Head of University Partnerships at 4stay.com Bakhtiyor Isoev released two new episodes of his Education & Empowerment Podcast. The episodes feature interviews with Matthew Shank, PhD, president of the Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges and author of Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective (Routledge, 2015), and Martyn Miller, PhD, assistant vice president of international programs at Temple University. In the just-released episodes, Shank and Miller share their insights on creating learning environments that empower students and prepare them for life after college. Miller also stresses the value of recruiting immigrants and international students.
Building Residential Experiences that Support Student Success
In his interview with Isoev, Shank says that he believes that the quality of the residential experience is directly connected to students’ ability to “succeed, stay in school, strive.” While Shank was the president of Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia from 2011 to 2018, he spearheaded the construction of new luxury dormitories to create a better residential experience for students.
“Physical facilities do matter,” Shank explains. “If you have facilities that aren’t up to date, aren’t modern, that the students don’t feel comfortable in, then they’re not going to come [to the university] and they’re not going to stay.”
Colleges and universities may want to consider partnering with outside vendors, like 4stay, that specialize in creating positive residential experiences, Shank says.
Listen to the full interview of Matthew Shank with Bakhtiyor Isoev on 4stay.com.
Creating Employment Opportunities for University Students
Martyn Miller shares with Isoev that part of how he builds student success for both domestic and international students at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is by connecting them with meaningful employment opportunities before they graduate. “We have to give them the opportunity to become professional while they are still students, so that when they go into the world, they have portfolios they can present or CVs they can present,” he says.
Miller also shares that “students too often think that their success is based on the grades that they get in the classes.” He explains that it is important for students to understand that good grades are only one factor among many that contribute to success.
Working Together to Recruit International Students to U.S. Colleges and Universities
From 2016 to 2020, the number of international student applications to U.S. colleges and universities declined. To prevent further declines in enrollment, Miller helped form StudyPA, a consortium of higher education institutions in Pennsylvania that work collaboratively to recruit international students to colleges and universities in the state.
Miller says that it is an important time for institutions of higher education to remind the public that immigrants and international students positively contribute to American society. He cites the fact that one of the founders of Moderna, the developer of a COVID-19 vaccine, is an Armenian-Lebanese immigrant who received his PhD in the United States.
“The international student contributions, the immigrant contributions, are invaluable,” Miller emphasizes.
Listen to the full interview of Martyn Miller with Bakhtiyor Isoev on 4stay.
About: The Education & Empowerment Podcast explores success and advancement through education by interviewing today's top leaders in the fields of education, business and technology. This show is brought to you by 4stay, a SaaS-enabled Online Booking marketplace for student and intern housing. Learn more at: https://4stay.com/
More episodes may be found here: https://podcast.4stay.com/
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More episodes here at https://podcast.4stay.com/
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