The world comes to class in Minnesota

Never before have college campuses in the United States and in Minnesota been so international, a report released today shows.

The number of international students studying here jumped 8 percent nationally and 9.7 percent in the state last year, according to the annual Open Doors Report on International Education. The number of students studying abroad during that time increased, too.

The growth follows an upward trend since 2001, when concerns about terrorism and tighter access reversed what had been increasing global exchange. At the University of Minnesota, international students made up 10.1 percent of total enrollment last year, compared to 7.4 percent the year before.

"We believe we should be an international university," said U President Robert Bruininks. "We have global companies located here. We prepared people who go into these global companies. We want them to be well-educated with respect to international issues.

"I think that's good for Minnesota -- it's good for our culture, it's good for our economy, and it's great for our university."

But experts wonder whether the recession will lead colleges and universities to cut back on two of the very things that lead to the record numbers -- aggressive recruiting and financial aid.

"What 9/11 and its aftermath taught us is that if you're not proactive, students are not automatically going to come ... unless you're Harvard or Stanford," said Allan Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education. "It does take outreach."

The same group that produces the report surveyed colleges and universities this fall to gauge the economy's effect. It found "a mixed picture": Fewer campuses said they'd seen growth in their international populations than last year, and about a quarter reported declines.

The U is not pulling back. This year, it opened a new office in Beijing, which, according to its China Center, will help it recruit "top academic talent" from the country's high schools and build a more powerful alumni network.

It's just one part of an extensive global strategy to bring diversity to campus.

A 2006 internal report showed that the University of Minnesota had just 2 percent international undergraduates -- the smallest percentage in the Big Ten. A task force recommended doubling that percentage, and each year since the U has brought in a bigger number.

Students spend millions

The 10,848 international students studying in Minnesota last year spent $232.8 million in the state, according to the report, which was prepared with support from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. That number includes tuition, which about two-thirds of international students cover on their own or with the help of their family.

Overall, Minnesota ranked 18th in the number of international students studying in the state last year.

Among schools awarding doctorate degrees, the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus ranked 20th nationwide in the number of international students -- up from 23rd last year.

Among those granting master's and undergraduate degrees, St. Cloud State University ranked 10th -- up from 12th last year. The College of St. Benedict and St. John's University came in at 12th among schools awarding baccalaureate degrees. Macalester College came in at 13th and University of Minnesota, Crookston, ranked 36th in that same category.

A liberal arts approach

After growing up in the Netherlands, Gerbrand Hoogvliet got a global high school education at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore and knew he'd earn his bachelor's degree abroad.

The United States was attractive, he said, because "the liberal arts approach is something you can't find anywhere else."

Now a junior at Macalester College, Hoogvliet is studying economics, philosophy and Spanish -- a combination not possible at other colleges in other countries, he said, where from the first day of class, the focus is training students for specific professions.

Hoogvliet, like most international students, didn't have a chance to visit his top college choices, but he had heard about Macalester through its long-standing relationship with the United World Colleges and saw that the St. Paul school had a hefty international population. Last year, 254 of its 1,900 students were international, according to the Open Doors report.

This fall, Macalester brought in its biggest group of international students ever, said Aaron Colhapp, director of Macalester's International Student Program. Having a sizable international presence on campus changes the conversations, he said.

"They ask different questions in the classroom," Colhapp said. "They'll have different answers. Or maybe it'll be the same answer, but they'll go about it completely differently.

"In the end, other students are exposed to different ways of thinking."

Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168