Browsing by Subject "International Student"

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    Immigration Policy and International Student Migration in the United States
    (2019-03) Ha, Jasmine
    Prior research has noted several instances when immigration laws and policies might impact the migration patterns of international students; however, the effort to link international student research with the broader study of migration remains limited. One key limitation is the lack of data on international students that encompass multiple destinations or multiple time frames. As King and Raghuram (2013: 132) noted a recent review, “a more sophisticated quantitative analysis […] is also necessary if any kinds of causal relations are to be established.” Accordingly, I curated the best available data on international students in the United States, through a Freedom of Information Act request and two restricted data licenses, which would enable large-scale analyses of international student migration patterns. My overarching hypothesis is that international students are vulnerable to the negative impacts of U.S. anti-immigration policies, both at the federal and the state level, because of their unique status as “side-door immigrants,” an in-between status between “desirable” and “undesirable” immigrants. I examine empirical evidences of international students’ vulnerability with three analyses. First, I consider whether and how U.S. states’ anti-immigration policy may have spillover effects on the enrollment patterns of international students. Second, taking a historical view of changes in U.S. immigration policies since 1986, I consider how policy changes towards a crimmigration regime impact international students’ ways of staying, i.e., their transitions into subsequent migration statuses. Third, contributing to the understanding of localities as unique immigration destinations within the United States, I provide a baseline estimate—the first of its kind—of lifetime retention of international students in their first study location, relative to other U.S.-educated immigrants. My results suggest that international students are indeed vulnerable to anti-immigration policies. By destabilizing the discrete categorization of immigrants, the “side door” framework facilitates future efforts to theorize and analyze unintended, or spillover, policy effects. This is essential for understanding the experiences of all temporary immigrants at the side door relative to policy change.
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    Model of international student persistence: factors influencing retention of international undergraduate students at two public statewide four-year university systems
    (2010-01) Kwai, Chee Khei (C.K.)
    The current global economy has created a new middle class around the world, making higher education more accessible to a wider population. The increasing diversity in U.S. higher education is not only the result of minority American students, but also due to the increasing enrollment of international students. This study examined the factors influencing retention from fall 2006 to fall 2007 of international undergraduate students (N = 454) in two public statewide four-year university systems. The model used in the study was based on a combination of retention models by Tinto (1975) and Astin (1970), and revisions made by Tierney (1992) and Pascarella and Terenzini (1980). The data in this study were analyzed using stepwise binomial logistic regression as the primary statistical technique. The findings of this study showed that the results were consistent with other retention studies where there was no single factor or model to predict the persistence of postsecondary students in U.S. higher education institutions. Results for most variables studied were either unclear or inconsistent. Only academic achievement was consistently shown to have a statistically significant and positive effect on persistence into the second year of international students in this study. The difference in the results of this study, in comparison to studies of factors affecting the retention of domestic students, is intriguing. In a way, this study raises more questions than it answers. In conclusion, this study indicated that variables, such as spring semester GPA, credit hours attempted, and on-campus employment have a positive effect on retention into the second year of international undergraduates.