MSU is a great place to be an international student. It is the national leader in study abroad among American public universities, has an ever-increasing international presence with about 4,000 students enrolled from 131 countries and is augmenting its international profile with the opening of MSU in Dubai this August.

More than half of these international students are graduates, many of whom choose to leave their home country and study at MSU because of its global reputation as an institution where international students are welcomed and valued. Many of these international students are relying on their half— or quarter-time appointments as teaching assistants to survive. Therefore, when MSU’s endowment increases by 19 percent in one year, when tuition is increased by 9.6 percent and when other MSU employees, including President Lou Anna K. Simon, all receive a pay increase, it is a kick in the teeth to international graduate students, as well as to MSU’s reputation as a global leader for international study. Teaching assistants at MSU, many of whom are international graduate students, have been offered a 0 percent pay increase during the next four years.