The impact of international students on the university work environment: a comparative study of a Canadian and a Danish university

Abstract

Increasingly students want to go abroad to study – to further their knowledge of English, experience a new culture and cultivate skills. Universities have been actively courting these students, sometimes without regard to their impact on responsibilities of heads of department, secretaries and support staff. Much is written on the intercultural aspects of the international teaching and learning environment, but almost nothing has appeared on the impact of international students on the university work environment, so it is necessary and opportune to discover what is being done, where problems lie and what could be improved. Based on a survey of lecturers and frontline administrative staff, this paper explores workplace perceptions of different cultural discourses, intercultural practices and relations among international students, academics and administrative staff in two universities in Canada and Denmark chosen to explore differences between Europe and North America. For the most part, academics and support staff all think that internationalization has brought many benefits to the university: intercultural diversity and awareness, strong work ethic and study habits, intellectual curiosity and a more interesting social environment. They also note problems of proficiency in English, culture clashes inside and outside the classroom and higher dropout rates, depression and anxiety.