This spring, the Internationalization Inquiry published an interim report that we commented on in a series of blog posts. At the end of October, the investigation came up with its final reportAn important part of the investigation has dealt with tuition fees for third-country students, which we highlighted in a debate articleAnother important part of the investigation, which we now think is time to comment on, concerns the obstacles for international students to engage in student influence.
The right of students to influence is central to the Swedish higher education system, and is established in the Higher Education Act as an introductory provision. Student influence is also highlighted in the Prague Communiqué of the Bologna Process in 2001. There are several reasons why influence is important, but when the current provisions were written into the Higher Education Act, the justification began with the statement that “students’ involvement in and influence over the activities of the higher education institution is of great importance for the quality of education” (Government Bill 1999/2000:260). Students are in the best position to discover what works well or poorly in the education, and therefore the students’ perspective is indispensable for continued development. But being a co-actor and co-creator in one’s own activities is also highlighted as a valuable component of education, an experience for future working life.
In its final report, the Internationalization Inquiry has asked the student unions how they view the situation, what opportunities and obstacles exist for involving international students in monitoring and developing the programs. It is clear that most student unions want to involve foreign students more than today. The inquiry identifies a number of factors that can be developed within the framework of the current regulations. Sometimes it may be a matter of the union finding new ways, in other places it is a matter of getting the university on board. However, it seems that there are obstacles that the unions and the universities themselves cannot overcome.
We already wrote last spring that language is a major obstacle. The state universities and colleges are authorities and must therefore use Swedish in certain contexts, for example in decision-making. This of course makes it difficult for students who do not speak Swedish to participate in decision-making. The internationalization inquiry already proposed last spring that the universities should be allowed to use other languages, which SFS considers to be a good idea. The inquiry's conclusion is that language is still the biggest obstacle. However, the conditions for using languages other than Swedish vary: At some universities, English already dominates, at others it is hardly used at all. At some student unions, or at least with regard to certain assignments, work is also included towards municipalities or other partners that can be difficult to conduct in languages other than Swedish.
But the investigation also highlights another problem in its final report: That exchange students at Swedish universities and colleges do not have the right to influence or representation. The Higher Education Ordinance defines a student as those who have been admitted to the education. However, exchange students are admitted by a higher education institution in their home country and are given access to the education in Sweden through an exchange agreement. They are not covered by the ordinary admission rules and are therefore not considered admitted, and thus not students. Since exchange students are technically not considered students, they are denied the rights that students usually have. This applies, among other things, to the right to influence and representation. Please note that the majority of all international students are exchange students.
In other words, not even half of the international students have the right to influence and representation. This is despite the fact that exchange students have different experiences of education and a different understanding, which can shed light on education in Sweden from new perspectives. This could contribute a lot to developing education. But the legislation is designed in such a way that influence is difficult.
As for representation, other students have the right to be represented when the university makes important decisions. This right is realized through the student unions or other elected representatives. However, the unions' mission only includes representing those who are students within the meaning of the law. The student unions are certainly active and contribute to the development of programs where exchange students also participate. Many unions also organize special activities for international students, where exchange students are also welcome. However, these are often voluntary tasks for the unions to undertake, and their conditions and the support from the universities for this vary. For example, most unions receive support based on the number of students they represent, and this means that some student unions do not receive any compensation at all for students who are not counted as students. On programs with many exchange students, the unions therefore receive disproportionately little support. This is backwards, considering that the student unions create value for the exchange students at the same time that the exchange students create value for the programs – two factors that in the long run also increase the attractiveness for the university.
Student unions that want to increase engagement among their foreign students can find useful advice in the ninth chapter of the final report. The same applies to higher education institutions. The investigation recommends that higher education institutions, together with student unions, develop forms of student influence, so that international students have better opportunities to participate. But in addition, the government should ensure that the unions have the resources to represent everyone who studies at our higher education institutions. This requires legislation that recognizes exchange students as students.