A Global Comparison: New Zealand and the United States

As referenced in the previous post, New Zealand is trying to attract international students to study in their country. Interestingly, the United States has witnessed this same policy push not only at four-year colleges, but at community colleges as well. Many U.S. community colleges are now targeting international students specifically for the higher tuition revenue that can be collected in the face of a bleak economic climate. On a broader scale, there is also a growing cognizance that the once "local" community has become global in nature. 

Like global policy itself, the recruitment of international students is greatly influenced by the current political climate. In the United States, the majority of international students hail from Asian countries where demand for education is outpacing supply. Interestingly, the U.S. community college can serve as a "pressure valve providing an alternate or auxiliary path to satisfy demand while also being used as a means to improve the relationship between the U.S. and Asia" (Hagedorn & Zhang, 2013). This is just another example of how education is often used as a way to satisfy a political or economic agenda.

Hagedorn, L., & Zhang, Y. (2013). International students in U.S. community colleges: Status, opportunities, and future. In J. Levin & S. Kater (Eds.), Understanding Community Colleges (pp. 53-63). New York: Routledge.