The international student population in the United States has experienced phenomenal growth over the last three decades. During the 1957-1958 academic year, there were merely 43,39 1 international students on American college campuses. Today, a little more than 30 years later, the international student population exceeds 349,609 on these campuses (Zikopoulos, 1987). A number of factors have no doubt driven increasing numbers of students from all over the world to seek an education in the United States. Chief among these may be that with over 3,000 postsecondary institutions (Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education, 1982), the United States probably offers the most extensive and diverse opportunities for higher education in the world. The emerging nations of the third world, with their pressing agendas for economic development, have recognized their need for an educated work force. Because they have been constrained by limited space in their own institutions of higher learning, they have sent their students abroad, many of them to the United States, to be prepared for positions of responsibility in their home countries. The projected decline in traditional college-age youth during the 1980s and early 1990s also made the international student an attractive population for American universities as they explored ways to divers@ and stabilize declining enrollment (Solorzano, 1985).Although the incredible growth in the international student population has been a positive development for a number of reasons, the concomitant adjustment issues for the students involved can be a source of frustration and disappointment, and a challenge for student affairs professionals. Loneliness, homesickness, language difficulty, discrimination, financial problems, and depression are just some of Haru%( Charles is a gmduate administrative associate. a n academic adviser in University College, and a doctoral candidate in the College of Education, the Ohio State University. Columbus. M a c A. Stewart is assdate dean, University College. the Ohio State University. Columbus.
