Together and apart, two words that altogether reflect just how SUNY Oswego has been able to foster a sense of community for its international student population even during these pandemic times.

While international student enrollment has decreased at SUNY Oswego, Associate Provost for International Education and Programs Joshua McKeown said that in the fall, SUNY Oswego housed about 160 international students, which is lower than the usual number by almost 100.

“SUNY Oswego is definitely down in its enrollment of international students but not down as far as some of us thought it might be,” McKeown said. “In the fall semester, we had to work really hard to make sure we were following protocols. We did have international students returning in the fall semester and even more in the spring semester, but there were just tremendous campus protocols for quarantines or testing.”

But that was not the case for all students. In fact, there were three subdivisions within the SUNY Oswego student population this year, students who were at home in their native countries, students who were elsewhere in the U.S. and students who were on-campus. 

Among those on-campus were new foreign exchange students.

“Those internationals who chose to come to campus told us this was the better option for them than staying in their apartment in Paris or Madrid or wherever they’re from because they knew that the life at SUNY Oswego would be better and richer than what they had where they were,” McKeown said. “Our town, our region, our state, our country are made better because of that diversity and that viewpoint from other countries. To the extent that international students are educated here, many [choose] to stay here and start careers here, start or bring families here. It makes our communities stronger, more entrepreneurial, more vital and more competitive.”

While SUNY Oswego relies on local rules and regulations when receiving international students, the case differs if it were to send students abroad. In fact, when it comes to sending students to other countries, SUNY Oswego must be on par with SUNY standards.

The most popular study abroad destinations for SUNY Oswego students include Spain, France, Italy and the U.K., which are all labeled “Level 4” per the Centers for Disease C ontrol based on their COVID-19 health risk. That label comes partly due to the fact that the aforementioned nations have not met vaccination thresholds or are still in lockdowns.

“Within SUNY we have discussed this, we’re going to have to make sure students preparing to go abroad really understand the risks that they’re taking,” McKeown said. “In the past, there were always risks to traveling abroad, including health risks, but this vivid pointing experience that we’ve all just had, we need students to really verbalize and understand that ‘I may get to my study abroad destination and have to quarantine for 14 days,’ and make sure students understand the potential outcomes of traveling today.”

Similar to study abroad programs, international programs on-campus have experienced collateral damage from that shortage in the international student population.

The current circumstances have brought Hart Hall’s IST course to a stall. One of the contributing factors, Provost for Undergraduate and Special Programs Rameen Mohammadi said, had to do with running the program in the fall at one-third of its expected capacity.

“Not having international students at the levels we used to is a big part of that,” Mohammadi said. “We still don’t have clarity about international students coming next year. I think it was important to pause the IST program for this coming year, and we will revisit it next year.”

Holding events such as musical performances or author speeches over Zoom allows for a higher turnout, however, Mohammadi said holding these events virtually cannot replace the cultural transmission that takes place when held in-person.

“My colleagues’ intention is to continue to do global programming, and I also want to make sure that Hart Hall continues to be a welcoming place for international students, hoping that they can come,” Mohammadi said. “I was a former international student myself at another university, and I would have loved to have had a building like Hart Hall to live in, to share my culture and to learn about other people’s cultures from all over the world.”

While the fate of both study abroad programs and international programs on-campus in the short term may seem unclear, McKeown said the pandemic has opened the door to new opportunities, allowing for SUNY Oswego students to complete remote internships with international companies albeit physically located in Oswego.

“The pandemic required us to think more creatively and to think so quickly; now we have virtual internships in all the places where we have popular study abroad programs,” McKeown said. “I want to continue these remote internships or experiential opportunities even post-pandemic. There’s no reason a SUNY Oswego student for example couldn’t take four courses on campus but have a fifth course be an internship based in London or in Paris. I think we’re going to see those blends happening more.”

Similar to Mohammadi, in spite of the current circumstances, McKeown is hopeful for the future as it relates to study abroad programs and cultural richness for the SUNY Oswego community.

“I remember after Sept. 11, 2001, study abroad in a short-term declined a little bit, but it came back stronger than ever,” McKeown said. “There’s something about moments like this that reminds people how important it is to learn about the world. It sort of reminds us that this is a small world, and the more we know about it the better.”

Photo from Flickr