ACC English instructor Tracy Lee took administrators to task last week, accusing a new policy regarding international students as discriminatory.
Lee requested Allen Community College board members change the newly implemented policy that requires international students pay their tuition in full at the start of the semester rather than in installments as well as the new mandate that they reside on campus and be enrolled in the school’s food service meal plan.
The new policies were approved last spring.
Two international students, Ayoup Bader of Jordan and Wisdom Nkwemba of South Africa, attended the Dec. 12 meeting in support of Lee’s request. Lee also read letters from other instructors and students requesting the policy changes.
Lee contacted each of the state’s 13 community colleges to compare policies. Allen is the only one that does not allow international students to set up a payment plan; Coffeyville did not offer payment plans to any students but that will change next year.
“We understand the reasons for implementing this last year,” Lee said, referring to a discussion in May.
At that time, President Bruce Moses and others said the payment plan conflicts with the process for which students apply for educational visas, and it is cumbersome for the college to collect if an international student falls into arrears.
Lee, however, called the process discriminatory and a hindrance for recruiting future students.
“I think we should review if it has helped or hindered our institution,” she said.
She outlined additional reasons why she believes the policy works against the college: It creates a barrier for international students, it creates separate policies for native and international students, and it hinders diversity and cultural enrichment.
She shared a letter written by fellow English instructor Erik Griffith, who said, “Given our declining numbers, any action that potentially discourages prospective students from selecting Allen is problematic. … With ever-increasing globalization, international students will play an expanding role in providing the rank and file of our student body … especially in Allen County where the population base is declining.”
Lee cited statistics, which Moses and Vice President for Student Affairs Cynthia Jacobson criticized as not showing the full picture, that this fall’s enrollment showed a loss of 41 international students for a revenue loss of $566,210. Jacobson noted there are many reasons why those numbers dropped off and it wasn’t fair to attribute that entirely to the new policies.
Moses took issue with much of Lee’s criticism, repeatedly stressing his understanding of immigration laws meant it was illegal to allow international students to delay tuition payments.
“Every international student is supposed to demonstrate before they get here that they have sufficient funds,” Moses said. “Then they arrive and say I’m broke and I need a payment plan. … What we can’t do as an institution is carry that debt for an entire semester.”
Jacobson also noted that international students could make payment installments over the spring and summer before they arrive, thus avoiding the problem altogether.
