Increased international student enrollment at UWS

11/6/2009
By Macie Anderson
Staff Writer

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Mark MacLean, an international admissions coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Superior presented a seminar on Thursday, November 5 on why international student enrollment has been increasing and what it means for the campus. 

For the fall of 2009, there are 58 international students enrolled at UWS. Many students are from Sri Lanka, Nepal, India and Canada. UWS has the second-highest enrollment of international students in the state, with UW-Madison having the highest. 

There are many reasons why there is a high enrollment of international students at UWS. For one, the tuition awards program (TAP) waives 75 percent of the nonresident tuition surcharge, making the rate of tuition equal. 

Also, thanks to the international recruiting and admissions budget, trips to China, Korea, Vietnam, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka have attributed to 19.6% of international students enrolled at UWS. 

“We want as much diversity as possible; the main priorities are increasing enrollment at UWS. Having international students makes it a more colorful place,” said MacLean.

MacLean committed on how the international students are “real campus leaders,” as many of the students are involved with Student Senate and Student Government. 

“Take advantage of being at UWS. Faculty is willing to help; and make use of the small class experience,” MacLean advised international students.           

In terms of academics, half of the international students are enrolled into the Business and Economics department. Other studies of high enrollment are Transportation and Logistics Management, Natural Science, Math and Computer Science. 

One challenge of being an international student is being so far from home in an unfamiliar place. In order to help the international students adapt, UWS has programs the students can participate in to become more familiar with Superior, Wisconsin. 

The Global Buds program is where American and international students get together for events. Some of these events range from traveling, to attending parties. The friends and family program gives the opportunity for the students not to spend the holidays alone because people in the community invite a student over to their house for the holidays. 

MacLean has been the international admissions coordinator since 2004. Previous to working at UWS he had spent a significant amount of time in Scotland, Israel and other countries experiencing and studying the culture.