Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Abby Franchitti / With more international students coming to study in the institutions of higher education in the United States, it is essential to examine the infrastructure, support system, and cross-cultural awareness which currently exist within the campus community. Issues regarding internationalization face many institutions on both the micro and macro-level due to numerous variables including the lack of communication between departments, organizations, and offices on campus and an unguided direction of the goals and ambitions behind it. By looking at how the various stakeholders involved in internationalization are affected, possible solutions for academic institutions can be suggested. This report analyzes some of the ways in which the stress and workload often associated with internationalization can be alleviated in order facilitate a community which embraces diversity, and encourages mutual respect in an ever changing global society.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Nancy Muturi / Health disparities are prevalent among ethnic minorities, including immigrants in the United States. These disparities come in the form of low health insurance, low social economic status, ethnic discrimination, language and cultural barriers. As ethnic minorities, international students also suffer from numerous health problems that are associated with their lower social, economic and immigration status when they come to the United States. Health communication is an effective tool for increasing health literacy and for reducing health disparities. Applying the uses and gratification theory and the staged model of trust, the study was conducted among 120 American students and 135 international students to examine the extent to which access to health information, the type of information accessed, how they use it, and how they determine what trustworthy information is differed between the two groups. Key findings indicate that nutrition is the most common health topic accessed online by college students regardless of place of origin. Though both groups access online health information with the same motivation of information, they use online health information in different situations. Source credibility is the most important factor for college students in determining trustworthy health websites, and government websites and other health organization websites were found to be more trustworthy. The study also provides both theoretical and practical implications, which include consideration of ethnic backgrounds in disseminating health information through online channels and understanding the needs and motivation for people’s access to health information and how they use it to be able to meet those needs. In designing health communication campaigns that target college students, the study proposes that the differences between native-born and international students need to be taken into consideration.

The influx of international students attending American universities has put the U.S. at the forefront of international education, generating over $14.5 billion yearly. International students often face adjustment issues impacting their level of satisfaction with their experience. These involve oral language proficiency, as well as feelings of anxiety and isolation resulting from language deficiencies, which increase their feelings of marginality. Engaged learning, which is dependent on comprehension, is affected by the anxiety students bring to class. It is believed that coursecasts may alleviate anxiety, thus improving student engagement in learning. A pre-experimental research design investigates whether coursecasting mitigates feelings of marginalization and isolation, deficiencies in language comprehension and proficiency, and anxiety in international students. Research in the value of coursecasting has been anecdotal, and concrete evidence of its educational value is needed before its wide-spread adoption in educational settings (Elliot, King, & Scutter, 2009). Participants completed the Cultural Adjustment Difficulties Checklist (CADC) by Sodowsky and Lai (1997), the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986), the Self-Reported Fluency of English Scale (SRFES) by Yeh and Inose (2003), and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Listening portion. A pretest-posttest approach was chosen to evaluate the influence of podcasting within a naturalistic setting. The implications of the study were categorized into three areas. First, it provided insight into the barriers that negatively impact international student learning due to anxiety. Second, it identified methods of instruction, and issues that may have hindered international students from achieving at their highest level. Finally, it provided an opportunity to explore the educational effectiveness of a technology created for entertainment. Quantitative measures yielded no significance, so the null hypotheses were rejected. It was thought that these results were due to limited exposure to the coursecasting treatment. Their significance was further discussed by providing conclusions and implications. Recommendations for future research suggest replicating the study with a control group or administering the coursecasting treatment for a longer period of time. Suggestions for educators and educational institutions include requesting faculty and staff to identify specific ways to help this vulnerable population with their acculturation instead of waiting for them to ask for help. Although no significant impact could be established between available coursecasts and international students' perceptions of marginality and isolation, anxiety, and English language proficiency and comprehension, the findings regarding the analysis of the dependent variables seem to present interesting implications for education.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / As the first generation born after China introduced its "one-child policy," Chinese female students in the United States belong to a special population that is under the dual pressures of their parents' expectations to succeed and the conflicting traditional Chinese stereotypes of women as obedient to men, dependent, and home orientated. Previous research on Chinese female students' acculturative experiences indicates that these women face unique challenges in redefining their gender roles. However, no studies have explored whether womanist and acculturative processes are related to this psychological transition. The current study explored womanist identity and acculturation attitudes as processes influencing Chinese women's negotiations of their gender roles and redefinitions of themselves as women while living in the United States. Chinese female international students (N=192), enrolled in colleges or universities in the US, completed a demographic questionnaire; the Womanist Identity Attitude Scale (Helms, 1990), which assessed their manner of coping with traditional role expectations; and, the Acculturation Scale for Asian International Students (Gu, 2008), which measured acculturation attitudes. Their gender-role traits and stereotypical attitudes toward American women were examined by the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) (Bem, 1974) and Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS) (Spence, Helmrich, & Stapp, 1978). Canonical correlation analyses were used to investigate relationships among (a) womanist identity and acculturation attitudes, (b) womanist identity and gender-roles, and (c) acculturation attitudes and gender roles. Two identity-acculturation patterns, three identity-gender role patterns, and two acculturation-gender role patterns were identified. When the Chinese women were self-defining their gender-role identity, they were participating in U.S. culture and integrating traditional and non-traditional gender-role traits and attitudes. Traditional womanist attitudes were associated with increased levels of rejecting the U.S. culture, traditional gender roles, and perceived dissimilarities between themselves and U.S. women. The current study is the first to investigate gender-role and acculturation developmental issues of "One-Child" women from a psychological perspective. Obtained results suggest that their adaptive processes are more complex than anticipated. Methodological limitations of the study are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Celeste Wells / This essay investigates the experience of Latin American international students at Boston College (BC) and how their preconceived notions impact both their experience pre and post arrival to college. Boston College culture, language barriers, academic pressure, housing arrangements and American norms are all factors that fuel the identity crisis that Latin American students experience at Boston College. These factors either drive Latin American students to engage in Boston College culture or, on the contrary, impel students to isolate themselves from American culture and from befriending other Americans. As seen through the conversations with students, the latter experience can often lead to dissatisfied outlooks and the longing to return to the students’ host countries. This study highlights the thoughts and experiences of Latin American students at Boston College while also providing solutions on how to improve the International Assistant Program (IAP) at Boston College. The solutions put forward in this study aim to encourage other universities across the globe to improve their immersion programs so that the needs of international students can be met. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Arts and Sciences Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication.

