Best Practices in Recruiting and Retaining International Students in the U.S.

Abstract

The number of international students on U.S. campuses is steadily increasing, and the prospect of the numbers increasing is in the forecast. According to Open Doors report (2012) the number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 5% to 764,495 during the 2011/12 academic year. Altbach (1991) argued that international students are “among the most important and visible elements of internationalism” (p. 305). This research intended to identify the best practices in recruiting and retaining international students through learning the best practices of the select U.S. institutions with the largest number of international students on their campuses. Findings indicated that the key when recruiting and retaining international students is the ability “to relate and communicate effectively when individuals involved in the interaction do not share the same culture, ethnicity, language, or other salient variables” (Hains, Lynch, & Winton, 2000, p. 2). Presence of international students on U.S. campuses is significant and the institutions surveyed are providing the best services that they can to make these students feel welcome. However, international students are not simply recipients of services provided to them by these institutions but rather are partners both benefiting from this exchange.

Keywords

• international education
• internationalization
• student recruitment
• retention