IU praised for international programs

IU is one of the top American schools for international education, according to a report released Nov. 12 by the Institute of International Education. The report says the University is in the top 20 nationally, both in terms of international students here on campus and IU students in study-abroad programs.\nDirector of Media Relations Larry MacIntyre said the large number of study-abroad opportunities available at IU will help students learn about parts of the world that will be important in years to come. IU President Michael McRobbie is trying to expand those opportunities even further on his trip to China this week, MacIntyre said. \n“President McRobbie really believes in the next century China and some of the other countries in Asia will play such an important role in the world that American students have to know more about them,” MacIntyre said. \nAccording to an IU press release, 3,976 international students were enrolled at IU-Bloomington in the fall of 2006, making IU 15th in the nation and fifth among Big Ten schools. In the same semester, more than 1,600 IUB students studied abroad – the 10th highest nationally for one-semester programs.\nLynn Schoch, director of communications for the Office of International Programs, said studying abroad is rapidly becoming a more important experience for students.\n“There is almost no job anymore that doesn’t have the need to deal with more than one culture,” Schoch said. “In science, in teaching and many other things, you’ve got to be able to deal with people from other cultures.”\nMcRobbie is currently in China meeting with administrators at several colleges and universities. He is expected to sign agreements that will provide study-exchange opportunities, sending IU students to China and bringing Chinese students to Bloomington.\n“IU students have more opportunities for international experiences than ever before,” IU Vice President for International Affairs Patrick O’Meara said in the press release. “These experiences add incalculable value to the education that IU affords. Encountering more international students around them and having the opportunity to go abroad themselves assures that Indiana students will be fully prepared to compete in the global marketplace.”\nSchoch said IU’s goal isn’t just to have the most international students of any school, but to recruit outstanding students from the best universities overseas.\n“With international students, what we’re looking to do is recruit the best and brightest from all over the world, really good students who will contribute to the campus,” he said. “There has really been a desire to maintain a solid international population and to make sure we serve them well.”