A comparison of concerns perceived by international and minority students enrolled at Iowa State University

Abstract

The number of international and minority students studying in the United States has risen significantly over the past 25 years. During the 1965-66 academic year, colleges and universities in the United States accepted more than 82,700 international students (Miller, 1967). The enrollment of minority students working toward a bachelor or higher degree in the United States in the fall of 1965 was 305,641 (Simon and Grant, 1966). In 1988, the enrollment of all racial groups rose to record levels in United States colleges and universities. During the fall of 1988, the racial and ethnic group numbers were as follows: 1,130,000 Black students, 680,000 Hispanic students, 497,000 Asian students, 93,000 American Indian students, 361,000 foreign students (Evangelauf, 1990). Webster et al. (1979) found that a number of university environmental problems were unique to racial/cultural groups, as well as several that were common to all students. These unique cultural groups may need assistance in adapting to the new predominantly white institution environment. The international student, while learning new skills, may be available to acclimate other individuals from the same country to life in the United States (Miller, 1967). Counseling for minority students by trained individuals who are themselves members of an ethnic minority group may 2 provide a type of mentoring, as well as assistance in adjusting to university life (Jackson, 1987). Spaulding and Flack (1976) investigated the relationship between cultural and national backgrounds and environmental and social interactions as they relate to academic achievement at a college or university. Their study revealed that there was a significant relationship between the adaptation of different concerns by international and minority students matriculating in United States institutions of higher learning. There is extensive research by Surdan and Collins, 1984; Webster et al., 1979a,b; and Pruitt, 1976 concerning the adjustment difficulties of international and minority students on United States college campuses. The problems common to many college students, including international students, are financial difficulties, communication, academic, and social insecurities, and immigrations (Miller, 1967). International students also experience problems that are directly related to their encounter with a new culture (Nickelly et al., 1964). They must become acclimated to many of the unresolved racial problems of the United States that are reflected in the concerns of individual students (Miller, 1965). American higher education underwent rapid changes between 1965 and 1975. Astin (1982) found that one of the PLEASE NOTE;

Foetal and Maternal Hormonal Changes Preceding Normal Bovine Parturition

“…This association may exist earlier as the con¬ centrations of both appear to be rising from at least 40 days before term (Robinson et al 1970;Robertson 1974;Lin et al 1973). Earlier work, com¬ paring oestrogen levels in either uterine or utero-ovarian venous plasma with those in the jugular vein, indicates that the pre-partum oestrogen rise is pri¬ marily of placental origin (Evans 1973;Comline et al 1974;Peterson et al 1975). The absence of any marked change in both free and conjugated foetal oestrogens (Hunter el al.…”

The adaptation of Afrikan students to Iowa State University

“…In a study of students from the Cameroon attending universities in the San Francisco Bay area of Northern California, Pendar 1987 Spearman correlations (Evans, 1990). Pendar (1987) concluded that Cameroonian students were mostly concerned with financial, social, personal, language, and academic problems.…”