Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

First Advisor

Linda Gobbo

Abstract

For international students who leave the familiarity of home to study in the US, it can be surprising to find that in returning home they may face a re-acculturation process similar to the one experienced abroad. Reentry workshops have been proven to be the most effective ways of preparing students for the process of returning home, yet due to the concrete challenges that US colleges and universities face in implementing them to unaware students, they are a topic of low priority are rarely administered. In this digital age, practitioners have suggested implementing online reentry training as an inventive solution to the challenges of reentry preparation. This research explores the perceived reentry needs specific to international students at the University of San Francisco (USF) and how those needs can be addressed through a online reentry training instrument. Standardized open-ended interviews were conducted with nine members of USF faculty and staff to assess their perceived needs of the international students with whom they closely work, investigating ways to creatively address those needs via an online reentry training and ongoing orientation efforts with the International Student Services office. The findings indicated seven salient reentry needs including reconciling residency expectations after graduation, successful career transition, and contextualizing reentry in overall life transition. Accompanied training suggestions include online role-playing, utilizing and developing international job social networking databases and web spaces, and posting alumni student anecdotes. Done to equip international students for a more successful reentry home, the process undertaken by USF to assess and implement an online reentry training can be a template of collaboration for other colleges and universities seeking to address reentry preparation.

Disciplines

International and Comparative Education

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