Coe pushing international growth

CEDAR RAPIDS - The presence of international students on U.S. college and university campuses has spiked in recent years - jumping 73 percent over the past decade. And Coe College in Cedar Rapids, like many Iowa campuses, is no exception.

Of Coe's 1,400-some students, about 80 - or almost 6 percent - come from outside the United States. That is higher than previous years, reflecting a shift in both international education trends and local recruiting efforts.

'We‘ve been doing a lot more on the Office of Admission side to help increase enrollment,” said Chris Paasch, Coe's associate director of admission for operations and international recruiting.

Bolstering Coe's international presence is a collegewide goal, as it benefits the campus by encouraging 'other cultures, other perspectives, and other opinions,” Paasch said. But, he added, Coe has a lot to offer, too.

'Places like Coe really offer some great benefits, such as the smaller class sizes and a lot of interaction with the faculty members,” Paasch said. 'That's really very important to a lot of students - both domestic and international.”

The push to increase international enrollment at Coe has meant more recruiting trips overseas, more webinars geared toward foreign students, more collaboration with U.S. education offices abroad and new financial aid options specific to international students.

'We are trying to visit new places and kind of get the student climate there - to see if they would be a good fit for Coe,” Paasch said.

Coe's international student population today represents 20 countries - including China, Nepal, Vietnam and Nigeria, which have the largest number of international students this year. But Paasch said recruiters are looking not only to grow those numbers but diversify them - capitalizing on education and awareness opportunities, like a Kosovo delegation's visit to Iowa this week.

Coe College doesn't have any students from Kosovo, a partially recognized state in southeastern Europe that declared itself an independent country in 2008. But Paasch said it would welcome them.

'That's why we're kind of excited to have the group here - to see what they think,” Paasch said.

The Iowa Sister States organization, a non-profit founded to manage Iowa's 'official relationships with foreign states” like Kosovo, took the delegation around Iowa this week - introducing its representatives to leaders in Des Moines, Iowa City, Ames, Fort Dodge and Cedar Rapids.

Paasch said his connections with Iowa Sister States prompted the Kosovo visit to Coe on Friday.

'The director of that program and I have been talking and thought it would be a great relationship for Coe to have,” he said.

During the delegation's stop in Cedar Rapids, leaders toured the Coe campus, met professors and chatted with students.

Coe President David McInally welcomed the group by laying out the concept and the mission of private liberal arts colleges in general, and Coe in particular, and he highlighted the college's intentional development of a multicultural experience.

'Diversity is a critical value for us,” McInally said. 'That includes international diversity, as well as other forms of diversity. And we strive to create the kind of community where students have the experiences to prepare them to succeed in a diverse, interconnected world.”

Technology has made global connections increasingly common and necessary in the workforce.

'And we know that our graduates, to be successful, should not encounter that for the first time after they leave college,” McInally said, 'but should experience it while they are here.”

He also stressed Iowa's values and the impact they have on the student experience.

'We are quite confident that our students leave campus with lifelong friendships,” McInally said. 'One of the things you find in Iowa in general, and at small colleges in particular, is a very friendly, accessible population.”

A panel of international Coe students who met with the Kosovo guests corroborated McInally's assertions, saying the most surprising thing about coming to Iowa was the kindness they encountered.

'The people here are very, very nice,” said Coe freshman Yuan Chai, 19, from Guang Zhou, China. 'Before coming here, I was afraid that I would experience racial discrimination. That people would not want to talk to me. But people here are really nice. They don't care where I come from.”

The welcoming atmosphere is among the features Paasch said he highlights when pitching Coe to international prospects. He also stresses Coe's small class sizes, its encouragement of extracurricular involvement and its residential community.

'They want to be a part of a community where they can be active and engaged in various activities outside of the classroom as well,” he said.

Because of Chinese affluence and their interest in getting an American education is largely behind the national surge in international enrollment, Paasch said, Coe has focused some of its ramped up recruiting efforts on that Asian power.

He's also dedicated recruiting time and resources in countries like Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Despite the push to grow international numbers, Paasch said Coe is doing it strategically.

'We are not just opening the flood gates from one country,” he said. 'We are trying to get a well-balanced and well-represented international student population. We are trying to do it methodically here.”