By BETH MCMURTRIE (The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 28, 2009)

American colleges pride themselves on welcoming students from around the world. But how effectively are they helping foreign students adapt to and thrive in an American setting?

That is a subject of increasing debate among educators, some of whom question the support systems their institutions have in place.

At this year’s annual conference of Nafsa: Association of International Educators, held here this week, helping foreign students adjust is the topic of more than a half-dozen sessions.

Foreign students face a unique combination of challenges. They’re adapting to a new culture and a different academic environment. They’re thousands of miles from home and family. Some may come from countries beset by war, poverty, or political repression.

Yet American colleges often cannot provide consistent, meaningful support to those students, experts say.

The people who work in international-students offices—typically the primary points of contact for most students coming from abroad—may lack the training to help students with academic, financial, or emotional troubles. And programs that may work for American students are not necessarily acceptable for people from other cultures.

A 2006 report by the University of California, for example, found that international students were “particularly vulnerable” to mental-health problems, yet were less aware of, and less likely to use, campus psychological-counseling services.

The solution, say experts, is a combination of preorientation programming to help students adjust their expectations and to familiarize them with a range of campus services, followed by academic- and social-support programs offered throughout the year.

Academic Expectations

Even the most cosmopolitan student can be tripped up by academic expectations, international educators say. Something as elemental as choosing courses can stump students from countries in which course work is largely dictated by the university.

And in many parts of the world, passive learning is still the dominant method of instruction. When students arrive on a campus—whether they’re coming from Asia, the Middle East, or Latin America—they may be confused when they start receiving assignments from professors.

“If it says ‘analyze,’ some students don’t know what that means,” says Lewis B. Rosengarten, interim academic and administrative director of the Opportunity Programs at Skidmore College, who works with international students. “Students may say, ‘I’m not ready to offer my opinion.’”

The lack of emphasis on original thinking in other education systems leads to another common problem: plagiarism. This is particularly prevalent in Asian cultures, educators say.

“They have been taught that this is what you should know,” says Mr. Rosengarten, who spoke at a Nafsa session on developing academic-support services. “So they’re not just memorizing, they’re repeating it in their work. It’s acceptable, it’s flattering. Then they get here, and they’re told: Don’t do that.”

“Plagiarism is a huge issue,” agrees Luna Das Bangia, an educational adviser in New Delhi for the U.S.-India Educational Foundation, who is speaking at a session today on understanding South Asian students. “They don’t know how to source things.”

Mr. Rosengarten says Skidmore has systems in place to identify students who may need additional academic help.

The college’s preorientation program for international students, for example, allows advisers to spot students who may have decent scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language but poor speaking or writing skills. Those students are then enrolled in a special writing course to bring them up to speed.

Mr. Rosengarten also suggests that colleges organize study groups and peer-led tutoring to help students develop their critical-thinking skills.

Cultural Cues

Cultural differences present another challenge for international students.

“Indian students may be very committed and motivated, but when it comes to awareness of American culture, it’s very restricted to things cinema,” says Ms. Bangia, who conducts a predeparture program to help Indian students prepare for life in the United States.

Nicole Namy, an international-student adviser and community-outreach coordinator at Michigan State University, says students from the Middle East can feel unmoored when they arrive because their lives have traditionally revolved around family.

“When you’re coming from the Middle East, it’s very communal living. When you arrive in America, it’s a very individualistic society,” says Ms. Namy, who spoke at a session here on helping Arab and Muslim students adjust.

These students can find it hard to connect with others, she says: “‘What is the protocol? How do I address my professor? How do I talk to my adviser?’” The whole concept of making friends outside the classroom can seem like a minefield.

Michigan State offers international students an orientation course, called “Lost in Translation,” that deals with such acculturation issues. And the university relies heavily on student associations to help newcomers find their way. ”Sometimes it’s that peer-to-peer interaction that’s more validating,” Ms. Namy says.

Unsure of how to navigate campus life, international students may retreat, socializing only with students from their own countries.

Many international students, though, would prefer to have more American friends, says Virginia Blythe Wickline, a visiting assistant professor of psychology at Wooster College, who helped conduct a 2007-8 survey of international undergraduate students at eight small, private liberal-arts colleges.

The survey found that while the students largely reported feeling well adjusted, many wished they knew more Americans and better understood American culture.

Ms. Wickline, who will be reporting the survey’s findings at a session today, says Wooster created a new program in January to respond to that interest. Called Crossing Borders, it pairs international and American students to talk about cultural differences. The students meet as a group once a month, and also meet in pairs.

Ms. Wickline says Crossing Borders builds on several key programs at Wooster to help students settle in. Those programs include an extended orientation for international students and a buddy system that pairs them up with other students or families for support throughout the year.

“I’m a believer in inoculation,” Ms. Wickline says. “If you can give them accurate cultural information and prepare them for the challenges ahead, that could really help.”

Students in Crisis

At times, though, international students may need more-intense intervention.

Students from war-torn or politically unstable countries are particularly vulnerable. A student from Iraq may be dealing with imminent threats to family members. A student from Gaza may find that she is unable to return home. Families may lose a business because of political turmoil and no longer be able to make tuition payments.

Whether because of finances or stress, those students may be unable to continue their course work. Yet if they drop out, they risk having their visas revoked.

“It’s sort of a downward spiral that a student can get into very quickly,” says Mark E. Hallett, director of international-student and -scholar services at Colorado State University at Fort Collins. “That’s a real challenge for advisers to help them juggle all of those things.”

Colorado State has created an emergency-consultation team for such situations, says Mr. Hallett, who spoke at a session on helping students who are dealing with trauma.

Such teams are important, he says, because a complicated situation typically involves many parts of a university.

If a student is unable to pay tuition because of family circumstances, he or she might need both counseling and financial support to stay enrolled. Knowing immigration lawyers in the community who work pro bono can allow university officials to help a student seek political asylum or secure a work permit for reasons of economic hardship.

“Rather than having a student going from office to office, getting partial solutions here and there, we get together to discuss a situation, sharing information to come up with the best possible solution for students,” he says.

International students are also likely to be more comfortable with the international-students’ office than with other campus departments.

If students do not want to seek psychological counseling on their own, says Mr. Hallett, “I walk with them to the counseling center.” If they still decline professional help, he says, staff members in his office can talk to a liaison in the center—without naming the student—for guidance.

Limits for Advisers

Mr. Hallett says it is important for international advisers to know their limits. They are not trained counselors and should not feel obligated to act as such. That, he says, is why having an established support network is so important.

Dulce Amor L. Dorado, director of the international-students office at the University of California at San Diego, says she began thinking about the issue after reading the 2006 University of California mental-health report.

That year her office created a program called Students Beyond Borders, facilitated by a staff psychologist who herself had been an international student.

At an open forum tied to Friday-night meals, students can discuss topics such as homesickness, dating, and academic stress. Ms. Dorado, who will be speaking at a session here on destigmatizing mental-health services, says the forums allow students a therapeutic outlet, without making it feel like actual therapy. As the University of California survey confirmed, she notes, students from other countries, particularly more-conservative cultures, may simply refuse to consider formal psychological counseling.

She and other international-student advisers note that, for these programs to work, the advisers must receive training so they know what resources are available to students and can identify those who may be at risk of social, academic, or psychological problems. Training, she says, helped her staff overcome an initial discomfort in talking with students about such problems.

“Especially for international students, advisers may be the first place to go to,” she says. “In that case, we need to say something if we see something of concern. Because they may not reach out to others on campus.”