The new Global Visiting Students program, which will allow 20 international students to directly enroll at UNC starting this fall, should be applauded. It increases the University’s global presence, even if the number of new students is a drop in the bucket.
Direct enrollment differs from a normal foreign exchange program in that UNC does not have to send the same number of students it receives.
At first glance, it may seem that this program exists solely to benefit international students, but the value to students already at UNC will be immense as well.
Learning alongside international students will make for a more enriching and intellectually challenging environment for UNC students.
Students will be exposed to other cultures through interactions on campus, exchanges of ideas in the classroom and more opportunities for involvement in the global community.
Additionally, more international students will add prestige to the University. The attractiveness of a research institution that thinks globally cannot be denied.
UNC must be at the forefront of international research. The University can’t afford to lose any more ground to its counterparts in this arena.
According to a 2009 UNC Global study, the number of enrolled undergraduate international students was barely above 1 percent of the student population. That same figure was more than 5 percent for Duke University and 4 percent for the national average of colleges of a similar caliber.
For a University that prides itself on a diversity of ideas, this direct enrollment program manifests that pride.
