Improving International Student Retention at Universities
This paper examines the challenge of retaining international students at universities in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Drawing on research into historically underrepresented student groups, it argues that low retention rates stem from institutional failures rather than individual shortcomings. The paper reviews a successful engineering retention program as a model, then outlines three interconnected support strategies: formal academic assistance that addresses language and cultural barriers, peer and social networks through international student societies, and faculty mentoring programs. It concludes by highlighting the importance of career guidance for international students navigating unfamiliar employment markets.
- Introduction: The Stakes of Student Retention: Low retention harms individuals, society, and equity
- Institutional Support as a Model for Change: Engineering program shows retention gains are achievable
- Academic Support for International Students: Formal language and cultural academic assistance needed
- Peer and Social Support Networks: International student societies build belonging and confidence
- Faculty Mentorship and Career Guidance: Faculty mentoring and career help improve degree completion
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What makes this paper effective
- Uses a concrete, data-driven example — the engineering retention program — to anchor its broader argument about institutional responsibility, giving abstract claims immediate empirical grounding.
- Moves logically from problem identification to structural solutions, maintaining a clear cause-and-effect argument throughout.
- Integrates direct quotations effectively to support each major claim without allowing quoted material to overwhelm the author's own analytical voice.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of the problem-solution essay structure: it establishes the scope and consequences of the problem (low retention, economic disenfranchisement), validates the solution type with an analogous case study (women in engineering), and then applies that logic to the specific population under discussion (international students). This layered analogy technique strengthens the paper's persuasive logic without requiring additional primary research.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with statistical evidence framing the retention problem broadly, then narrows to international students specifically. Three body sections each propose one category of institutional intervention — academic, social, and faculty-level — before the conclusion ties career support to the overall retention argument. The reference list follows APA format.
Introduction: The Stakes of Student Retention
The value of a college education is continually stressed today as an essential component of success in life. However, merely encouraging students to attend college is not enough: measures of student retention are far more critical in assessing the success of an academic program. Universities in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom have all had trouble retaining students, particularly from historically underrepresented groups (Lau 2003). The consequences of low retention rates are not simply grave for the individual, but also for society, given the advantages a professional degree can convey.
For example, in the profession of engineering, from "1983 and 2002, the percentage of women among bachelor degree recipients went from 13.3% to only 20.9%. In addition, the retention rates for female engineering students are substantially lower than their male counterparts" (Franchetti, Ravn & Kuntz 2010). A lack of female and minority representation in the sciences can perpetuate the economic disenfranchisement of these historically underrepresented groups in a field that is both lucrative and powerful in shaping the world.
Institutional Support as a Model for Change
Restructuring university programs can make a real difference in retention rates. One university increased retention of women in its engineering major from 51% to 73% by instituting an academic support program that combined mentoring efforts, hiring new female professors, creating an academic society for peer support, and offering female majors the opportunity to work in the field. This gave students a concrete sense of what completing the program might offer them later in life.
References
Franchetti, M., Ravn, T., & Kuntz, V. (2010). Retention and recruitment programs for female undergraduate students in engineering at [University], Ohio, USA. Journal of STEM Education, 11(5&6). Retrieved from www.summon.serialssolutions.com
Lau, L. K. (2003). Institutional factors affecting student retention. Education, 124, 126–136. Retrieved from summon.serialssolutions.com
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