The Challenges International Students Face

The number of international students enrolled in American college and universities is at a near record level. There were 582,984 foreign students in 2006, only 3,339 fewer than the highest number ever recorded.

The largest sending countries are India, China, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Indeed, 59 percent of all international students come from Asia; Latin America provides 11 percent, Africa, 6 percent, and the Middle East, 4 percent. The institutions with the highest number of international students are Southern Cal, Columbia, NYU, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Texas, UCLA, Harvard, and Boston University.

Columbia has approximately 6,000 international students, who make up nearly a quarter of the institution's enrollment.

In addition to facing all of the problems that every student faces in adjusting to college and graduate school, international students face additional challenges. International students vary widely in their proficiency in English. Many face visa issues, experience financial anxieties, and must meet very high expectations from family or their government.

It is especially important to remember that many international students come from societies that have different understandings of what constitutes appropriate student behavior. Many are unfamiliar with U.S. educational rules, expectations, and practices, including rules about academic honesty or testing and grading practices. Many come from societies that do not emphasize classroom discussion or do not have distribution requirements. It is essential that you make your expectations explicit.

Academic Honesty: Define cheating and plagiarism and ask to see assignments at various stages of development. Explicitly teach proper methods of documentation and citation.

Assignments: Spell out clearly what you expect students to produce.

Classroom Etiquette: Discuss your policy about absences, arriving to class late or leaving early, forms of address, and polite and rude behavior.

Discussion: Explain the value of discussions, the groundrules for discussion, and how participation will be evaluated. Make it clear that the input of quiet students is valuable and welcome.

Grading: Provide students with a percentage breakdown of the weight assigned to components of the class.