01 November 2005

What is a Foreign Student Advisor?

Explaining the role of the foreign student advisor

 

An international student consults with an advisor at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. (Courtesy Eastern Mennonite University)

An international student consults with an advisor at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. (Courtesy Eastern Mennonite University)

Formerly called the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA), the Association of International Educators promotes international education. The Profession of Foreign Student Advising, published by Intercultural Press in 2000 under the auspices of NAFSA, includes this explanation of the role of the Foreign Student Advisor:

 

Students from South Korea participate in international student orientation at the University of Mississippi. (Robert Jordan, © AP Images)

Students from South Korea participate in international student orientation, (Robert Jordan, © AP Images)

Foreign student advisers work with students and scholars from all over the world. They provide information, programs, and services designed to make these students’ and scholars’ U.S. experiences as productive as possible. They serve as the liaison between foreign students and scholars and all those with whom these individuals come into contact, representing the students’ best interests and advising them accordingly.

Foreign student advisers work not only with the diverse group of individuals Americans call “foreign students,” but also with American students, faculty, and staff; with citizens of the local community; with officials of U.S. and foreign government agencies; and with a variety of agencies that sponsor foreign students and scholars in the United States. They promote constructive relationships between foreign students and scholars and their local American hosts.

Foreign student advisors work to bring the benefits of international educational exchange to their campuses, communities, and the world. They can help people from many countries learn to understand people from many other countries and, in the process, become more tolerant and open-minded citizens of an interdependent world.

For more information, see http://www.nafsa.org.