We’ve heard it before – technology and globalization are changing the way we live and the field of higher education needs to adapt. These conversations are plentiful and necessary, but often happen at the 50,000- foot level regarding curriculum, pedagogy, and business models, while other new obstacles can arise any day.
Take for example the Chinese students enrolled at Binghamton University, who recently got caught in “the great fire wall of China.” Because Google has ignored China’s internet-censorship rules, the Chinese government blocked access to some of its servers which included BMail – Binghamton University’s e-mail system. This means that Chinese students who went home for the summer could not receive important e-mails about housing, meal plans, and other information in preparation for returning to campus. Props must be given to Binghamton University for quickly addressing the problem – within 48 hours of learning about the issue, they sent instructions to all of their Chinese students on how to get around the fire wall.
Binghamton may not have been able to predict that the feud between Google and the Chinese government would affect their students’ ability to communicate, but they reacted immediately and found a solution. As universities and colleges continue to compete for more international students and send more students abroad, they are accepting the risks that come along with a world full of policy snafus and virtual complications. Utilizing global technology and embracing internationalization in any field has its risks – but those who plan and adapt efficiently will succeed.
Kudos to Binghamton University for aiding their international students in what could have been a disaster for them and BU’s program. It is one thing to facilitate the smooth enrollment of international students into higher education outside of their own countries, it is another to be cognizant of and sensitive to the culture and laws of other worlds. It is a delicate balance colleges and universities need to address if this exchange is to continue and be benefitial for all involved. Academic exchange is vital to global awareness, tolerance, and growth. It is here where worlds can meet and not collide.
Judi Buenaflor
I don’t understand the behavior of the Chinese government as it relates to the education of these students. How do you send them to another country to study, and then block their ablility to receive needed correspondence in order to work towards the completion of an undergraduate degree? I am not sure as to why it happened, but hopefully measures have been put into place to assure this will never happen again.
With the push for globalization in education, more students should be given the opportunity to study abroad. In saying so, it is important to do the homework on the requirements of the government and the institution for the study. As Jodi stated institutions involved in offering education with other countries need to be “cognizant of and sensitive to the laws of other worlds”. Kudos for BU for quickly resolving the problem but how much research did BU do before allowing Chinese students to study there or did the rules change after the students were accepted? Sharing oi this type of information will be helpful to other institutuions who are offering education to students from other countries.