Diversity: Community College recruiters go farther afield

As the local population declines, American colleges and universities are forced to be more creative in their recruitment efforts, so Larissa Hunt, Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Student Admissions Specialist, recently made her second international recruitment trip to Vietnam.

Both trips lasted about 10 days and were fully funded by the Haenicke Institute at Western Michigan University, a partner in the recruiting effort.

While in Vietnam, Hunt took part in many education fairs, many similar to those she attends in the U.S. The fairs provide an opportunity to meet with prospective students, their parents and families. Vietnamese parents play a very large role in the education decisions of their children, Hunt says.

Many parents save every penny they have to send their student to the U.S. to receive an American education. Hunt adds: "Our education system is highly regarded as the best in the world, and students are excited about the prospect of receiving such a top-notch education."

More and more international students are spreading the word about the value and education offered at American community colleges, and the benefit of their use as a gateway to eventually pursuing Bachelors, Masters, or even Ph.D. degrees at American universities.

In return, the culture, education, world knowledge, and experience international students bring to America and share with the school’s domestic students, brings growth to all students at KVCC and for many people across Southwest Michigan as they interact with international students. Hunt says.

She also says it looks like the partnership between KVCC and WMU will be lucrative. "I hope to see the partnership between KVCC and WMU continue to grow."

Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Dawn Kemp, Kalamazoo Valley Community College