Kansas City Metropolitan Community College

Heading-up international education from their post on the Penn Valley campus are Bobbie Gustin, International Student Programs Specialist and Admissions Application, who is responsible for the initial communications with students, and Julianne Jacques, International Counselor, who coordinates orientation and serves as the foreign student advisor for English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) and international students. Carroll O'Neal is the registrar and was the first person the Lewer Agency contacted about the student insurance program. All three are NAFSA members.

According to Lewer sales representative, Mark Dolliver, the MCC team stands out because of how well they work together. "They are very efficient at what they do," says Mark. "They are experts at meeting the needs of their international students."

Three years ago, offering health insurance to international students was "a big step", according to Carroll. "Before offering insurance, parents would call from overseas to tell us they did not have insurance. They asked if we did. We had to tell them we did not offer insurance and that they would have to find coverage once they arrived on campus."

"The insurance has proved to be a smart move," said Julianne. "We've had several students benefit from the coverage. Some students have suffered from serious mental problems. There are also the unexpected, smaller emergencies. International students never think an emergency can happen and, yet, they are the most likely population to be in a car accident or fall on the sidewalk. Many of them have no experience with snow."

"We were lucky we were prepared," said Julianne. "When it came to an emergency, some schools found themselves backpedaling. There are so many stories. We went to our administration and explained how we did not want to be put in that position. The administration agreed to be proactive. Now, we're with Lewer."

Difficulties administering insurance have nearly disappeared now that the LewerMark plan is mandatory, according to Julianne. "Before, when we allowed students to purchase their own policy, we had to go through our records manually to make sure all the data was correct. If students had their own insurance, we couldn't be sure that it applied while in the U.S., and we had no assurances that they still carried the insurance. Now, that students are required to enroll in the Lewer program, it is a lot easier. We explain that the coverage is for their protection. The process of enrollment and payment of premium to Lewer takes about a week. We started with letting the students waive out, and then we went to requiring minimum coverage. Now, we say you have to carry our insurance if you want to go to school here."

The fine-tuning of the MCC international student program is also evident in orientation procedures. Bobbie and her team now require that all students attend orientation, regardless of whether they are a new student or a returning student. "In order to provide these students with a foundation, Bobbie and I conduct workshops," says Julianne. "One workshop will cover employment; another workshop will cover insurance. Explaining insurance can be complicated, because it is complicated. Many students come from countries with socialized medicine. Our challenge is to answer the question, 'Why is insurance so costly and why is it such a big deal in the U.S.?' Mark Dolliver from the Lewer Agency attends orientation sessions to assist the team with answering some of the questions."

Recruiting at MCC takes care of itself, according to Bobbie. "Most of our students learn about us through word-of-mouth," she says. "We also do a lot of recruiting with our website. Some colleges refer students to us because they don't meet the requirements on a particular campus. Those schools tell those students to check out our website."

Julianne and the international student staff at MCC also plan occasional recruiting trips abroad. "We put the word out about the advantages of attending a community college," says Julianne. "We have smaller classes and offer programs that are not found at the universities."

MCC is also very adept at providing students with transition assistance to four-year college. "Our communication with four-year colleges is intense," says Carroll. "We visit by phone and e-mail. We keep up with their policies. We have recruiters come and talk to students about transferring. It works out nicely."

Recruiting overseas can be a challenge, according to Carroll. "It's difficult," she says. "We try to explain the value of a community college to the embassies. Some countries, like Nigeria, want students to enroll in a four-year college. We have to explain that we provide the first two years at a lower tuition rate and that we then work to transfer the student to a four-year college."

Many of the international students at MCC come from Africa. Julianne attributes this to word-of-mouth recruiting. "There was a group that came almost eight years ago and from that group," she said, "word went out to a particular village in Kenya, and from that village, word went out to neighboring villages. As this population on campus continues to increase, word keeps spreading." Bobbie calls this word-of-mouth recruiting 'amazing.' I have three or four people come in each month asking for applications to send to others in Africa. They even pay the postage. It's amazing how they try to help each other," she says.

No matter how students are recruited, all come to MCC because of "value". Tuition is only $206 per credit hour, and the network schools offer pre-college level courses that help students get ready for more challenging college-level work. Distance education helps many meet their goals as many courses are televised, offered on the Internet, or delivered to work locations through field-based programs."

The value is also seen in the technology available on campus. The "Metrolink" serves as an online records program that allows students to sign-on to see grades as soon as they are posted. The system allows students to check their financial aid, enroll in classes, pay bills, and take care of nearly any other records related function from the comfort of their homes.

Wireless technology has also come to the Penn Valley campus. One recent advance was the installation of "Hot Spots", or wireless Internet connections. The library is set-up for wireless Internet use, allowing students to access information on their laptops, notebooks, and PDA devices. Educators at MCC also take full advantage of e-mail technology. "We explain to the students that communications from the international side of the house will occur via e-mail," says Julianne. "There are the students from third world countries who have no access to technology. This is a big learning curve for them. We addressed this problem by asking our ESL instructors to teach the basic skills needed to navigate the e-mail system."

Even though MCC is the umbrella school for PVCC, Carroll explains that PVCC issues all the I-20s from her location. "We enroll the students here so that the only thing the students do on our other MCC campuses is attend class."

Working with international students is enjoyable, despite the challenges," according to Julianne. "It's the most fun, gracious, wonderful population to work with," she says. "These are the people who want to learn and are looking to the United States to give them something that is now available to them at home. They are so grateful for the opportunity."

"We try to help with the challenges," says Julianne. "International students face more rules. Our job is to teach them how to navigate the immigration system. I think it's hard for the United States to continue to have terrific numbers of students coming into this country when we are competing with Britain, Australia, and Canada. We are seeing all kinds of billboards in Asia from schools in Canada, inviting students to come learn English in Canada."

Welcoming international students is a priority at MCC. One way MCC welcomes students is by easing the language gap. There is the Applied Language Institute (ALI) which tests a student's English ability. A student is then placed in one of five levels of proficiency and the course load is planned accordingly. Students cannot take regular academic courses until they graduate to a certain level. The institute is a cooperative effort between the University of Missouri - Kansas City and PCVV. "Before the institute, students were at a disadvantage," said Carroll. "It took a cooperative effort between a four year school and a two year school, and it worked out well."

"International students have special needs," adds Julianne. "International students need to be recruited and then, once here, the school must be committed to providing the things they need in order to have a good experience. It's not just about bringing them in the door. It's about helping them meet goals, every step of the way."

The insurance program also proved to be one of the ways MCC helps students every step of the way. According to Julianne, the Lewer staff "rocks". The open lines of communication," according to Bobbie, "are amazing."

"No matter who we call, we get an answer," adds Carroll. "Another big plus with Lewer is that when Lewer entered into the negotiations with the district, along with all the other insurance companies, Lewer really came out ahead."

Now that insurance, orientation and recruiting are humming along at MCC, this team of educators is focused on the big picture. "Our mission is to help students be successful," says Julianne. "We can do a lot from a very individual level. We're not trying to feed masses of people through a system to produce exit numbers. We sit down with individual people and ask them about their dreams. Then we figure out how to help them achieve those dreams. We offer a level of attention that just doesn't happen in the bigger systems."

The unrest in many parts of the world is also on their minds. Carroll would like to see some swing in the pendulum. "It all depends on Untied States politics," she says. "It depends on what happens in other countries. Will international students still be coming to the United States? I think the Department of Homeland Security will have to work to welcome them. The international student education community will have to step-up. We need to make our domestic citizens better global citizens."

"The best defense against terrorism," says Carroll, an educator from the Heart of America, "is knowing your neighbor."