International Student Persistence at a Faith-Based Institution

A REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PERSISTENCE AT A FAITH-BASED INSTITUTION

We as a country are constantly working on increasing diversity in our colleges and university campuses to increase access and diversify International student enrollments, more research must examine the experiences of specific student populations and at specific institutions, particularly as these relate to student success in terms of persistence.

By the same token, additional research is needed that examines factors affecting persistence beyond the first year. The study contributes to the collected works by focusing on student experiences beyond the first year and at a particular type of institution. The findings partly support prevailing persistence theories, though in unexpected ways. Central findings indicate that international student persistence could be improved by increasing vision, validation, and spiritual engagement. Creating a campus climate that enhances these factors demonstrates how institutions can change to support diversity.

International students offer a number of advantages to U.S. institutions of higher education. They not only contribute $13.5 billion annually (Chin & Bhandari, 2006) to institutions and their host communities, but also valuable educational benefits.

The participation of international students in higher education potentially broadens the views of domestic students; promotes intercultural understanding; creates lasting friendships, business partnerships, and political allies; and provides much-needed teaching and research assistants (NAFSA, 2003).

Although a number of studies address international students ‘adjustment needs, little information is available regarding factors influencing their persistence.

The research was conducted by submitting several words that match the criteria of the information being researched. My findings included several articles using the experiment type research method in which researchers can create special treatments and...