International students face intimidation, hostility

The coronavirus pandemic that shut down university campuses across the globe this spring has heightened concerns about xenophobia, harassment and discrimination among many international students enrolled in United States institutions, a survey suggests.

One in four international undergraduate, graduate and professional students expressed concerns about intimidating, hostile or offensive behaviour that occurred during the pandemic, the survey said. Most of those students also expressed increased concerns about their personal safety.

Moreover, 17% of international undergraduate students and 12% of international graduate and professional students surveyed said they had personally experienced such instances during the pandemic. Those percentages ranged from 22% to 30% among students from China, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

The findings raise the possibility, but do not conclude, that some of the negative behaviours were specifically related to the pandemic’s origins, which have been traced to China.

“We must recognise the toll that instances of xenophobia, harassment and discrimination have on international students,” said a policy brief released on Wednesday in which the findings were published. “The effects bleed over into international students’ feelings of safety, their mental health and their relationships with US peers or friends.”

Also, 13% of the affected undergraduates and 18% of graduate students said their experiences had decreased the likelihood that they would complete their degree programme.

The report was released by the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium, housed at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley.

Since May, the consortium has been collecting data from member institutions on the impact of COVID-19 on the experiences of students in tertiary education. The study draws from surveys of 22,519 undergraduate students and 7,690 graduate and professional students at five public research universities in the United States.

The data just released focused primarily on the survey’s international student population, which included nearly 2,000 undergraduates and more than 1,400 graduate and professional students. Of those students, 77% remained in the United States after the pandemic progressed; the remainder left the United States, presumably to return to their home countries.

Among other pressing concerns for international students, maintaining good health was cited as a top priority for two-thirds of graduate and professional students and more than half of undergraduates. Concerns about managing immigration status and visas were cited by 55% of graduate students and 44% of undergraduates. Nearly half (49%) of graduate students and 36% of undergraduate students said they worried about having adequate financial support.

The report, which comes as US college and university leaders consider their plans to reopen their campuses by the autumn semester, urged institutions to recognise and accommodate the unique challenges facing international students. As of 30 June, more than 60% of 1,060 campuses being tracked by The Chronicle of Higher Education had announced plans to welcome students back to campus in the autumn, and 20% were proposing a hybrid model.

Meanwhile, US public health officials expect a second wave of the pandemic to surface later this year, and in recent weeks some pockets of the United States have seen a resurgence of cases. And a study by the American Council on Education anticipates a decline in overall international enrolment for the next academic year.

“International students face more uncertainty than domestic students when it comes to fall [autumn] enrolment,” says SERU Consortium Director Igor Chirikov. Universities “need to support their [international] students” as they navigate US policy and practice, particularly around immigration and healthcare, he said. Regarding reports of xenophobic behaviour, Chirikov said: “If so many students struggle with it, universities need to reach out to them.”

Impact of xenophobia

Among international students who expressed concern about harassment or similar behaviours, a large majority (73% of undergraduates and 82% of graduate students) reported an increased concern about their personal safety. Of these, more than half (55%) of graduate students and 43% of undergraduates said instances of xenophobia had affected their mental health.

Smaller percentages of this group said offensive behaviour had interfered with their relationships with US peers or friends (30% of undergrads and 29% of graduate students) or interfered with their academic or professional performance (17% of undergrads and 22% of graduate students).

The report urged mental health counsellors who work with international students to develop strategies to support students experiencing intimidating, hostile or offensive behaviours. Noting that international students are most likely to face harassment from peers, report co-author Krista Soria, director for student affairs assessment at the University of Minnesota, said faculty could provide “an extra nudge of support” by addressing the issue in their classrooms.

Adjustments to online classes

Regarding their academic experiences during the spring semester, international students were generally more likely than domestic students to say they were satisfied with remote instruction and with the institutional support they received.

A notable exception was international students who had relocated to another country; nearly four in 10 cited obstacles to attending live online classroom meetings. The report recommended offering accommodations or asynchronous alternatives where possible.

International students tended in general to report fewer obstacles than domestic students in their transition to online instruction. More than half of international students (54% of international undergraduates and 56% of graduate students) acknowledged a lack of motivation as an obstacle, while a slightly smaller share (44% of undergraduates and 55% of graduate students) cited lack of interaction with other students.

One explanation for why international students were able to adapt to the online format may be that they are more likely than domestic students to have had previous experiences taking online courses.

Socio-economic status may also play a role, the researchers said. Low-income students were among those most likely to struggle with the online format, and international students at public research universities tend to come from middle-class families.