INTERNATIONALIZATION OF INSTITUTION: CONTINOUS APPROACH IN MANAGING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Setyawati Yani; Salmia Syarifuddin; Firdaus Firdaus; Syahrul Nur Ikhsan; Syamsuddin Yani; Muhammad Hattah Fattah

Setyawati Yani Office of International Affairs, Universitas Muslim Indonesia
Salmia Syarifuddin Department of English Education, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Muslim Indonesia, Indonesia
Firdaus Firdaus Department of English Education, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Muslim Indonesia, Indonesia
Syahrul Nur Ikhsan Office of International Affairs, Universitas Muslim Indonesia, Indonesia
Syamsuddin Yani Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Universitas Muslim Indonesia, Indonesia
Muhammad Hattah Fattah Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Muslim Indonesia

Keywords: managing international student, internationalization process, Indonesian university, social media university promotion

Abstract

BACKGROUND : There is a gap in an education quality of higher educations in Indonesia. The universities in Western Indonesia are considered acquiring higher quality than those in Eastern Indonesia. Universitas Muslim Indonesia (UMI) is a private higher education located in Makassar in Eastern Indonesia. To bridge the quality gap, as the counterparts starts to achieve an international recognition, UMI implements internationalization process. One of the programs of UMI internationalization process is enhancing the proportion of international students. METHOD : This work discusses strategies implemented by UMI in managing international students. Surveys were conducted to gather information from international student applicants and existing international students to understand how they know UMI and what types of supports are expected from UMI. RESULTS & DISCUSSION: It was found that social media is important to promote the university for future students. UMI has two types of international students, namely full time and non full time students. It was evident that non full time students applied in UMI because of the collaborations between UMI and its international partners. Existing international students were also contributed to promote the university to their family members and friends. The currents students mentioned that apart from scholarship, the supports provided by the university, especially peer mentoring, help international students in adjusting to the new educational and socio-cultural environment. The current students expect that both academic and non academic staff have a good English proficiency. CONCLUSION : A continuous and systematic approach in managing international students must be implemented to increase the proportion of international students in a university. To be successful, the approach will need an involvement from all stakeholders of the university.