Making It Work: International Students and Inequities During and Outside of the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: The American Dream: Cultivating Equitable Workforce Pathways for International Scholars in U.S. Higher Education

Abstract

In this session, research findings from an extensive literature review concerning the plurality of international students’ experiences at U.S. college campuses, will be presented. Particular focus will be paid to how the COVID-19 pandemic has created new and emerging roadblocks to students’ education; the ways HEIs have responded to international students trials and struggles; and the deeper issues that these reactions illicit within international higher education and student mobility (Bell, 2021; Sherry et al., 2010). Additionally, the personal journey of being an international student navigating the higher education space and how socio-political tendencies have shaped these experiences (including their career goals and aspirations) will be discussed. Particular attention will be paid to the unspoken relationships that are characterized by inequitable access and dependencies on campus employment such as teaching and research assistantships (McClellan et al., 2018; Mitchell & Kay, 2013; Su, 2018). International students often have little choice but to undertake on-campus employment given their restrictions to work off campus, which in turn impacts their ability to pay tuition costs. For many low-income students, this would be unmanageable without the tuition waivers that are tied to on-campus employment. This session highlights how these co-dependencies catalyze and perpetuate unequal and exploitative conditions for international students and offers solutions to remediate these inequities surrounding graduate student employment relationships.

Author

• Sarah Maria Schiffecker, Texas Tech University