Tag Archives: College of International and Extended Studies

SJSU Tops List for International Students

New engineering graduate students line up outside the student union on Aug. 14 for orientation. More than 1,700 students attended.

New engineering graduate students line up outside the student union on Aug. 14 for orientation. More than 1,700 students attended.

San Jose State ranked No. 1 as the master’s college or universities in the United States that hosted the most international students in 2014-15. The Top 40 rankings are put together by the Institute of International Education (IIE), a nonprofit that is focused on supporting global higher education.

For 2014-15, 3,639 international students enrolled in degree programs at San Jose State.

One of the Academic Affairs priorities, Educational Excellence and Student Experience, is focused on providing global citizenship opportunities for both international students and local students. The division funded an enhanced orientation in fall 2015 that included activities to foster connections between local and international students. Of the 1,700 students who attended graduate orientation, 650 were international students.

Xilu Wang, who is from Shanghai, said SJSU is well-known among her friends in her native country.

“(SJSU) is located in Silicon Valley,” she said, of her reason for choosing the Lucas Graduate School of Business. “(Silicon Valley) is a great location. Its reputation is good and it is growing very fast. My friends all want to study business and computer science here.”

The College of International and Extended Studies works in collaboration with Student Affairs in providing support to international students.

International Gateways celebrates 40 years

The College of International and Extended Studies staff and administrators celebrated the 40th Anniversary of International Gateways in October.

As part of the celebration, former International Gateway students returned to share their personal stories with International Gateways and their successes since completing programs in CIES.

International Gateways started in 1976 as a training program for SJSU students who were pursuing linguistics degrees. Originally called Studies in American Language, the first students were from Japan before it expanded to students from all over the world.

Since then, International Gateways has served thousands of students from 60 different countries with its core programs.

Nearly 400 students are enrolled in its programs this fall, and half of those students are conditionally admitted to an SJSU degree program.

“With International Gateways, these students will gain enhanced communication skills through intensive English-language courses,” said Provost Andy Feinstein, during a welcome at the event. “They will prepare for undergraduate and graduate school admissions tests that will make them more successful in their degree coursework.”

Current programs include Academic and Test Preparation; Semester at SJSU; MBA Preparation; Active Communication in English; and custom programs.

October newsletter: Professional development grants awarded to staff

Amy D’Anna, a marketing coordinator with the College of International and Extended Studies, was excited to learn about the Staff Professional Grant program via an email sent out early this semester from the Provost Office.

She is one of 48 individuals and groups of staff members who successfully applied for a grant offered this fall through the Academic Affairs Division priority group on RSCA and professional development. Individuals were allowed to apply for up to $1,500, with groups eligible to apply for $5,000. A second call for Academic Affairs Staff Professional Development Grant proposals has been announced. Staff members will have until Nov. 13 to submit an application and will be notified in December if their application was successful. See the full list of awardees from the first round of funding.

“This will help by adding formal education to my applied experience in the field of marketing and PR,” D’Anna said.

She said the courses she takes have allowed her to keep current and gain exposure to crucial developments in cultural communications, social media, technological advances and more.

D’Anna said she appreciates that the provost understands staff members are an integral part of SJSU and deserve professional growth.

Recipients of the Staff Professional Development Grant were recognized in the program at the Academic Affairs Division Staff Appreciation Breakfast in October.

Recipients of the Staff Professional Development Grant were recognized in the program at the Academic Affairs Division Staff Appreciation Breakfast in October.

“Most times we are the first line of contact and often support students throughout their entire academic career with SJSU,” she said. “This relationship is crucial to our student body and improving it through staff development will only make SJSU a better place.”

Mark Adams, the project director for the Pakistan Distance Education Enhancement Program (PDEEP) and an instructional developer with the eCampus group in Academic Technology, is planning to use his grant to take a course called “Managing without Authority” at Stanford University.

“The course focus is on how to influence and persuade others, build and maintain effective working relationships and get things done in a diverse, global environment,” he said.

The course will support his work on the PDEEP grant as he helps to develop an eCampus infrastructure for Allama Iqbal Open University in Pakistan as well as in working with faculty members at SJSU to share the benefits of online tools.

Lauren Andersen, a financial analyst in the University Library, will use her grant to attend the CSU Academic Resource Conference.

“I changed positions from human resources to finance this last January,” she said, via email. “This conference will help me to continue to learn more about the world of finance from a CSU perspective.”