This thesis is exploratory in nature and examines the perspective of graduate and undergraduate matriculating international students at the University of Oregon as they consider, prepare for, reflect on, and participate- or not- in study abroad programs. The three-phase model design of this study assesses the opportunities, obstacles and resources international students experience as they consider or do not consider studying abroad by analyzing online survey responses from University of Oregon graduate and undergraduate international students; quantitative data sets; semi-structured interviews with University of Oregon graduate and undergraduate international students, as well as with staff members from the Office of International Affairs. International student areas of opportunities include receiving academic credit towards degree; practicing a language abroad; learning about new cultures; and developing new friendships. The challenges include difficulty in academic planning; limited financial resources; lack of family approval or support; and having to make difficult decisions between going abroad or visiting home. International student resources include major applicable coursework that is only open through specific study abroad programs; some available funding; and receiving practical support from staff members at the Office of International Affairs on campus. Recommendations include how international educators may be more inclusive and more sensitive to international students needs and challenges as they consider study abroad.

The thesis takes a reflexive feminist and sensory approach in examining the transnational practices and feelings of cultural familiarity that embody international student migrants, as well as the spatial and social implications of shared kitchen environments. Empirically, the research is based in participatory cook- and eat-along interviews, and a focus group dinner session with six student participants, situating both the researcher and the participants within the sensorial realm of food practices during the fieldwork. The thesis discusses the compromises and negotiations that food practices undergo through material accessibility, geographical knowledges and expectations in crosscultural interactions, causing reconstructions and reinterpretations of daily routines and transnational feelings. Further, the thesis engages reflexively with the embodied situatedness of the researcher and its influence on the results produced throughout the research process. The research highlight the importance of a reflexive approach in sensorial research and emphasize how the sensorial perspective on mundane everyday practices contribute to an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of migrants. The research findings in relation to the methodological approach, suggest benefits in further fieldwork with an interactive approach of cooking and eating simultaneously to the reflexive interview interaction.

