Country’s biculturalism attracting US students – Education NZ

American universities increasingly see New Zealand as a good place to send students to study diversity and indigenous issues, Education New Zealand says.

The organisation’s director of engagement, North America, DuBois Jennings said New Zealand’s reputation in the US had changed in recent years and there was scope for growth as this country reopened its borders to foreign students.

Jennings said, prior to the pandemic, attempts to promote New Zealand as a study destination were often met by the response “we already send students to Australia, why would we send them to New Zealand?”

Education New Zealand was trying to widen New Zealand’s appeal to American students beyond its scenery and landscapes to its rich bicultural experience, he said.

“There’s a perception in the US that New Zealand is seen as really progressive in this space particularly in regards to the relationship between the Crown, government and Māori,” he said.

“These questions of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion are a very hot topic in academia and international education. The Ivies [Ivy League universities], from the state institutions to small private liberal arts colleges, all of them are engaging with this.”

Dubois Jennings says the country’s bicultural experience is a selling point.
Photo: RNZ / John Gerritsen

Jennings said Education New Zealand had a focus on attracting more US students from under-represented and historically marginalised groups, many of whom had a particular interest in studying issues related to diversity and indigenous people’s rights.

Education New Zealand said 3009 US students studied in New Zealand in 2019 before pandemic-related border restrictions severely disrupted enrolments.

Jennings said most US students in New Zealand enrolled in one-semester study abroad programmes from their home universities but he hoped more would enrol in a full degree.

Otago University
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

“I talked to quite a few counsellors who said ‘oh we have a few students here and there but we don’t think the message is out for them or that they understand that they could do a full degree in another country’. So we see a big growth opportunity in full-degree in the US,” he said.

Jennings said the pandemic seemed to have made American students more interested in studying in other countries.

“You know you tell a teenager, a 19-year-old, they can’t do something what are they going to want to do? So I hear that kind of feedback and even among high school counsellors who recruit for college they’re finding students are going farther from home and I’m hearing the same thing from study abroad advisors and international educators that that demand is there and students are just waiting for borders to reopen,” he said.

However, he said it was too early to tell how quickly enrolments would bounce back.

“The recruitment period right now, especially for study abroad, applications are coming in at the moment and I hear various things from our partners – half of pre-pandemic numbers, at pre-pandemic numbers. It will all really flesh itself out when the semester starts.”

“The United States is so big, there’s so many opportunities out there… with more people on the ground there the possibilities are endless I think, there is a lot of potential for growth in the US.”

Education New Zealand manukura Māori, Ed Tuari, said relationships were the key to attracting foreign students interested in indigenous issues.

“It’s really about people-to-people and people-to-place,” he said.

“Universities to universities, indigenous to indigenous, wananga to universities, right across the scope with the intent of building enduring relationships.”

Tuari said there were already good links between Native American and Māori education providers and he expected they would grow.