The presence of international students on campus offers students who haven't gone overseas the opportunity to be exposed to different cultures and opinions, Martin Bennett, director of international services, said.
Bennett said the influence of international students enrolled at Ball State University would increase during the next five years to cause changes on campus.
The university has about 2.8 percent of its campus made up of international students, compared to Purdue University, which has 14.2 percent of its enrollment being international students, and Indiana University, which has 10.4 percent,
The difference in percentages was because those institutions are larger institutions, he said, and recruiting international students is an uphill battle when compared to those universities.
Bennett said international services established a five-year plan, similar in concept to the one created by President Jo Ann Gora, to increase international enrollment.
A part of the plan is to increase student enrollment from 2 to 5 percent by the year 2012, he said.
In the past three years, Bennett said, the university saw dramatic increases in international student enrollment, especially from regions such as India, China and the Middle East.
One part of the long-term plan might include increased staffing because Bennett is the only member of the Rinker Center who recruits students, he said.
An increase of students will mean a need for increased staffing around the campus, he said, including housing, food services and advising.
The university also has a Web option, Bennett said, of video conferencing to Indonesia and Thailand and the development of alumni in China, Taiwan and Korea.
"It has been a multi-layered strategy," he said.
Bennett said business, natural sciences and architecture were big draws for international students. Communication is also a growing prospect for international students, he said.
"[College of Communication, Information, and Media] has attracted more and more international students because of the reputations they earned nationally and internationally," he said.
International students go through a week-long orientation, and the university will prepare students through a series of e-mails on health insurance and securing their visas before they leave on their free departure trip, he said.
"If you are going to bring [international students] in, you have to take care of them," he said.
Trinity Firth, admissions assistant at the Rinker Center, said some other things the center does to help students during the transition is helping students find apartments and helping them adjust to classes in the first few weeks.
Bennett also said he was happy with where international services was in the strategic plan. Not only do American students gain perspective by being around international students, he said, but also foreign students learn about America.
"They certainly realize that coming to an area like Ball State and the Midwest what America is all about," he said
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