Fostering Support for International Students During the Height of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The challenges that many international students face during the COVID-19 pandemic are frequently overlooked. With the significant presence of international students in the U.S., this population of students is no longer considered a subcategory. There is an increasing need for higher education institutions to understand the challenges confronted by this group of students and provide more adequate resources to support them in their learning journey. The paper intends to raise awareness of the issues encountered by the international student population in the U.S. and offer some recommendations on the different approaches that the institutions could implement to better serve and support the international student population. This paper reviews the current literature and elucidates on the importance of the grief experience during the height of the pandemic. Moreover, this chapter provides a broader description of how the U.S. institutions could prepare and support incoming international students in adapting to their new environment.