The International Dimension
to STEM Transfer Trends
Richard Nader, Ph.D.
UNT-International
(Interim) Vice Provost for International Affairs
Propositions:
• U.S. higher education institutions must get creative at
attracting and retaining new streams of STEM students.
• International students studying in the U.S.
predominantly choose the STEM fields.
• Many international students transfer from
Community Colleges and many are in STEM.
• International Transfer students tend to persist
at higher rates than all Transfer students.
Competition for Global Talent
 3.5 million int’l.
students world-wide.
3500 K
700 K
60 K
3K
0.3 K
 700,000 (20%) study in
the U.S. which is the top
destination.
 60,000 (8.5% of int’l. students
in the US) study in Texas, a top3 state.
 About 2700 (4.5% of int’l. students
in Texas) study at UNT, top-10 in
Texas, top-2 in DFW Metroplex .
 About 300 international transfer
students currently enrolled at UNT
“In 2009, China
produced 550,000
engineers, India
produced 250,000
engineers, U.S.
colleges graduated
just 70,000
engineers….this U.S.
lack of focus on
preparing for the
global, technologyintensive economy is
the ‘quiet crisis’”
Thomas Friedman, 2010
“U.S. advantages in the
marketplace and in
science and technology
have begun to erode. A
comprehensive and
coordinated federal
effort is urgently needed
to bolster U.S.
competitiveness…………
………….need to develop,
recruit, and retain top
students, scientists, and
engineers from both the
U.S. and abroad”
Rising Above The
Gathering Storm
0
DCCCD Mountain View…
West Texas College
DCCCD Cedar Valley College
DCCCD Eastfield College
McLennan Community…
South Plains College
North Central Texas College
Tyler Junior College
Lee College
Del Mar College
Midland College
Kilgore College
Tarrant County Northwest…
Grayson County College
Central Texas College
Navarro College
Blinn College
Tarrant County South…
Laredo Community College
DCCCD El Centro College
2000
San Jacinto College North…
Lone Star College Kingwood
3500
Tarrant County Northeast…
Texas Southmost College
San Antonio College
Lone Star College Tomball
Lamar State College Orange
Tarrant County Southeast…
2500
Lone Star College…
San Jacinto College Central…
San Jacinto College South…
El Paso Community…
Lone Star College North…
Lone Star College CY-Fair
DCCCD Brookhaven College
Collin County Community…
DCCCD North Lake College
DCCCD Richland College
Austin Community College
Houston Community College
International Transfer Potential: where are they now?
4000
Enrollment of International Students at
Texas Community Colleges (Fall 2010)
3000
Richland College
(Vietnamese)
Northlake College
(Nepalese)
1500
1000
Int'l Students
500
Source: Texas Association for Community Colleges (TACC), 2011
How many international transfer students
were enrolled at UNT during Fall 2010?
289
International Students in
the U.S. by field of study
(2009-2010)
Agriculture
Humanities
Education
Health Professions
STEM
Fine & Applied Arts
Undergraduate
Math & Computer
Graduate
Social Sciences
Physical & Life Sciences
Engineering
Business & Management
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000 120000 140000
Source: IIE, OpenDoors, 2010
How many international transfer students
were enrolled in the STEM fields at UNT?
69 25%
Georgia State Persistence
Study (2010)
Do international transfer
students persist at a higher rate?
90,0%
100,0%
90,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
All Students
International
1st Year Persistence
Transfers
All Students
International
Graduation Rates
Source: Heather Housley, Georgia State University (2010)
Suppositions:
• Community Colleges producing STEM students may begin
to see greater numbers of international students as part
of the overall growth and according to catchment
demographics.
• International Transfer students from
Community Colleges may increase from a
“trickle to a flood” for 4-year schools targeting
this population.
• International Transfer students tend to persist
at a higher rate than all Transfer students and
therefore may positively impact STEM
graduation rates.
Research Challenges
• Do international students studying in U.S.
community colleges predominantly
choose the STEM fields?
• Do retention and graduation relationships
between international and overall transfer
populations apply to the STEM fields?
• Do retention efforts that purposefully
combine international student recruiting
efforts with overall transfer recruiting yield
higher overall success among STEM transfers?
Conclusion
• UNT has made recruiting and retaining
International Transfers an equal priority
for improving overall graduation rates of
STEM majors.