University Daily Kansan, September 5, 1980
Page 7
Advising program urged for KU foreign students
By KATHY BRUSSELL
Staff Reporter
As many KU students will attest, enrolling at a major university can be an exercise in confusion and frustration—even if they have been familiar with American colleges all their lives.
For students from Europe, Africa,
South America or Asia, however, things
can be even more puzzling.
To help students from abroad understand academic requirements and ease into their class schedules, some students and faculty members at the Kansas university would like to see an advising program established for foreign students.
Last semester, 1,563 foreign students, representing 95 countries, enrolled at KU. Most of the University's schools, however, have made few or no provisions for specialized advising of foreign students.
GOOD ACADEMIC advising is especially important to foreign students, according to Mustapha Abderahmane, Algeria graduate student, because they almost never have a chance to participate in the summer orientation program that many American students go through.
Many foreign students also face the additional task of trying to master the English language and attend regular classes at the same time.
Ali Castro, Costa Rica sophomore.
said her academic adviser was very helpful in explaining how the American system of education works and in helping her plan her first schedule.
However, Castro said, she had a friend who advised failed to understand the limitations of a foreign student who is unfamiliar with the language, and the advisor recommended 18 hours of difficult classes.
Some academic advisers simply are not used to working with foreign students, said George Wedge, associate professor of English. For example, foreign students often fare better if they fulfill math and science requirements before enrolling in courses that require a strong foundation. Some students are already familiar with the material covered in math courses and lab sciences, but could use the time to develop their skills in reading and writing English, Wedge said.
FOREIGN STUDENTS coming to KU differ from American freshmen in several ways, Sofiana Olivera, Peru junior, said.
Foreign students generally have a fairly good idea of what they want to study, whereas American students often take a year or two to decide on a course. Thus, proper advising can be more urgent for the foreign student she said.
Also, foreign students make a large investment by coming to the United States.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has no specialized program for advising foreign students, but some departments set aside a special adviser, said Steve Goldman, associate professor of English.
planning from the start, she said,
making it doubly important for them to
use their time at the University as
efficiently as possible.
Wedge said he acted as the adviser to foreign students in the department of economics.
IN THE SCHOOL of Education, any student with unique problems is referred to the dean for undergraduate or graduate programs, although foreign students generally are assigned to regular advisers.
"There's a definite need for foreign student counselors in different departments," Olivera said. "When students get a job, either in their school or in another level, different things are expected of them than of American graduates."
Olivera said she would like to see each school or department designate teachers to act as foreign student advisers. Interested advisers would be more attuned to the problems of foreign students, and if they didn't have all the
Wedge said he had been working for several years to generate interest in establishing a program for foreign student advising.
Foreign students who intend to return home to work need help in tailoring their education to fit the situations and cultures they will find there, Olivaera said. Students who hope to work in an employer need, however, probably will need a more knowledge of the world and its people, shesaid.
departments, all staff members are accustomed to foreign students, he said.
The School of Social Welfare has few foreign students, but any foreign undergraduate is advised by the director of the undergraduate department. No special provisions exist for graduate students.
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Of the 10 major schools at KU, six said they made no special arrangements for the advising of foreign students. Those schools were: Architecture, Engineering, Fine Arts, Journalism, Law and Pharmacy.
He has brought up the matter before the University Senate Committee on Foreign Students for the last two or three years, but it has not been a prominent item on the agenda and hasn't been discussed fully, he said.
foreign graduate students are advised
to work under the general director of
the master's program.
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answers, they could refer the student to someone who did, she said.
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MANY FOREIGN STUDENTS are unfamiliar with the classes offered within a department or school and may greatly from an adviser who could accustom with basic requirements and outline course options, Abderrahmane said.
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THE OFFICE OF Foreign Student Services is not allowed to do academic advising, said Clark Coan, dean of the office.
"I think it would help to have someone available who specialized in foreign student advising, not that he would have to be limited to that," he would have to be limited to that, after two or three semesters, a student, he would out that he could have organized his weekly schedule differently and it would have been better."
In the School of Business, no special programs exist for advising un-
adjusted students.
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The University Counseling Center is aware of the great cultural differences between foreign and American students, Linda Hedrick, Lawrence graduate student and part-time staff member of the Center, said.
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