This article contributes to discourse examining the opportunities and challenges of international student enrollments in institutions of higher learning around the globe.
In scope it details an empirical study exploring the dispositions of international students in terms of their academic and social spheres. The use of quantitative methods provided clarity and extended critical interpretations of the issues and dilemmas surrounding the international student experience. Universities committed to internationalization are called to address the realities – both positive and negative – of operating as globally competitive institutions. This implies that attracting the right kind of international students and determining standards for their contribution to campus life are more important goals than the total number of international students.
The term diploma disease, coined by Dore (1976) signifies this phenomenon. Dore argues that the sheer magnitude of students traveling internationally in the pursuit of advanced degrees, diplomas, or certifications has shifted the purpose and direction of tertiary education. Education, says Dore, is not a commercial endeavor defined by time or space but rather the harmonious development of the physical, mental, moral, and social dimensions of life necessary for engagement with opportunities to gain both knowledge and wisdom. This stance suggests that determining the form of higher education best suited for the academic community should remain a pressing issue side
by side engagement with contemporary processes of internationalization.
The Taiwan government efforts to develop national policies and set targets to attract substantial numbers of international students are impressive. Yet ingoing international students to Taiwan universities experience unhappiness and disorientation on arrival from their home nations. Most are successful in terms of building a circle of friends and booming happier over time. However, the friendships are typically with international student peers from the same nation, which provides fellowship and empathy but limited opportunities for connections with Taiwan students and to learn about local culture and institutions. With regards to the benefits and dilemmas associated with the international student population in terms of institutional commitments for the expansion of internationalization for Taiwan’s higher education institutions. Taiwan’s higher education institutions are heavily committed to increase the numbers of international students. However, some issues are needed to be taken into account such as the proper orientation of incoming and outgoing international students. In addition, faculty and staff should also undergone proper training or orientation regarding on how to handle issues with the international students. The majority of international students make little or no use of formal university sanctioned organizations widely associated with the benefits of social capital as noted in the literature. Many international students accept paid employment, often for long hours and with limited social capital benefits besides language improvements. These international students could derive the benefits of social capital by committing a greater amount of time to university organizations and fewer hours to paid employment. As well many international students report a high degree of residential instability, which disrupts both their social connections and academic study.
In sum, the growth in number of international students and their share of total enrollments is a contributing factor to the higher education landscape in Taiwan. It has provided an enriched and more diverse cultural experience on Taiwanese campuses, and a range of economic and social benefits for local communities. Hence, social interaction and activities should be encouraged in order to effectively enhance the social capital of all students on university campuses. The ability of international students to form social networks with local Taiwanese moreover is viewed as an important factor in the further enhancement of Taiwan’s higher education international dimension.
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