International Students at IVC

     UPDATE: As a senator for IVC’s School of Humanities and Languages, I attended the recent Academic Senate (rep council) meeting, last Thursday. Among topics discussed: an (informal?) proposal, originating from college strategic planning committees, to “increase the capacity” of the international student program. I.e., do we want to enroll still more international students? The demand exists. It is likely that this expansion would enhance revenue. It would have other advantages. Hence the advocacy.
     At one point during the meeting, Davit Khachatryan, the college’s beleaguered Director of Fiscal Services [Davit and admin have not impressed anyone with their planning abilities or bookkeeping], offered an “overview of the current college fiscal status and projections for the next 3-5 years.”
     Evidently, expanding the program is among the college’s “planning assumptions”—a technical concept not to be confused with a decision to go forward with that expansion. (“No, no,” I was assured, “no such decision has yet been made.”)
     According to my notes, the number of international students (ISs) for 2012-13 is 664. Projected for 2013-14 is 730.

     If we expand IS (in the manner proposed), revenue for 2014-15 are projected at about $500,000. For 2015-16, it would be about $834,000. For 2016-17, it would be about $1,386,000, with a (IS) headcount of 972.
     The senators have discussed the expansion of IS during the last two meetings, and it did seem to me that there is considerable hesitation among them, or some of them, regarding this proposal. How would this affect our completion rates? What would happen to the program over time? Etc.
     I sense considerably less hesitation among top administration. [End of update]
          * * *
     As you may know, Irvine Valley College is contemplating expanding its International Students program. One obvious motive is financial.
     But is it really a good idea? For instance, it seems likely that we will come to depend on this revenue stream. Is that a good idea?
     A recent CHE article:

Diversity Aside, International Students Bring a Financial Incentive (Chronicle of Higher Education)

     As college campuses face financial uncertainty and tough enrollment seasons, it’s no secret that attracting more international students can yield benefits beyond the intangibles, like a more diverse student body.
. . .
     But once institutions start enrolling international students—regardless of their initial motivations—they come to depend on those foreign students as a revenue stream. Gannon University, a private institution in Pennsylvania where international students make up roughly 10 percent of the student population, enrolled 213 international students, up from 140 last year. “Had we not had international enrollments,” said William R. Edmondson, vice president for enrollment at the university, “we would not be in the financial position that we are in now.”