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Members: Please Log In Contact Us You are here: IIE Network Home > Articles and Papers > International Education Trends in Africa > Keteku Keteku Recruiting African Students By Nancy Keteku The mobility of African students and the influence of western higher education is not, as some would think, a recent phenomenon. Africans who earned PhDs in Europe in the 1700s returned to Africa and founded indigenous higher education institutions in the 1800s: Ecole William Ponty in Senegal, Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone, and the University of Liberia. Today's Africans are drawn to the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Canada, and Australia as well as the emerging educational magnets in other Asian countries, but for Africans, the United States is invariably their first choice. The number of sub-Saharan African students in the United States, currently 32,423, doubled in the decade between 1991 and 2001, later receding slightly, as much in response to international economic pressure as to post-9/11 reaction. Countries that have recorded the greatest growth in the last four years include Burkina Faso, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Niger, and Rwanda. These little-noticed countries may surprise readers and perhaps cause you to rethink your recruitment efforts. The biggest sending countries are, in order of merit: Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Tanzania, each with between 6,300 and 1,100 students attending regionally accredited institutions in the United States. About 62% of sub-Saharan Africa's students in the United States are undergraduates, while 29% are graduate students, and the remaining 9% are non-degree and OPT students. The proportion of graduate students is gradually rising, while the IEP population has remained stable in recent years. The U.S. Department of State supports EducationUSA advising centers in 37 African countries. With 300,000 contacts per year, advising centers in Africa are busy places. As many African education systems are oriented towards oral communication and do little to encourage reading, reflective/analytical writing, or research, advising in Africa is not merely a process of making information about U.S. higher education available to students. Advisers can't just send students to the Internet to do their research without oral reinforcement and support. In African advising, there are no shortcuts and no magic tricks. It's about transforming people's way of thinking about themselves and their future; advisers teach students to think for themselves and work independently. In addition, students who come from systems where one huge national exam is the sole determinant of their university admission are mystified by the convoluted American application process as well as by the enormity of the American higher education establishment. Advisers have to help students to narrow down their choices and select schools that meet their needs in three ways: academic, financial, and personal. They can't afford to apply to any schools where their chances are too slim, so they have to learn to think strategically. Advisers in Africa rely on their U.S. counterparts based at American institutions to be their partners in this process. Educators on U.S. campuses face surely similar challenges when recruiting African students. When recruiting and advising African students, here are a few tips to keep in mind: Can these be done in graphic charts or shaded boxes or something better than boring lists? Tips for Admissions Officers Re-read your admissions literature: could a person with no understanding of the U.S. educational system apply successfully, or does it assume certain knowledge that many Africans will not have? Examine ways to create a more responsive and personalized admissions and funding process. For example, don’t hesitate to guide African applicants in developing a successful application. Your applicant pool will improve, and you’ll know what you’re getting. Clarify the role of testing in the admissions process: SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT and TOEFL. Bear in mind that testing can involve a month's pay plus travel to another country. Don’t demand tests unless justified, unless the score would make a definite difference in your admissions decision. Would a TOEFL increase the student’s chances of qualifying for an assistantship? Provide support for the visa process: provide an instruction sheet, instruct students to seek information from educational advisers, be prepared to write or call the Consular Officer to explain why you do not believe this student would remain in the United States after graduation. Ensure that you follow up with admitted students during the months preceding enrollment. Make sure they attend orientation programs both in their home countries and on your campus. Continue to track their adjustment during the first semester with regular appointments and programs. Your publications and website should prominently feature separate information for international students including: costs and financial aid; special attention to parents; pictures of campus, dorms, classrooms, neighborhood, diverse faces; maps; distinctive academic programs, internships, etc. that would attract internationals. Help applicants make contact with current African students on your campus. Bear in mind that many graduate students coming from Africa are operating in a vacuum; they don’t know anyone who has gone to grad school in any field, in any U.S. university. They have been taught to be humble, respectful and reserved; it is hard for them to understand that they have to sell themselves, to assert their opinions, and to correspond with faculty members. Once they understand what is expected of them, their statements of purpose will become the strongest part of the application. Don't automatically give preference to Africans who are already in the U.S., or who have completed U.S. bachelor’s degrees. Identify ways to give equal value to the experiences and determination that develop in the often difficult circumstances of undergraduate education on the African continent. Recognize that students coming directly from Africa are going to make a distinctive impact in the classroom. The relationship between the graduate department and the graduate admissions