New Conversation: Linguistic Access to Higher Education
“Sometimes you have to push things along” – Linguistic Access to Higher Education
A Conversation with Marleen Whiteley
In October 2023, JPHE Senior Editor Z.W. Taylor spoke with Marleen Whiteley, a Senior Project Manager working for the Swedish Council for Higher Education. In this Conversation, Marleen described the Swedish-English higher education dictionary she helps manage, which provides standardized terminology translations to help international students and educators. We discussed how the United States (U.S.) lacks centralized resources like this, but it could help democratize information for first-generation and non-English speaking students. We agreed starting small by translating basic admissions and financial aid terminology could help lower access barriers in the U.S. and across the world.
Zach Taylor:
Tell me a little bit about yourself. Who are you? What is your job title? And then a little bit of your education background - where did you get your degrees and what in?
Marleen Whiteley:
I'm living in Sweden, as you know, but I'm from the U.S. I am from New York State and grew up there. I went to college at a university called Alfred University in Western New York in the 1980s and early 1990s. I have a bachelor's degree in English and psychology, but I worked as a resident director and loved it so much that I decided student administration and student care were my interests. So, I have a master's degree in student administration, which leaves you open to working in all areas outside of the classroom at a university - financial aid, admissions, career counseling - everything. I worked in various roles at colleges in New York and then met a Swede and moved to Sweden in 1997. I used my English background quite a bit for a while because having an English education is a big deal here. I worked at an international school and then a job opened up at a public authority looking for someone with admissions and student experience but also English, and that was me. So, I started to work at what was called the Swedish Council for Higher Education in 2009, mainly in international communication. Our public authority has joined with others over the last 14 years, but I've stayed involved with the Swedish-English dictionary that had started under the previous agency. I mostly worked on translating for the dictionary after starting at the Council. I've always found it exciting to combine my language background with my love of higher education, so working on the dictionary has been a perfect match.
Zach Taylor:
That is very unlike anything in the United States. There are several access organizations like the National College Access Network, and professional organizations like NASPA and ACPA. There are also for-profit entities like the College Board and ACT, and places like Pearson Testing that provide some college knowledge and access programming. But there is no state-sponsored, federally sponsored higher education dictionary, especially a bilingual one. That's unique. The U.S. Department of Education is the federal governing body but tell me about the Swedish Council for Higher Education and their work.
Marleen Whiteley:
Sweden only has around 10.6 million people and around 40 higher education institutions, so it's easier to coordinate these kinds of tasks. When we first got the dictionary task, it was to help promote internationalization. Sweden had more international students and needed to coordinate how we discuss higher education, which is easier in a small country. The Swedish Council for Higher Education, under our current structure since 2013, provides information prior to higher education studies on our website Studera.nu to inspire and help people from all backgrounds access higher education. We also help them make informed choices by providing information on different courses and programs. We coordinate the admissions process for Sweden's higher education institutions through websites like Antagning.se and Universityadmissions.se where people can see all available programs and apply. We have admissions officers who do an initial eligibility check, then the universities take over. We publish admissions results, develop, and manage IT systems and electronic services, and coordinate a database of grades so applicants' information transfers electronically. We facilitate EU programs like Erasmus Plus, help people find jobs in the EU, and compare international qualifications to the Swedish system. We are very positive about immigration and help many each year understand how their previous studies translate here.
Zach Taylor:
That's very interesting. Unlike the U.S., those application systems are private, for-profit companies here. Some states have systems for their public universities, like ApplyTexas, but nothing federally standardized and centralized like Sweden's. It's amazing for students to only need one profile and application. Very different from the competition-driven U.S. system where schools open and close based on recruitment. Sweden takes a much more democratic approach with pooled resources, so everyone wins when a student enrolls anywhere. Getting back to the dictionary, how do you prioritize which words to include when terms fall in and out of use constantly? How is new terminology adopted and standardized across schools?
Marleen Whiteley:
We have a main dictionary group to understand the Swedish terms before translating them. We have representatives from different departments at the Council, a quality assurance agency, and a higher education institution. I'm there for the translations - I have to know the Swedish meanings first. We meet early each year to decide which new words to add based on website searches, requests from universities and our translation group, and terms we've identified as needing definitions. My translation group of five university translators meets several times to discuss the terms and translations. In September, our reference group of representatives from each university reviews the list, gives feedback, and takes it back to their experts. Their official responses help us finalize the terms and translations. The whole process takes a year. We publish the new terms in December but aren't very good at marketing, unfortunately. It's been more word-of-mouth. We should promote the dictionary more since people are always excited when they discover it. We're a small country wanting to coordinate terminology for internationalization. The universities work together instead of competing. We want people to find the same terms and translations everywhere to write theses, for example, using agreed-upon vocabulary. We have around 1,750-1,800 terms now.
Zach Taylor:
It's interesting that so many collaborate but how do high school students, parents, and counselors learn about it?
Marleen Whiteley:
Sweden's much smaller scale makes outreach easier. Most high school students know our Studera.nu website, which we run in multiple languages. We use proper terminology there for applying to university, so students get what they need. Our application website provides the terminology too. We're lucky we can coordinate it centrally at the Council and encourage universities to use the dictionary for clear, consistent language. Their websites must also follow our "plain language" law requiring clear communication from public authorities, and most universities are public. We provide tools to help them improve their English to represent Sweden well to applicants. We haven't focused on high school students specifically, so I'm not sure if they use the dictionary. You've given me something to think about.
Zach Taylor:
In the U.S., first-generation students often lack networks steering them to resources like this. I was a college counselor and didn't know about or share our federal financial aid dictionary. A student wanted to attend law school but was confused when I said, "Michigan undergrad." He was a fourth-generation college student yet unfamiliar with that terminology. So, resources don't always reach students assumed to know them.
Marleen Whiteley:
Presenting the dictionary as a helpful tool instead of a demand may work better. Our group feels ownership and spreads the word. Focusing on the benefits like recruiting international students economically motivates simplified, translated resources. The U.S. is difficult with factors like English-only attitudes. You have to explain why Spanish is useful when people won't disappear. Education should be for all. But it starts with hiring diverse staff to lower access barriers. I'd prioritize translating admissions and financial aid terminology first so students can complete initial processes and establish an institutional relationship. Once enrolled, schools have communication strategies to support students. It's getting over the initial terminology hurdles that prevents access.
Zach Taylor:
I agree completely. Giving them that starting map is crucial. Standardized terminology should be mandated for federal aid participation. Despite the 2010 Plain Writing Act, there are no consequences for inaccessible language. Losing accreditation or federal aid eligibility would motivate compliance. Or start small with a terminology guide widget all websites could embed. If the guidance is standardized everywhere, it helps no matter where students look first.
Marleen Whiteley:
Sometimes you have to push things along, don't you? But starting small like that with a consistent, shareable resource could work.
Zach Taylor:
You're right, it has to start somewhere. Appreciate you bringing your unique binational perspective on this.
