Role of Student Affairs in International Student Transition and Success

International student mobility has grown significantly in recent years, with

over 4.1 million students in 2013 who studied abroad around the world

(Institute of International Education [IIE], 2016). With the changes in

student demographics and increased mobility, student affairs professionals

are in a unique role to support international student transition and success.

Unfortunately, current research and practice in higher education tends to

place a high level of responsibility on the international student to

successfully transition to a new campus environment or places the

responsibility on the international student affairs/student services office to

solely work with these students. Given the multi-faceted needs of

international students, we argue that it is critical for student affairs

professionals across functional areas to be prepared to support this diverse

population.