Approval of Previous Minutes —

Hollie Hall made a motion to approve the minutes from March 1. Hara Talasila seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Unfinished Business —

They will develop a comprehensive program of support for international students. They will look at data

Sunita asked if there was any feedback on the ISS Fee structure. We can then send to Dr. Memaj. Charlie commented he did not have feedback about the proposal, but he thought, in the larger context, that it would be helpful to discuss what we are building.

He gave an update. They lost two student engagement personnel in the Fall 2022. Both positions were filled this week and the team is complete. Charlie is developing a comprehensive report for international student community. Looking at student success data and setting metrics up and holding them to these. Prior to pandemic we saw challenges to international students in the metrics the university looks at. We started to see that things like retention, time to degree, gpa, satisfaction rates, were being affected. The pandemic made it more so with these issues: fear of returning home, visa to return, worry about families. International student data is like underrepresented students on campus. There is different data than in the past data for traditional international students. There is more diversity in students, they need strong support. It is critical we align the brand-new student engagement team with the current students. Charlie has an upcoming budget meeting. He is asking for funding to support personnel for recruitment, and admissions work, so that the international fee can be used for community support. There are two other exciting developments. We need to align the scholarships for international students with domestic students. This is important for new students. This has endorsement from VP of Enrollment Management and Provost Finance Office. We can provide scholarships to international students that are competitive to regional peers. Over the last 5 years, our competitors have increased scholarships and KU has remained the same. Investing scholarships in international and having the personnel is critical. The final thing is last year we implemented the fee related to work we do for those on our sponsorship that have graduated and are doing Optional Practical Training. Charlie is in conversations with Chambers to offer career training for local industries. Overland Park have identified areas where there are not enough workers. These areas where there are shortages are in areas where the international students are studying. In their last academic year when they are applying for OPT, they will already know some people in the industry, and they will get experience in areas of their degrees. It will take specialized advising and career building. We need to support students when they are here and when they graduate. The opportunity to spend 1-3 years with a local company and then go to home country is a good opportunity. These are the areas of investment for International Services. It is time for transformation in these areas. Charlie has support from Provost and CFO for these investments. Charlie proposed in budget all of these funds go to students—into student success.

Sunita. Students feel different—feel they are not getting the same treatment as other students. Charlies’ office is doing something to make a difference.

Hollie. Are there scholarships for those that cannot pay to apply to OPT with local industry?

Charlie. There is no fee for OPT. These are paid internships. We have to be sure not to violate 20 hours per week. It is a way to get off-campus work within your program. These are industries that are looking for high-skilled talent and they are paying for the talent. You have a job in hand when you graduate. They will have a signed contract. We are trying to create certainty for it. No other institution is doing this. The Chambers are excited about this. These are paid positions in students’ fields.

Sunita. They would not have problems with work Visa.

Charlie. No. There is no work Visa beyond the OPT. Local employers are struggling with caps on H1Visa.  This provides a gap. It gives local employers three years. It creates opportunities for sustained employment.

Minyoung. It is good for one year? How can this extend to H1 V?

Charlie. It depends on the field. STEM fields are 3-years.

Julius. This is good news. For the Performing Arts students. Are there ways to link these students to such program? That is a visa category that has a lot of opportunity.

Charlie. I can see that long term. They are looking at areas where there is a need to hire. This is a good way to develop the momentum.

Charlie said he needs community partners and I need to start somewhere. This is a priority for the Chambers and others in the region. We are struggling to meet the needs of organization. It creates a model to extrapolate from.

Hara. The problem is how do we find jobs There are companies that come to Career Fairs. People have asked career fairs to stop sending the emails. There are no opportunities for them.

Charlie said he used to be on NAFSA. NAFSA  commissioned a study on International  students graduating from US.  They are identifying four states to pilot this survey and identify the needs CA, TX, MA, and KS are the four states.

What are the barriers international students face. It is an area that is ignored and little data.

Sunita showed the results from the survey.  We briefly discussed providing incentives for students to take the survey.  We decided against because it is the end of the fiscal year.  Sunita contacted all the deans individually to ask them to distribute the survey. Four gave a positive response.

Meeting adjourned.