It is no secret that Michigan State University has a growing body of international students. There are about 4,300 Chinese students alone enrolled at MSU. It is a trend that is prompting faculty and staff to re-evaluate how they respond to the challenges of educating this growing segment.
The MSU University Committee on Faculty Affairs surveyed more than 1,200 instructors about their experiences. More than 65 percent said they were eager to learn more about how to better teach this population. Less than a quarter of the respondents said they were “completely prepared” for this work. The university recently held a seminar on this topic, and Current State's Kevin Lavery spoke with the keynote speaker, Bridget Fletcher, who's an assistant director of student services at Duke University. She says when it comes to handling a huge influx of Chinese students, MSU is not unique.