IFP Impact on International Student and Scholar Services at the University of Texas at Austin

Abstract

As a Strategic University Partner of the International Fellowships Program (IFP), the University of Texas at Austin hosted a total of 62 IFP Fellows from 15 countries. The impact that IFP and the individual Fellows had on the university was significant. IFP’s mandate challenged the university’s processes, pushed through barriers, and set a new course for how the International Student and Scholar Services unit views its role at the university. This chapter looks at both the operational and policy dimensions of UT Austin’s collaboration with the IFP. It also presents an in-depth case study of one Fellow’s experiences at the university, suggesting some of the complexities and nuances associated with integration of nontraditional groups of international students.

We came together, International Office staff and university faculty, for a celebratory dinner to mark our Fellow’s accomplishment of a master’s degree in the College of Education. It had been a remarkable two-year journey for everyone. We celebrated as she danced a traditional African dance in the middle of the restaurant. We must have made an impression. When we went to pay for the meal, the server informed us that it had already been paid for by an anonymous patron who was personally moved by watching our celebration. We then realized that the Fellows’ impact went much deeper than we could have ever imagined.¹