Community colleges go international

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Nearly two years ago, Mustafa Taleb was working as an events coordinator in his native Dubai in the United Arab Emirates when his boss suggested he study at a place called Bellevue Community College (BCC).

Twenty years ago when his boss attended BCC, he was one of only a handful of foreign students. Today, Taleb, 25, is one of 780 international students from 64 countries on campus.

In a time of shrinking state resources, community colleges have found a potential gold mine among foreign students.

Attracted by cheaper tuition, smaller classes and more intimate environments than at most four-year universities, overseas students are funneling millions of dollars into college programs — one of the few ways community colleges can cast their nets for money outside the state.

Foreign students pay the same tuition as out-of-state students, nearly four times what in-state students pay.

Washington now boasts the nation's fourth-highest enrollment of overseas students — roughly 5,600 — attending two-year colleges.

At BCC, foreign students bring in about $700,000 annually above the cost to educate them. At Green River Community College, where overseas-student enrollment has jumped to 458 from 17 students a dozen years ago, they accounted for $1.3 million last year above expenses.

Green River even plans to build a dormitory next fall — rare for a community college — to accommodate the growth in international students. Half of the rooms will be for local students.

Two-year schools are getting "every penny they can from the state, but it doesn't fund everything," said Loretta Seppanen, an assistant director for the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. "So if they can fill one more seat in a classroom with an international student, it's another money source."

Some foreign students come to learn English and return to their countries in a year or two. Others come for two-year technical programs that allow them to learn a skill and return home to work.

But most, like Taleb, already know English and come for credit classes with plans to transfer to four-year colleges or universities before returning home.

"I've just been brought up — like all the other international students — to think that everything is better here," said Shane Rai, a BCC student from India. "There are good schools in India, too, but my generation thinks the goal is America."

Colleges see international programs as a winning proposition and often undertake special marketing efforts to bring the students in.

The schools receive more tuition dollars, and students color their campuses with diversity and different perspectives. In turn, students not only receive a degree, but also a taste of freedom and democracy that they can share in their own countries.

"If I learned and then stayed in America, nobody will transfer this knowledge to my people," said Taleb, who plans to start at Seattle University this fall to earn an e-commerce degree. "The people who study here, we are like bridges between America and our countries."

Cris Samia, director of BCC's international programs, immigrated from the Philippines in 1989 after the country's political situation became too unstable.

"Yes, we have to be honest: these students bring the college a lot of money, but it is something else, too. You can learn about freedom in books, but you don't really learn about protecting it until you are immersed in American culture," he said.

"My hope is that they go back to their countries and change things — corruption, kidnappings, the huge gap between rich and poor."

Because foreign students typically make up less than 5 percent of community-college enrollment, officials say they are not taking seats away from local students, and four-year schools are not obligated to accept them as transfers. In fact, their impact is far more likely to be positive for other students, said Seppanen.

"They are helping to pay for another section of classes or expanded programs," she said.

While overseas students have attended American universities for years, community colleges haven't typically been magnets for them.

But in the last decade the numbers have shot up nationwide, especially in Washington state. Only Florida, New York and Texas have more.

Besides BCC and Green River, other two-year schools boasting large numbers of overseas students are Seattle Central, North Seattle, Edmonds, Shoreline, Tacoma and Highline.

State educators say one reason for the dramatic increase is that community colleges aren't waiting for students to come to them. They're sending their own teams to actively recruit in Asia, Europe and some South American countries.

The state is also home to major companies — such as Boeing and Microsoft — that attract foreign employees and, in turn, their relatives. Since the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, several community colleges have lost many foreign students, prompting increased recruiting efforts.

At BCC, for example, dozens of Asian students — who make up 80 percent of BCC's "market" — have left for schools in Australia or Europe, Samia said. The colleges also lost several Middle Eastern students.

"Parents felt like all of the U.S. was like the twin-tower explosions, but I think their confidence is returning because we are in their countries telling them it is safe here," he said.

Samia said BCC's international program has grown 8 to 10 percent nearly every year since 1992. Foreign students now make up 4 percent of BCC's student population, but he wants to increase that.

"Six years ago when we started recruiting, a lot of overseas schools thought of the community-college system as vocational schools, so we had a hard time educating them," he said. "But now we have a reputation as being a very good school and a safe place to study."

BCC recruiters typically work with the Top 10 high schools in each country they visit. This year's trips included Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Taipei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Mexico. Next year they plan to add Germany, France and Turkey.

Because community colleges don't offer scholarships to foreign students, most students are from middle- to upper-class backgrounds. BCC requires students to show proof they have at least $16,000 a year to live and study here.

Most international students who come to community colleges in Puget Sound live with host families arranged by the college, usually paying the family about $500 a month.

That, say Taleb and other students, has also been a learning experience.

"Many of us come from rich countries where we have maids and everything provided for us," Taleb said. "And so it was both terrible and nice when I came here and learned I could fry an egg and even clean the whole house."

South African student Rene Smith, 23, said she is happy she chose a community college — and BCC in particular — to study for a nursing degree.

"It's smaller than a university, ... " she said. "Teachers and other foreign students understand you, and there's a real feeling of support. It gets you past the homesickness."