Staff Support for ELA Students: Experiencing U. S. Colleges

By Karin Fischer, The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 19, 2014
Summary:
This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education by Karin Fischer examines the results of two recent studies on international student retention in higher education. In general, very little research has been done in this area even though many colleges and universities across the country have seen rapid increases in the number of international students attending. The first study looks at what influences student retention among international undergraduates at institutions in the mid-west. In the study, one significant outcome (one of statistical significance according to the researcher) is that course load, GPA and on-campus work opportunities play a role in a student’s desire to stay more than other factors such as prior learning or campus extracurricular involvement. The second half of the article focuses on a study about staff and faculty training needed to support international students. College and universities acknowledge that international student need specialized support, but they do not necessarily have that special support in place at their institutions. The article concludes with a remark from Kent State University’s director of international programs and services, “The best recruitment strategy is the best retention strategy,” (qtd. in Fischer).

Fischer, Karin. The Chronicle of Higher Education. May 29, 2011

By Beth McMurtrie, The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 28, 2009

Bifuh-Ambe, Elizabeth. "POSTSECONDARY LEARNING: Recognizing the Needs of English Language Learners in Mainstream University Classrooms." Multicultural Education 18.3 (2011): 13-9. ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.

By Elizabeth Redden, Inside Higher Ed, January 12, 2016
SUMMARY:
Elizabeth Redden’s article from Inside Higher Ed examines both the benefits and the challenges of significant international student growth on a community college campus. Green River Community College (GRCC), which ranks 10th for most international students in a U.S. community college, is the focus of the article. International student growth at GRCC is particularly complex because its faculty has been working without a contract since 2014 and has twice given a vote of no-confidence to their president. Further, unlike other programs on campus, the international program reports to the president, instead of to faculty, and this has created additional tension between faculty and the administration.

In terms of the overall impact of GRCC’s large international student population, there are benefits and challenges. One benefit, as the GRCC president sees it, involves giving local students more experience in working with internationals and communicating across cultural and linguistic barriers. Further, the writer does not ignore the financial benefit of high international student numbers on campus. While domestic enrollment is in decline across the country in community colleges, the surge in international student enrollment seems to counter the fiscal loss of collecting domestic students’ tuition. On the other hand, concerns about the increased number of international students on Green River campus include faculty confidence in international students’ college reading/writing readiness in English (with the suggestion of raising the prerequisite courses in the social sciences, for instance). Many are also concerned that seats reserved for incoming international students means less seats for domestic students who do not get the “cadillac” treatment (Redden).The balance of serving international and domestic student needs is very complicated.

Rosenthal, Judith W. "A Successful Transition." College Teaching 40.2 (1992): 63. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.