The May 2023 announcement from the Office of the United States Surgeon General that loneliness and a sense of isolation had become a veritable epidemic across vast swaths of the population demands a renewed focus on the entirety of the international student experience lifecycle. Personal observations, talking to friends and colleagues in the international higher education space, and delving into recent thought leadership on the issue only confirmed my suspicion: International students, often far from home and disconnected both from familiar social networks and cultural norms, are disproportionally affected by issues of mental health.

I am certainly not the first to state that we, as international educators, need to acknowledge and tackle issues that arise from isolation and disconnect. But our efforts require a much broader perspective than a focus on mental health alone.

The Recruitment Conundrum

With increasing opportunities for overseas students to study at institutions outside the global north, it is now paramount to ensure that the realities of campus life and the support mechanisms for international students live up to the rhetoric and promises made during the recruitment process. This is of particular importance when colleges and universities outsource their efforts to international recruitment agencies, as is common practice in many places beyond the United States. When the agenda behind initial contact with a recruiter is driven by business rationales and commission structures, the significance of well-being and support beyond assistance with immigration matters, on-campus orientation, and course enrollment is drastically diminished.

Another issue arises when recruitment efforts are decentralized across campus. As is commonplace at many large research universities, both recruitment and support efforts may include multiple administrative and academic units across campus. The challenge here is that both domestic and international students experience frequent confusion and frustration while seeking support. When multiple units are involved, it is paramount that they deliberately and strategically share information, coordinate and communicate their efforts, and then stay on message.

Finally, nothing will ruin the international student experience more quickly than discovering, upon arrival, that “promised” employment opportunities on-/off-campus and after graduation are limited or virtually non-existent, or that funding packages offered are insufficient to cover the basic cost of living. For instance, MIT’s Living Wage Calculator (https://livingwage.mit.edu/) for the United States shows that the minimum earnings to live above the poverty line in my hometown of Atlanta, GA, has now increased to almost US$40,000 while an annual income of USD$53,280 to $66,660 is needed to ensure emotional wellbeing. Now, compare these figures to graduate assistant stipends at your institution. Also, keep in mind that even small and grossly insufficient financial packages may seem like a large sum to students from lower-GDP countries.

An Eye on Mental Health

Many institutions fall short when it comes to providing adequate and targeted mental health support. The realities of the student experience have been inexorably changed from pre-pandemic times, especially through the proliferation of asynchronous online teaching even for residential populations. When one pairs these facts with ongoing social and political disruptions, natural disasters, and growing threats posed by climate change across the globe, it is not difficult to imagine their significant impact on the mental well-being of our international students.

Creating emotional resilience through a strong sense of belonging and care demands a two-pronged, targeted, and strategic approach. When simply pointing to the availability of resources on campus, leaders often ignore the fact that many cultures treat mental health as a taboo, thereby making it unlikely that students will discuss their struggles or seek help. Ensuring durable social ties with friends and trusted advisors that far exceed common practices is also essential and requires levels of support rarely found on most campuses.

Counteracting stigma and enticing international students to seek out support requires that they first fully integrate into their campus community and develop solid relationships with their domestic peers. However, there appears to be a persistent myth that assembling international and local students from different backgrounds and cultures in one physical space will somehow make meaningful intercultural exchange happen. Such outcomes require deliberate strategies rooted in the psychology of human behavior and prejudice frequently unknown to, or discounted by campus leaders. (Readers interested in this topic may wish to explore the scholarship of Gordon Allport and others in designing environments that foster social exchange and subvert prejudice.)

Accounting holistically for the international experience lifecycle, from recruitment to reentry to one’s home country, demands that we facilitate deep interpersonal relationships on campus that equip these students to overcome the myriad bureaucratic, social, and mental challenges of studying abroad in the post-pandemic world of academia. Achieving this goal requires nothing less than full transparency on how we not only can but will proactively assist and support international students once they arrive on our shores. Only then can we ensure a positive and lasting global education experience that takes into account the full student experience from recruitment to arrival back home.

References:

Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Addison Wesley.

Jansa, T., & Anderson, D. L. (2021). Socially responsive leadership for post-pandemic international higher education: Theoretical considerations and practical implications. Institute for International Education. https://tinyurl.com/4s4onpbd