Thesis advisor: Johannes de Wit / While internationalization in higher education is widely documented, little research has been conducted on how internationalization efforts at the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States have been operated. Through three exploratory case studies at Boston College, Saint Louis University, and the University of San Francisco, administrators, faculty members, and students were interviewed to address questions of rationales, strategies, outcomes with respect to internationalization, in relation to the Jesuit mission. Information from institutional websites and Jesuit documents served to round out the analysis of global engagement at Jesuit higher education institutions in the United States. Informed by the literature, the study draws on data collected from the 24 semi-structured interviews including individual and focus groups of international and study-abroad students. The study employs the conceptual framework of three pillars of internationalization at home, abroad, and through partnerships, provided by De Wit, Howard, Egron-Polak, & Hunter (2015). The findings show the growth of Jesuit institutions in the United States in the number of their internationals students, more concentration on global curricula, more opportunities for study abroad, and promotion of international partnerships. However, the study illustrates that Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States are still more regional or national institutions and are involved in internationalization at a preliminary stage of the process with ad hoc and fragmented strategic plans. The thesis ends with recommendations for more global collaboration and frequent assessment among Jesuit entities in order to sustain their operation and continually pursue the international mission of their Jesuit tradition, for a more balanced approach between the business/reputation model and the mission model, for more faculty and international students support, and for more attention to international alumni. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the stressors that Saudi students experience while studying in the United States and their impact on academic performance. The study found a considerable amount of stress as a consequence of cultural differences, lack of social integration, the academic environment, and inadequate orientation. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended several strategies for improving the experiences of Saudi students at American universities. These recommendations include better interactions between the staff/administrators and students, more social events for the Saudi students and their families, and more opportunities to interact with American fellows inside and outside the classroom. The researcher also recommends that colleges and universities improve the relevance of course and program assignments for the Saudi students as well as the administrative support, mentoring relationships, and orientation programs they provide to these students.

Negli ultimi dieci anni, il numero di studenti internazionali è aumentato drasticamente presso istituzioni universitarie di tutto il mondo. Questo aumento della presenza di studenti internazionali nei campus universitari ha portato nuove responsabilità e sfide nel fornire servizi di supporto efficaci per la comunità internazionale. Mentre molte istituzioni hanno sviluppato programmi curriculari ed extra-curriculari per supportare gli studenti in modo generico, non tutti i servizi vengono pianificati per soddisfare specificamente le esigenze degli studenti internazionali. Questa tesi valuta il grado in cui gli studenti internazionali sono soddisfatti con i servizi di supporto ed altri aspetti della loro esperienza universitaria, in particolare nel loro arrivo, nell’apprendimento e negli ambienti di vita. Contemporanemente, la tesi produce una ricerca sulla relazione tra le aspettative degli studenti e i consigli e raccomandazioni delle loro università. Utilizzando i dati dell’ International Student Barometer di i-graduate, i metodi di ricerca valutativa e quantitativa hanno esaminato l'esperienza di oltre 45.000 studenti universitari internazionali in 96 diverse università e istituzioni in Australia, nel Regno Unito (UK) e negli Stati Uniti (USA). I risultati di numerose analisi statistiche hanno dimostrato che tutti i quattro parametri della soddisfazione sono stati positivamente associati all'esperienza universitaria complessiva degli studenti e ai consigli della loro attuale università. Ulteriori analisi hanno confermato quali variabili di soddisfazione sono risultate negli aspetti più significativi dell'esperienza universitaria di studenti internazionali e quali variabili hanno influenzato maggiormente i consigli universitari. Questo studio empirico fornisce considerazioni chiave per amministratori universitari, professionisti e ricercatori su come allocare al meglio le risorse per sostenere e, allo stesso tempo, migliorare l'esperienza degli studenti internazionali, facendo in modo di sviluppare strategie di iscrizioni e mantenimento sempre più efficaci. / The number of international students has increased dramatically over the last decade at institutions of higher education around the world. This added presence of international students on university campuses has evidently brought a whole new set of responsibilities and challenges for providing effective support services to that community. While many institutions have developed curricular and extracurricular programs to support students in general, not all services are designed to specifically cover the needs of international students. This study evaluates the degree to which international students are satisfied with support services as well as other aspects of their university experience, namely in their arrival, learning, and living environments, while also investigating the relationship between student satisfaction and institutional recommendation for prospective applicants. Using data from i-graduate’s International Student Barometer, quantitative survey research methods evaluated the experience of over 45,000 degree-seeking, undergraduate international students at 96 different institutions in Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Multiple regression analyses indicated that all four dimensions of satisfaction were positively associated with students' overall university experience and the recommendation of their current institution. Further analyses revealed which satisfaction variables were the most significant aspects of the international student experience, and which ones influenced institutional recommendation the most. This empirical study provides key considerations for university administrators, practitioners, and researchers on how resources might best be allocated to support and enhance the experience of international students, leading to more effective institutional recruitment and retention strategies.