International Student SuccessDominica Patterson

University of Southern CaliforniaDr. Melora Sundt

Numbers

• In March 2012, the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Agency reported 879,000 nonimmigrant international students enrolled in US educational programs

• Of these students 75% were enrolled at the postsecondary level

Enrollment By Degree Level

• 274,000 international students are in bachelor’s programs

• 210,200 are in master’s programs

• 122,000 are in doctoral programs

• The remainder are in associate’s programs

Highest Enrollment by Institution

• USC leads the national in highest international student enrollment for the 12th year

• University of Illinois at Urbana- Campaign ranked 2nd and Purdue University ranked 3rd

General Consensus

• Although international student enrollment is increasing they make up only 4% of student population at postsecondary institutions

• International students “must” be well prepared as they typically represent the educated elite of their nations

The International Student Perspective

• But what about international student engagement in and understanding of American Culture and curriculum?

Unique Issues

• English is a second language for a majority of international students

Andrade and Evans (2009)

Unique Issues

• Learning environment paradigm shiftExample: Shift from Chinese learning environment to U.S. learning environment

• Culture shock

Classroom Behaviors

• A number of international students are silent during class discussions (cultural and/or language related)

• Other issues stemming from language trouble include writing essays and finishing tests on time

WITHDRAWING

FEELING INADEQUATE

MISUNDERSTOODHOMESICK

LOW SELF-ESTEEM

International Graduate Students

• Research has either focused solely on international undergraduate students or does not distinguish between the two

• Should be viewed separately as college entrance requirements vary and the course load is compounded

Lack of International Student Specific Programming

• Despite the growing number of international graduate students, most colleges and universities have limited to no services and policies to support their unique needs

A Shared Responsibility

• The burden should not only be on international centers.

• Programming for undergraduate students (international or not) should be extended to international graduate students

Educating Professors

• For example: Professors should seek to discover Chinese culture and new perspectives from Chinese students.

• Professors should be cognizant of the language they use (colloquialisms, jokes, slang expressions, etc.)

Educating the General Student Population

• “Microagressions” experienced in and outside of the classroom

Retention Rates?

• With the number of challenges international students face, what are their retention rates?

• There is a major issue in that concern seems to be how many international students are coming to study in the U.S. and not how successful they are once they arrive

Lack of Data

• International student retention statistics are not typically provided in government higher education reports

• Not even the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors provides information on international student achievement

• Some data suggests that international students seem to persist through the first year in college at about the same rate as the general university population at 80.2%

• Six-year graduation rates are about the same at 58.7%

Note to Professors, Staff, & Administrators

• Not to overgeneralize

• Understanding the (general) unique issues faced by international students can provide a framework for developing programs to aid in their overall success

Future Research

• TOEFL scores

• Distinguishing international undergraduate and graduate students

• Retention rates among international students

References

Andrade, M. S., Evans, N. W., (2009). International students: strengthening a critical resource. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.Balassone, M. (2013, November 11). USC leads nation in international students for 12th year. USC News. Retrieved from http://news.usc.edu/#!/article/57207/usc-leads-nation-in- international-students-for-12th-year-2/ Ee, J., (2013). “He’s and idiot!” Experiences of international students in the United States. Journal of International Students, 3 (1), 72-75.Jackson, M., Ray, S., Bybell, D., (2013). International students in the U.S.: social and psychological adjustment. Journal of International Students, 3 (1), 17-28. Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, Ji., Schuh, J. H., Whitt, E. J., and associates. Student success in college: creating conditions that matter. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Kuo, Y., (2011). Language challenges faced by international graduate students in the United States. Journal of International Students, 1 (2), 38- 42.Rawlings, M., Sue, E. (2013). Preparedness of Chinese students for American culture and communication in English. Journal of International Students, 3 (1), 29-40. Ren, J., Hagedorn, L. S. (2012). International graduate students’ academic performance: what are the influencing factors? Journal of International Students, 2 (2), 135-143.Roy, S. R. (2013). Educating Chinese, Japanese, and Korean international students: recommendations to American professors. Journal of International Students, 3 (1), 10-16.