International Student Engagement: Closing Gaps and Internationalizing Student Affairs

Abstract

International students are an important presence on U.S. campuses today; however, many student affairs professionals and institutions struggle to engage international students in campus life. This study explored the co-curricular engagement of international students to investigate what motivates students to get involved, how they choose their engagement opportunities, and what inhibitors or barriers they perceive as they consider their engagement. Using data collected through focus group participation, we found that international students may face challenges in making sense of involvement in the U.S. context. Additionally, international students may face challenges to involvement that are culturally centric and different from their U.S. peers. With these findings in mind, we challenge student affairs professionals to redefine involvement to be more interculturally competent, taking into consideration differences in social and cultural capital among students and better understanding the international student experience. Additionally, we encourage student affairs professionals to move from proactive to reactive approaches in engaging international students. We end this article with recommendations for campus-based practitioners to include international students when designing inclusive environments for campus involvement.

Keywords

• international students
• campus involvement
• student affairs
• intercultural competency