office often becomes a crack so wide that African graduate students disappear in the process. Make sure the two offices don’t contradict each other or send out conflicting messages. Make your Application Friendly to African Students A separate application format for international students makes a big difference because it removes confusing or irrelevant questions. Make application forms accessible: downloadable, Common Application, etc. Use online applications, but remove any required fields that cannot accept non-U.S. entries: zip codes, social security numbers. Waive application fees for international applicants. African students do not have credit cards, and credit card fraud is a problem in some areas. Obtaining U.S. dollar checks from African banks can cost $15-$70. For transcripts, certificates, and national exam results, don’t demand the sole original copy, which cannot be replaced. Instead, request copies signed and stamped by head of school, and always verify national exam results through national examination boards and Educational Advisers. Don’t require the services of credential evaluators for straightforward first-year admission. Prospective applicants will look elsewhere when faced with this extra fee. Educational advisers, school administrators, and examination boards in the student’s country can provide fast, accurate and less expensive interpretation of credentials. Grading systems in African countries are very rigorous. A’s and B’s generally comprise less than 10% of grades. There is no advantage in calculating African GPAs using American standards. Give students more opportunity to express themselves through essays, both long and short. This brings out the best in everyone, helps both sides to get to know each other better, and demonstrates the student’s maturity, commitment and discipline. Teachers are not used to writing letters of recommendation and may therefore not portray the applicant clearly. Bear in mind that African cultures frown on self-marketing or self-promotion, resulting in humble students not understanding how to assess their strengths, much less how to assert themselves. African schools do not offer as many opportunities for extracurricular activities, and many students work alongside their parents after school. Do not expect extensive extracurricular development, but look for signs of leadership and commitment developed in other ways. Make Finances Manageable Explain your financial assistance system in as much detail as possible: not only the facts, but also the factors and strategies that increase an applicant’s chances of success. A separate financial sheet tucked into the first mailing and linked to your home page will make a big difference. Explain that applicants should certify the amount that their families are actually capable of paying. Be prepared to calculate the student’s chances of getting funding in the second year, if not the first. Be open to negotiation for transfer credit, to reduce the student’s total costs. Publish accurate information on international student finances in your print publications, on your website, in College Board’s International Student Handbook, Peterson’s Applying to Colleges and Universities in the United States, and other places where international students will see it. Use scholarships to strengthen your international applicant pool: consolidate several small awards into larger and more significant ones, extend merit awards eligibility to international students, use out of state tuition waivers creatively to equalize domestic and international standards. Create merit scholarships to reward leadership, community service, arts and culture as well as academic performance. Guarantee on-campus jobs on the I-20, and match African students with jobs that will build their academic and career success. Offer free room and board to international students who contribute to quality and diversity of cultural life on campus. Pressure your institution’s president to devote more funding towards globalizing the campus by strengthening student body. Use your alumni association to raise special scholarship funds for African students. Ensure Admitted Students Enroll I-20: send it by June, by courier, make sure it is 100% accurate. Complete the certification of finances during the admissions process, not at the last minute. Prepay SEVIS fee, at least for students receiving financial aid. Visas: provide guidance and support. Send a visa instruction sheet with the I-20, and a fact sheet on the graduation and return rates for international graduates of your school for Consular. Avoid mail delays: post forms and orientation material on special website section for international admitted students: housing, medical, campus security, banking, pre-registration, etc. Nancy Keteku is the Regional Advising Educational Coordinator for Africa, based in Ghana. Education USA EducationUSA is a global network of more than 450 advising centers supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. EducationUSA centers actively promote United States higher education around the world by offering accurate, comprehensive, objective and timely information about educational opportunities in the United States and guidance to qualified individuals on how best to access those opportunities. Centers are staffed by professional advisers, many of whom have first-hand experience having studied in the United States themselves, and/or having received State Department-approved training about United States higher education and the advising process. In Africa, there are EducationUSA advising centers located in 37 countries, almost all of which are located in U.S. Embassies or Consulates. For more information, please visit: www.educationusa.state.gov. Ways you to work with the EducationUSA Advising Network: Refer all applicants to their nearest EducationUSA Advising Center for honest, unbiased, accurate, current, and professional guidance through the admissions process. Contact EducationUSA Advisers for information about national educational systems, contact information for institutions, verification of documents, interpretation of credentials. Put the EducationUSA logo on your website and link to www.educationusa.state.gov. Send your publications to educational advising centers annually (addresses available from website)

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