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Contact: Kathy Grussing, International Student
Program Coordinator - 208/792-2506
Another Successful
Recruiting Trip for LCSC’s International Programs
LEWISTON–A five-day
recruiting trip to Texas panned out richly for LCSC’s International
Programs.
In late May, Sharon Taylor, Director of the Institute of Intensive English,
and Kathleen Grussing, Coordinator of International Student Services,
attended an annual conference for international educators in San Antonio.
The conference draws education representatives from around the world,
including international student advisors, representatives of colleges,
universities and private schools in this country and abroad.
While attending, Grussing and Taylor met personally with 59 representatives
from 28 different countries. One of these was the representative of Ulsan
University in Seoul, Korea. Ulsan University is setting up a program to send
its outstanding freshmen to the United States to study English. Their
representative was familiar with this area, having graduated from Washington
State University, and wanted to set up a memorandum of agreement between
Ulsan and LCSC. As a result, LC could see as many as 15 new students from
Ulsan in the near future.
Another was a follow-up to a fruitful contact first made during the
International Programs’ October 2001 recruiting trip to Japan and Korea. In
Japan, long-term relationships are especially important; for this reason,
Taylor and Grussing were particularly pleased to have the opportunity in San
Antonio to solidify a relationship with a Tokyo advisor who, to date, has
sent three new students to LCSC.
A third meeting resulted in a signed membership agreement with a Japanese
agency that hand-selects the schools to which it refers students. Being a
small, quality, 4-year college which offers English as a second language and
emphasizes international education, LCSC is an ideal choice that meets all
their requirements.
To continue growing the college’s international student population, Taylor
and Grussing spoke of the need for LCSC’s recruitment efforts to be
affordable and effective. New obstacles have made it more difficult to bring
international students to campus: Money is tight as a result of recent
budget cuts, every recruiting dollar must be spent wisely. In addition, the
September 11 tragedy has resulted in fewer international students studying
abroad: Some prospective students no longer wish to come to the United
States because they are afraid. New restrictions imposed by the Immigration
and Naturalization Service have also inhibited enrollment increases.
Although the overall number of international students at LCSC is not as high as
Taylor and Grussing would like, they hope fine-tuning recruitment efforts
will help increase future enrollment. Their efforts are already paying off:
Since their October trip, the number of signed contracts with recruiting
agents has increased from six to 17. They are particularly enthusiastic
about returning to the annual conference: Says Taylor, “All the
important overseas people are there. This will be an economical and fruitful
way for us to network with them.”
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