Navigating Inclusivity Challenges at Offshore University Branch Campuses, 2022-05-13

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Identifier: Navigating Inclusivity Challenges at Offshore University Branch Campuses

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The International Conference on Global Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education took place May 12-13, 2022 in the Gemmell Student Complex at Clarion University of Pennsylvania (USA). This collection contains conference proceedings from the event.

The official conference program contains the following introductory statement:

"In today's globalized economy, educational, and social interactions with international students from different parts of the world can provide U.S. students with 'real educational' and 'career' benefits. International students make campuses and classrooms more vibrant and diverse, plus, it makes economic sense to have international students because for every 7 international students, 3 U.S. jobs are created or supported. About 1.1 million foreign students studied in U.S. in 2018-19 and contributed $44.7 billion to U.S. economy, along with supporting 460,000 jobs. More than 60% students manage funding on their own or their government, which enables schools to offer student aid to other students. Despite the above facts, it is found that many colleges and universities are not able to reach and support the diverse and underrepresented populations of international students, due to lack of awareness and training.

Additionally, despite the economic and social benefits of international students to a university, it is found that international students encounter adjustment difficulties such as culture shock, loneliness, anxiety, discrimination, loss of social support, language barriers, depression, homesickness, and academic adjustments. These factors impact student satisfaction negatively and influence student persistence, retention rates, and graduation rates. International students' satisfaction is linked to their satisfaction with the educational experience, academic success, satisfaction with college including administration, faculty, and campus. According to many studies, the experiences and social integration of international students affects their academic success with the faculty, classroom, and campus community. it is important that faculty members understand the cultural factors that influence the improvement of international students in higher education. it is the responsibility of universities to provide opportunities, resources, and programs to promote academic success for international students. In order to encourage international students' academic success; it is important that faculty members and advisors understand international student needs and prepare to meet students not only academically but also socially and culturally. Thus, this conference can be extremely helpful to fulfill the purpose of global inclusiveness. With an increasingly diverse student population enrolled in education systems, it is imperative that educators and administrators continue to strengthen their skills, knowledge and competencies in diversity, equity, and inclusion to ensure that global education is not only accessible, but designed to support all students.

Therefore, the purpose of this conference is to share ideas on the importance of global diversity and inclusion in higher education sector and to promote learning and training on this critical issue among faculty and students. The goal is to share knowledge, research findings, build community, and collaborate to advance international diversity, equity, and inclusion in global education and cultural exchange."

Dates

2022-05-13

Creator

Swenddal, Heather (Person)

Extent

From the Collection: 16 Files

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Promoting the inclusion and belonging of international faculty members is a key concern in higher education. Research on this topic has largely focused on faculty experiences and best practices at Anglophone-country universities that employ faculty from around the world. This paper sheds light on inclusivity issues in a different higher education context: offshore international branch campuses of Anglophone-country institutions. The paper explores the views of faculty at Singapore- and Malaysia-based campuses of major Australian universities. These satellite campuses ostensibly promote an Australian ethos, yet they are primarily staffed by local professionals and are influenced by local cultural traditions--including local biases and hierarchies. This paper highlights the inclusivity challenges faced by internationalbranch campus faculty as they navigate these culturally complex settings. The findings presented in this paper draw from the author’s PhD research on the organization-based identity constructions of offshore faculty working at Australian university branch campuses. Employing a subjectivist ontology, constructivist epistemology and the methods of constructivist grounded theory, the author interviewed 37 branch-campus lecturers and leaders across four Southeast Asian campuses and used NVivo to conduct iterative analysis of interview transcripts. This paper presents select findings from this research. This paper overviews the inclusivity challenges of offshore university branch campus lecturers, demonstrating related issues through three participants’ cases. The paper shares extract from interview data with these participants and uses their cases to illustrate various aspects of inclusivity challenges in international branch campus settings. The inner workings of international branch campuses are significantly understudied, and there is a particular lack of knowledge about the views of non-parent-country branch-campus faculty about their roles and contexts. This paper contributes to this research gap, expanding knowledge on international university campuses and the challenges that offshore faculty can face. The paper also contributes to scholarship on higher education diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), demonstrating the need for global universities to expand their inclusivity efforts to offshore campuses.