A STUDY OF ACADEMIC PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY FOREIGN STUDENTS AT SELECTED PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN A SOUTHEASTERN STATE (ASIA; LATIN AMERICA; MIDDLE EAST)

This study is designed to identify academic needs and concerns that may be common to foreign students or unique to certain segments of foreign students so that institutions desiring a greater degree of success for their foreign students can have information that will assist them in becoming better equipped to meet their academic needs.;Of thirteen null hypotheses, six were rejected at the.01 level of significance. The results of this study indicated that: (1) language deficiency is one of the most compelling obstacles to the academic success of foreign students from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East; students from these geographic regions of the world perceive they have difficulty in auditory comprehension, speech, and writing; (2) foreign students from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East believe they have needs and concerns with the testing methods used by universities in the United States; (3) for students from Asia and the Middle East, reading assignments are difficult and can be confusing and frustrating; (4) students from Africa and Europe believe they are academically as well prepared as their counterparts from the United States; however, this conclusion does not suggest that continued improvement of available services and academic programs should cease ; (5) foreign students from the various geographic regions of the world believe they can use the library as well as their U.S. counterparts; (6) the age, the sex, and whether a student is working do not affect foreign students' perceptions of their academic endeavors; (7) graduate and undergraduate foreign students have similar perceptions of their academic preparation needed to face the challenges and difficulties of advancing their academic goals in the United States; and (8) foreign students enrolled in colleges of education and engineering believe they are academically as well prepared as their counterparts enrolled in colleges of business and colleges of arts and sciences to pursue their educational goals.;A twenty-nine item survey instrument was used to collect data. The study population consisted of 58,086 native and 1,847 foreign students from six public universities in a southeastern state. Seven hundred and seventy-nine students were sent survey instruments.