these same campuses; (3) to determine if significant differences existed in opinions between faculty members of public and private institutions, between campuses with a foreign student adviser and those without and between faculty members at institutions with stated admissions policies for foreign student admissions and those without and; (4) to learn what experiences in the lives of faculty members had produced feelings of empathy toward foreign students, or lack of empathy. Procedures. A random sample of six public and six private colleges and universities was made in the Midwest area, and a random sample was made of the faculty members within the same institutions. These professors were asked to complete a four-page instrument which probed for their opinions on: a rationale for foreign student admissions, admissions policies, academic matters, financial aid, interaction with foreign students, international politics, foreign students' academic/cultural adjustment problems, and experiences which had produced feelings of empathy toward foreign students or lack of empathy. Admissions directors at the same twelve institutions responded to a separate survey to determine if the institution had a foreign student adviser, had stated admissions policies, had a foreign student enrollment, and had articulated a philosophy for foreign student admissions. A chi-square statistic was used to determine if there were any differences in opinions by the three variables: (1) presence of a foreign student adviser, (2) having stated admissions policies for foreign students, (3) whether the institution was public or private. Findings. (1) There was no significant difference in opinions between faculty members at institutions with a foreign student adviser and those at institutions without. (2) There was no difference in opinions between faculty members at those institutions that had stated admissions policies for foreign students and those that did not, except for two items of the 40-item survey. (3) There was significant difference in opinions between faculty members at public and private institutions on 10 of the items, eight in the proportion of agreement or disagreement and two in completely opposing views. Faculty members expressed basically positive feelings toward foreign students. They opposed any quota system to limit foreign students in number or origin. They felt that foreign students should not have a separate grading standard. They were in favor of interacting informally with them and using them as resources in the classroom. They did not want them housed in separate quarters, but wanted them placed with American students. Professors were unconvinced that foreign students educated in the U.S. would develop pro-American viewpoints, but believed they should have all the same rights and privileges as Americans while in this country. Faculty members felt that students from the Middle East, Africa and the Far East had the most academic and cultural problems (in that order). The experiences which caused professors to feel empathetic toward foreign students were: knowing them personally and having them in class. A small percent admitted a possible lack of empathy for foreign students because of international events. This variable was included in the hypotheses testing and produced no significant difference in the analysis. Seven of the twelve institutions had a foreign student adviser, eight had stated administrative policies for foreign students, but only three institutions had articulated a philosophy for foreign student admissions.
Subject Area
Higher education
Recommended Citation
HUGHBANKS, CORINNE NEUBAUER, "A STUDY TO ASCERTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY AND FACULTY OPINIONS ABOUT FOREIGN STUDENTS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES AND PRIVATE COLLEGES OF THE MIDWEST" (1980). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8100769.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8100769