Expatriate Workers in International Higher Education

Demographic and Career Trends of Expatriate Student Affairs Professionals

“…Prior research focusing on SIE student affairs professionals demonstrates the challenging and enriching experiences of expatriate student affairs professionals (Cicchetti & Park, 2018;Roberts, 2015;Stensberg et al, 2016;Witkowsky, 2020;Witkowsky et al, 2021), which survey respondents validated as they viewed the opportunity to develop professionally to enhance their career trajectory as one of their major motivations for working abroad. SIE student affairs professionals take personal and professional risks to pursue opportunities abroad, but they view those risks as worthwhile in their overall student affairs career.…”

“…Projections based on initial research about the experience working abroad in student affairs indicate that these opportunities will continue to expand (Cai & Hall, 2016;Witkowsky, 2020;Yakaboski & Perozzi, 2018) despite the challenges with global movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, research focusing on U.S.-educated student affairs professionals abroad only began recently (Cicchetti & Park, 2018;Roberts, 2015;Stensberg et al, 2016;Witkowsky, 2020;Witkowsky et al, 2021), so little is known about this population of professionals, and hence, there is much to explore related to this population of professionals.…”

Staffing for Success

“…These workers can provide ideas and promising practices in developing the institution's perspective with regard to its student affairs and services offerings. A key element is for those originating from a Western perspective to be cognizant of cultural nuance and mores, and keep context in mind for programs and services that make sense for that particular institution (Roberts, ).…”

“…Either example requires cross‐cultural competency at varying levels of comparative norms, economics, social and family relationships, governmental systems, and working environments. Roberts () notes that due to the adoption and adaptation of Western higher educational practices in emerging international higher education centers, educators in the West are often tapped for their expertise in developing educational initiatives. However, notable attention and caution must be given in this process to grow authentic, local educational endeavors as opposed to replicated Western ideologies and interpretations of higher education.…”

“…To provide services that support student needs, understanding the local and regional context is critical. The vision of serving students must meet cultural expectations, which can lead to a dichotomy of values in cross‐border efforts and multi‐campus institutions specifically (Roberts, ). Where student affairs and services is not an established profession, this dichotomy and potential for misunderstanding can be further exacerbated.…”