Date Approved

5-18-2023

Embargo Period

5-23-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. Higher Education

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Stephanie Lezotte, Ph.D.

Committee Member 1

Andrew Tinnin, Ed.D.

Committee Member 2

Tyrone, McCombs, Ph.D.

Disciplines

Educational Leadership | Higher Education

Abstract

The study in this paper was conducted at Rowan University, a South Jersey public institution founded in 1923. The purpose of this study was to collect data regarding various university departments that might cause and affect acculturative stress in international students and determine which area has the greatest impact on the students’ stress levels at the university. During the 2022-23 academic year, I distributed an anonymous online survey to the majority of Rowan international and domestic students, both undergraduate and graduate, to better understand their perspectives of specific campus resources and departments. In this paper, I state my questions as it pertains to my research, discuss the research and considerations concerning this topic, and elaborate on my study’s approach and execution. By using crosstabulations to analyze the collected data, it was found that among specific areas and departments, housing, accessibility to specific food products, and the students’ experience locating various campus resources were perceived as the most difficult areas for international students to acclimate to during their initial transition process. In comparing these results against those of the domestic students, it was found that the most common difficulty for all students was in locating various campus resources, with the largest difference being their experience with admissions processes. The students’ gender and residential status within the campus were also recorded to determine external factors in the causes of acculturative stress.

Download

Share

COinS