NIU looking to attract international students

DEKALB, Ill. — Northern Illinois University is making an effort to attract more international students.

“We believe higher education fails a student if we do not provide the global competencies,” said Raymond Alden, the school’s new vice president of international affairs. “Even if you never leave this country, corporations expect their rising leaders to have global perspectives.”

NIU has about 820 international students, and they often pay about double in tuition costs compared with in-state residents, The Daily Chronicle in DeKalb reported.

This February two NIU graduates who are with a Malaysian government program plan to visit to discuss bringing Malaysian freshmen to NIU.

Students from other countries also get support from a nonprofit group called Network of Nations. The group provides transition help and holds weekly meetings at a DeKalb church.

Chinese student Jingbo Han graduated from NIU with a master’s degree in electrical engineering. Han said he loved attending NIU.

“The university provides everything you need,” he said. “As long as you want to learn, you can have everything you want.”