International and Multilingual Student Academic Survey

Sandra Silberstein, Coordinator of Int’l Student Academic Support, College of Arts & Sciences and Partners Mutallip Anwar, UW Research Assistant and Highline College Ryan Burt, Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment (CLUE), Academic Support Programs Mihaela Giurca, International & English Language Programs (IELP) & Odegaard Writing and Research Center Katie Malcolm, Center for Teaching & Learning Demographics & Challenges. This study culminates a decade of research on the academic needs of international and multilingual students1. It is the third in a series of surveys begun in 2015 (the first two surveying Seattle-campus faculty and TAs). The student survey was completed by 1024 students (563 undergrads; 461 grads), with the largest number of responses coming from the Colleges of Arts & Sciences and Engineering. Results indicate that international and multilingual students bring a wealth of linguistic and cultural resources to campus along with substantial experience in English. Students list 70 homelanguages; more than 40% of undergraduate respondents report receiving secondary school instruction in English.

One of the most frequently mentioned suggestions is to provide academic support tailored to the needs of I/M students, particularly in the areas of language and communication.

Students’ top choices for academic support (closely ranked) are online resources, courses, and one-to-one peer support. Graduate student comments, in particular, identify classes in academic and professional writing. Within the writing centers, undergraduates are also hoping for more work on the mechanics of writing. Another theme that appears throughout is the desire for more opportunities to socialize with US students. Other categories of suggestion are raising faculty and staff awareness of the strengths and needs of international students, creating a more inclusive campus, providing more career support, and calls for financial support (87 comments reference this).